Taste, food and digestion
This list provides further ideas and resources for teachers taking part in the BBC Terrific Scientific campaign. It offeris activities linked to healthy eating, taste and digestion.
Taste (Key Stage Two)
This resource helps children to think about how they taste food and find out about the work of a taste scientist. Originally created for STEM ambassadors visiting primary schools, they can be adapted by teachers for use in the classroom. The materials consist of a lesson plan, stimulus materials and suggested activities. They will help children to:
* say what a sensory scientist does
* be able to name the five basic tastes and give examples of them
* know the parts of the body used to taste
Food Glorious Food
This resource investigates food looking at why we need food, what we eat, how it affects our health. The importance of food in our daily lives, comparing class favourite tastes and how food is used in celebration events in many cultures around the World.
Dazzling digestion
Aimed at older primary children, this resource looks at nutrition and digestion in humans. Children find out about different nutrients and the effects they have on our bodies. They then look at models which help them to understand digestion and carry out a comparative test to investigate why calcium is important for our bones. Finally they research the dietary needs of a chosen person such as an astronaut, gladiators or explorer and use what they have learned to design a meal that will give them the best diet, with all the nutrients they will need to survive and thrive.
This resource has been produced as part of The Crunch, created by the Wellcome Trust, to promote learning and discussions about our food, our health and our planet.
Day of temptation
This play follows a school child on a day of being healthy, though everything around her makes it easy to be unhealthy! Temptations include: sugary cereal aimed at children, fast food shops on the journey to school, children talking about computer games at break rather than running around and an unhealthy packed lunch box. Although everything is done to excess it highlights that we often live in an environment that encourages people to eat unhealthily and not do enough exercise.
Great for use in an assembly or in class, when learning about healthy eating. It contains roles for everyone in a class, music and sound effects and guidance for performance.
This is part of The Crunch, resources created to promote learning and discussions about our food, our health and our planet.
Food for thought: food science
This pack contains a host of great activities on the theme of food science. Spitacular Science on page 17 details a practical activity which investigates how the body breaks down food by starting with the salivia in our mouths. It involves children testing their own saliva, so consider your class and it's needs before carrying out this activity!
