Fairford PrimarySchool Foundation SubjectsShort-Term Planning Sheet
Term: 5 & 6 Class:Beech Teacher: Miss Hulbert Subject:Topic, Food and Farming
Notes for FuturePlanning
To think aboutwhat we already know.
Write the questionWhat do we know about farming? on the board. Give each group somepost-its and let them write down any ideas. Ask groups to then laythem out on the table. All groups to then move around and look atthe other groups ideas.
Chn to help to makefarm display by producing animals, crops, buildings farmer etc.using various materials (paint, collage, chalks etc.)
To understand thatthe countryside must be treated with respect.
To become familiarwith the Countryside Code.
NB: Book ICT suitefor nxt week.
Share the picturesof mis-treated countryside. What is happening here? Why do youthink it has happened? Once all the photos have been looked at ask:what could be done to stop such things happening? Share thepictures of people respecting the countryside and discuss. Read thepoems on the coloured posters. For each one ask: what is themessage? Introduce the Countryside Code using the poster. Highlightit was written to help people to enjoy the countryside in a waythat doesnt harm them or the environment. Show the CreatureComforts Countryside Code video.
Introduce the ideaof the right to roam. Should people have the right to roam? As aclass list arguments for both sides.
Tell chn we aregoing to have a live debate. Chn in groups of 8. 4 are against theright to roam. 4 are for it. Each side to write a short piece toread.
1) Member of RamblersAssociation.
2) Person who lives inLondon
3) A birdwatcher
4) A child
4) Stable owner
Debate: each groupwill have a go. One side presents argument, then other. Thenquestion each other.
To know that thereare three main types of farming.
To be able todescribe what each one looks like and produces.
NB: buy cheeses fornxt week.
Show the threefarmers. Explain that each one owns a different type of farm. Sharepictures of each of the farms: arable, dairy and pastoral. Ask chnto describe what they can see in each one. Then show certain piecesof farming equipment, e.g. a combine harvester. Which farm would Ifind this on? Repeat with other pictures. Highlight that farms canbe what we call a mixed farm Miss H lives on a farm that is allthree! Watch video from Year of Food and Farming site aboutdifferent types of farming: http://www.face-online.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1111&Itemid=997.
Class split into 4groups. Each group to have a different type of farming (arable,dairy, pastoral and mixed). On a large piece of paper chn to drawfarm and add pictures of animals/machinery/buildings etc Thesecould be drawn, from magazines, from internet etc. Then around farmadd the produce, e.g. milk, meat, crops etc.
To know that keepingcows for milk is a primary industry.
To know that cheesemaking is a secondary industry.
To be able toclassify jobs into primary, secondary and tertiary.
To know that cheeseis important as part of a balanced diet (science link).
Refresh last week?What products would I get from a dairy farm? List on board. Explaintoday we are going to think about one airy product in particular:cheese. Share poster: Say Cheese. Talk about the different typesand uses for cheese. Does anyone have a favourite one? Highlighthow cheese is an important product as we use it a lot. There areover 500 types of cheese in Britain alone. Is cheese god or badfor you? Highlight that as part of a balanced diet, cheese isimportant as it contains calcium. Why do we need calcium? Explainthat there are three main types of job (primary, secondary andtertiary). Using the top of Activity 3: Copymaster A from ChooseCheese Geography Pack explain meaning of each one. Can we think ofexamples for each one?
1) Give each pair acopy of Activity 3: Copymaster A from Choose Cheese GeographyPack. Ask them to a) Sort the jobs into three piles to show whichare primary, secondary and tertiary workers.
b) Put the jobs intoa flow chat that shows how each job helps towards the finalproduction of cheese.
Discuss togetherafter each one.
2) Share the cheesesamples. Chn to try and then vote for favourite.
Cross-curricular:cheese research sheet in pack, suitable for use in data -handlingin numeracy.
To know the mainstages of the year on an arable farm.
To understand howweather can affect farming.
To know that cerealis important as part of a balanced diet. (science link.)
Show pictures ofarable farming at: http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/hutchinson/m0034696.html.
Discuss what thefields look like, the machinery and the produce. Share the picturesfrom FACE showing the yearly crop cycle. For each picture ask: whatdo you think is happening? What machinery is being used? What isthe weather like? What time of year do you think it is? Why? Whatproblems might the farmer encounter? Focus particularly on weather,making it clear how much it affects arable farming.
Give chn a selectionof packaging for foods that have a cereal content. Chn to movearound looking at the ingredients and identifying the cereals.Highlight just how many products contain cereal.
Re-visit the posterfrom last week (Say Cheese). Explain that their task is toproduce a similar poster but with the title SensationalCereal.
To understand thedifferences between intensive and non-intensive farming.
To know that we havea choice when buying our food.
Showthe class an egg box and explain that they will learn about thehens that laid the eggs. Point out that hens need certain things tobe happy and healthy. One of their needs is to behave normally - todo all of the things they like to do. These include:
- flapping theirwings
- being with otherhens
- pecking andscratching at the ground
- having nests to layeggs in
- sleeping on a perchat night.
Singthe Happy hens song (to the tune of 'If you're happy and youknow it'). For each verse, add an example of hens' normalbehaviour, e.g. 'If you're happy and you know it, flap your wings'or 'peck the ground'. Show two pictures, one of caged hens and theother of free-range hens (CWIF). Ask pupils to describe thedifference. Introduce vocabulary: caged and free-range. Choose sixpupils to be the caged hens. They crouch underneath a table tocreate the effect of cages being stacked in tiers, or standtogether in a hoop on the floor with their arms at their sides as'wings'. The other pupils are the free-range hens. Define theboundaries where they can go. Ask the free-range hens if they canflap their wings. Ask the caged hens if they can do the same - theanswer should be no. Repeat for all the other types of henbehaviour. Finally, ask both groups if they are happy hens. Ask whythe caged hens were not happy. They could not do all of the thingsthat they like to do. What does this tell us about the kindest wayto keep hens? Hens are sometimes kept in barns but as long as theyhave enough space and the right facilities, they can still behappy.
Give each pairpictures of the different egg boxes from RSPCA site.Askpupils to look at the labels on the different boxes and say whetherthey think those eggs came from caged hens, barn hens, free-rangehens or if they are not sure. Draw attention to egg boxes where themethod of production is not obvious. Eggs from cage systems mightlook like they are from barn or free-range systems as the words'Eggs from caged hens' can be written in small letters on the backof the box. Explain that next time the pupils go shopping, they canhave a look at the eggs on sale and see which ones have been laidby happier and healthier hens.
Chn to work ingroups of 4 to design the ultimate home for chickens. Present as aleaflet aimed at the chickens themselves.
FinallyShow theFreedom Food logo and explain that this means that a Freedom Foodassessor has been to the farm and made sure that the hens there arebeing cared for under higher welfare standards. By law, all eggsproduced in the European Union (EU) must now be stamped with a codeto show where they come from. The eggs and the packaging must alsobe labeled to show how the eggs were produced.
To realise thathedgerows support a diverse range of animals.
To understand theimportance of bio-diversity on farms.
Give each pair acopy of the hedgerow picture (saved to U-disc under GeographyResources). Ask them to list all the animals they can see.Emphasize just how many there are. Explain how changing farmingmethods has meant we have lost 40% of our hedges in the last 50years. How do you think this is affecting the wildlife? Show ElmFarm at http://www.farmtrails.org.uk/elm_farm/index.html.Highlight how they are caring for their hedgerows. This is anexample of how farming can work with wildlife, not againstit.
Chn to create aposter designed to persuade farmers to look after hedgerows.
To understand howorganic farming is different from conventional farming.
To understand howgood soil is important to growing crops in an organic way.
Show chn a bag ofsoil. What words would you use to describe it? Take ideas. Why issoil important to farmers? Highlight it is required to grow crops.Point out that the better the quality of the soil, the better thecrops will grow. Show picture of farmer putting on fertilizer.Explain fertilizer makes the soil better but it is not a naturalproduct. Explain that organic farms dont use fertilizers. They usecrop rotation to help the soil in a natural way. Draw cycle onboard to illustrate what is meant by crop rotation.
Give groups picturesof crops and description of characteristics. Allow them time towork out how they would rotate the crops over a 6 yearperiod.
Once finished groupsto move around and compare. Miss H to share solution andexplain.
Pictures anddescriptions at
To understand howorganic farming is different from conventional farming.
To present data in abar chart. (numeracy link).
To understand thatas consumers we can make a choice.
What did we learnlast week about organic farming? Explain this week we are going tothink more about organic farming by comparing organic andnon-organic products. Show the Yeo-Valley products and share thewebsite: http://www.yeovalleyorganic.co.uk/educational.php#.Highlight Yeo-Valley is an organic farm in Somerset (locate on mapof UK). Look at the gallery, then watch the animation about howorganic ice-cream is made. Discuss what makes the ice-creamorganic.
Pairs of productslaid out (organic and non-organic) but without labels. Chn to trythe two samples of each product and specific which they prefer on atick sheet. Back together collect results and reveal. From resultschn to produce a bar chart. Finish by discussing results, andrevealing prices. Does this change anyones ideas?
To understand anduse the term food miles.
To think about wherefood comes from and why.
To consider theenvironmental implications of buying food from around theworld.
Write food mileson the board. What do we know about these? Listen to ideas. Explainthey are how far food travels from its country of origin to whereit ends up. Show packaging from an average meal. Give each group aphotocopy of the packaging and a world map. Ask them to look at theorigin of the food and draw a line connecting it to where it camefrom to where it ended up. Back on the carpet select one of themaps and look at it together. How do you think the food wastransported? Highlight mainly it is flown. Why is this bad for theenvironment? What can we do to make it better? Establish we can buylocal food.
Introduce challenge:using the internet can they find the products for the same meal butlocally? Who can produce the meal with the least mileage? Show howto calculate mileage on AA route finder.
MH to support MJ andDM
MB to support RD andKN
11 + literacylessons for week (persuasive writing).
To apply what hasbeen learnt in a real-life context.
Chn to make ashoe-box farm by thinking about what a good farm needs and whatthey have learnt over the topic. In literacy chn to produce aleaflet that persuades people to buy produce from the farm.