Curriculum Links

Our aim is to make all visits as cross curricular as possible

How does my food get to my plate?  Here at Barleylands we believe that food is the stuff of life and everyone has a vested interest in finding out where it comes from.  Our visits are based around Food and Farming but are extremely cross curricular.  Children will have the opportunity to interact with the animals, visit growing crops, identify and grind seeds, and cook a healthy snack from scratch. Using Food as a theme, see how it can link to all areas of the curriculum.  Food is something which most children have experience, opinions and enthusiasm about.

HISTORY

• Investigating and tasting food eaten by different societies in the past, e.g. Romans. Children can make Roman bread using Spelt flour.  They can compare what was eaten at different times with The eatwell plate.   It is interesting to find out that poor Tudors actually had a far healthier diet that the rich! We can compare diets and consider health problems.  Children can make Tudor bread using rye and wheat flour (known as Maslin) and some pottage.
• Looking at how food was produced in past societies, e.g. Egyptian farming – crops, ploughing tools, seasons;  We can compare how the Egyptians farmed to how we farm now. 
• Researching how food was prepared, preserved and stored in the past, e.g. Tudors, salted and pickled foods, fridges in the 1950s;
• Looking at the impact of events or social class on food availability in the past, e.g. the Victorian period (rich and poor), World War ll (food rationing); Looking at kitchen inventions (equipment and appliances) over time, e.g. early utensils, cookers, canned food

GEOGRAPHY

• Finding out how the food trade impacts on the lives of people in other countries, e.g. banana trade in St. Lucia;
• Finding out about food transportation, e.g. how food is stored, how it travels to different countries - mapping routes;
• Finding  out where different foods have come from and the food miles involved. We can play a food miles game where children have to guess how farm some foods have travelled.  They can record the information to take back to school and the draw maps to record the fact or collect food labels and make a display.
• Finding out why some foods cannot be grown in this country, and the type of environment these foods need e.g. rice, coffee beans, bananas, pineapples.

 ICT

•  Make a diary prior to your visit, to see how healthy your diet is.  After your visit make another diary and compare them.  Use spreadsheets to modify recipe quantities and calculate the cost of food.
• During your visit, complete our discovery centre question sheet and use it back in school to research your answers.
• Creating PowerPoint presentations to use in assembly and show your peers what you learned on your trip.
• Use text, tables and images to write articles about food and farming and to write to us and tell us how much you enjoyed your day!

SCIENCE

•  Looking at the food farmers grow in the UK and studying what they need in order to grow, and their stages of growth.  Children can plant seeds to take back to school and grow, e.g. runner beans, potatoes (in a bucket).
• Learning about The eatwell plate, and the need for  food along with the importance and benefits of a healthy diet.  
• Looking at how micro-organisms in food can be helpful (yogurt and blue cheese) and harmful (mouldy bread), and how to prevent harmful micro-organisms spreading by working hygienically and storing food correctly.
• Learning about seasonal foods and how weather conditions affect the food we grow.
• Finding out what happens to materials when they are mixed, heated and cooled, and whether changes are reversible or irreversible e.g. chocolate, jelly, ice.

 RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

• Finding out about food eaten at religious/special festivals, e.g.  Shrove Tuesday.  Make Pancakes and other foods eaten at special or religious festivals.
• Come and make bread and have your harvest festival in the farm park..  Schools can use the Barleylands stage to recite harvest poems, have real animals on stage, and take food they make back to school.

DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

• Researching and tasting food products  e.g. sandwiches, biscuits and bread
• Teaching skills such as kneading, shaping and decoratin.
• Designing and making a food product based on a specification, e.g. a healthy balanced packed lunch for a 6 year old to take to school.
• Tasting and evaluating food which you have made.

PERSONAL SOCIAL AND HEALTH EDUCATION

• Learning about healthy eating and making choices.
• Investigating the energy provided by different foods and the energy used in different activities.
• Learning about food safety and simple routines that can prevent the spread of bacteria, e.g. hand washing.
• Learning about foods traditionally eaten in other cultures.
• Learning about healthy lifestyles and the benefits of exercise.

MUSIC

• Singing songs with food themes and nursery rhymes related to what we are doing.