Food and food labels

The Food and food labels SAILS inquiry and assessment unit was designed to aid students to understand food labels and the composition of foods. Through the four outlined inquiry activities, students learn to look at the composition of foods and the amounts needed to keep someone healthy. In this way, students become equipped with sufficient knowledge and skills to make the choices that they need to when it comes to their own diet. The unit is recommended for implementation as a guided inquiry at lower second level.

Two key skills are identified for development in this unit. Scientific reasoning, in particular proportional reasoning, is developed as students compare different amounts and types of food in their diet. Students’ skills in working collaboratively are also developed, through discussion and teamwork. The assessment methods described include classroom dialogue, teacher observation and evaluation of student artefacts.

The unit was trialled by teachers in Turkey, Hungary, Ireland and Portugal – producing five case studies of implementation. Four examples at lower second level are presented (aged 11-15 years), while one Hungarian class and the Portuguese study detail adaptation for upper second level (up to 19 years). In all cases the unit was implemented as a guided inquiry, with some open opportunities. In addition to the assessment of scientific reasoning and working collaboratively, opportunities for the assessment of skills in developing hypotheses, planning investigations and forming coherent arguments were identified.

Unit booklet

Key content / concepts

Balanced diet
Food groups
Understand food label information

Level

Lower
Upper

Inquiry skills and competencies assessed

Planning investigations
Developing hypotheses
Forming coherent arguments
Working collaboratively
Scientific reasoning
Scientific literacy

Assessment methods

Classroom dialogue
Teacher observation
Self-assessment
Worksheets
Student devised materials
Presentations

The teaching and learning activities described in the Food and food labels SAILS inquiry and assessment unit were developed by the team at Kings College London for use in the SAILS project. The unit is developed in four parts (activities A-D), in which students are introduced to food groups and nutritional composition of foods. This is included in the school curriculum in the hope that students will begin to understand what makes a healthy balanced diet. They can then look at their own diet and that of others and make recommendations about how to improve the diet. The problem however is that too often the ideas behind obtaining a balanced diet are not considered in sufficient detail to allow youngsters to understand what a balanced diet means in reality with foods simply categorised as healthy or unhealthy or as fat or protein and the true composition of foods and the amounts needed to keep someone healthy are not looked at. So youngsters are not equipped with sufficient knowledge and skills to make the choices that they need to when it comes to their own diet. This set of materials attempts to help with developing better ideas about food and incorporates an inquiry-based approach to aid the skills development required and also to motivate students to want to understand these ideas better.

In this unit, the key skills developed are scientific reasoning and working collaboratively, and several opportunities for assessment of these skills have been highlighted. For example, in Activity A: Packed lunches, assessment can be achieved by listening to groups talk as they work out the answers and also when groups report back on their answers to the whole class. The teacher should encourage the students to explain how they reach their answers and get them to compare their methods with those of other students. For assessment, students’ ability to articulate how they solved the problems is more important than obtaining the correct answer. A four-level rubric for assessment of working collaboratively is proposed, which allows for assessment of students’ skill in collaboration and debating with peers. In Activity D: Testing for vitamin C, students’ skills in developing hypotheses and other investigative skills such as planning investigations and collection of data can be assessed. A sample rubric for assessment of developing hypotheses is provided.

Below you can find the full inquiry and assessment unit for download, as well as an archive with classroom materials, including student worksheets and assessment tools for teachers to be used during the activities if available.

Unit booklet Classroom materials

Activity A: Packed lunches

Concept focus	Comparing the nutritional content of different food items Calculations using ratios
Inquiry skills focus	Working collaboratively
Scientific reasoning	Proportional reasoning
Scientific literacy	Evaluating the nutritional content of food
Assessment methods	Classroom dialogue Teacher observation Worksheets

The idea behind this activity is for students to begin comparing foods in terms of amount, energy values and composition so that they get the idea of proportional reasoning. The activity consists of a number of questions, which include calculations using ratios. It is recommended that the teacher does not provide hints or formulae, as this exercise should develop skills in reasoning, rather than mathematics.

Activity B: Food cards

Concept focus	Comparing the nutritional content of different food items Introducing food groups – carbohydrates, fats and protein
Inquiry skills focus	Working collaboratively
Scientific reasoning	Proportional reasoning
Scientific literacy	Evaluating the nutritional content of food
Assessment methods	Classroom dialogue Teacher observation Worksheets

The Food cards activity is an opportunity to further develop students’ skill in proportional reasoning. The students are asked to consider the nutritional composition of foods that they commonly consume, thus introducing a day-to-day application of this skill. This activity also supports the development of students’ understanding of nutrition and making healthy food choices.

Activity C: The washing line

Concept focus	Carbohydrate, fats and proteins in the diet Comparing the nutritional content of different food items
Inquiry skills focus	Working collaboratively
Scientific reasoning	Proportional reasoning
Scientific literacy	Evaluating the nutritional content of food
Assessment methods	Classroom dialogue Teacher observation Worksheets

In this activity, students consider their own diets, and can see if they are obtaining enough of the nutrients they need, or if their consumption is greater than what is recommended. Students evaluate the food labels of the foods they eat every day, and they explain its content in terms of carbohydrates, fats and proteins. This process supports them in making informed decisions about which foods they should eat more often, and those they should eat less of.

Activity D: Testing for vitamin C

Concept focus	Comparing the vitamin C content of different food items
Inquiry skills focus	Planning investigations Developing hypotheses Working collaboratively
Scientific reasoning	Recording data and observations
Assessment methods	Classroom dialogue Teacher observation Worksheets

Humans are recommended a daily intake of 60 mg of vitamin C. This is approximately a whole large mango or 125 g of pineapple. While this test cannot measure the exact amount of vitamin C in a food, it does provide a way of comparing high, medium and low values of vitamin C in different foods. In this activity, students’ skills in developing hypotheses and planning investigations can be assessed.

This unit was trialled in four countries, producing five case studies of its implementation – CS1 Turkey, CS2 Hungary, CS3 Ireland, CS4 Portugal and CS5 Hungary. The case studies detail implementation at lower second level, as recommended in the unit, except in CS4 Portugal and one class in CS5 Hungary, which features a 9th grade class (upper second level). The ages of the students involved in the case studies were aged 11-19 years, thus teachers varied the implementation to suit the requirements of their respective class groups. The students in each class were mixed ability and mixed gender, except in CS3 Ireland where the students were all female. The case studies were implemented by teachers who had some experience of teaching through inquiry, but the students involved had generally not been taught through inquiry previously.

For CS3 Ireland and CS5 Hungary the selected inquiry activities were carried out in one lesson of 45-60 minutes. CS1 Turkey and CS2 Hungary implemented most elements of the unit over two 45-minute lessons. Finally, CS4 Portugal implemented one unit activity (food cards) over five lessons (60 minutes each).

The case studies detail a range of implementations and adaptations, and the skills assessed vary from focusing entirely on working collaboratively in CS5 Portugal, to assessment of each of the SAILS inquiry skills and competencies in CS2 Hungary. The assessment methods described include on-the-fly interactions and structured dialogue, teacher observation, evaluation of worksheets and student devised materials and self-assessment (in CS4 Portugal).

The inquiry approach used across the case studies was guided inquiry, as the teachers felt that they needed to introduce some ideas about nutrition and diet before the students commenced the activities. The teachers then set the inquiry question and the students worked collaboratively on the various activities.

In all case studies, the students worked in groups. All schools, except that of CS3 Ireland, were mixed gender, while the Irish school was a girls’ school. No specific choices were made by the teacher as to how to group the students for the activities beyond whom the teacher felt would work well together.

In each of the case studies, the students explicitly or implicitly dealt with the concept of healthy diets and food choice. CS2 and CS5 (both Hungary) carried out most of the activities in the unit, with CS5 Hungary dividing some of the activities to be done by younger groups and others for older groups. In CS5 Hungary, students produced their own food labels by looking up food composition, when no food labels were available for the activity. In the other case studies, the teachers chose particular aspects and activities for implementation.

While for several of the classes an inquiry learning approach was a relatively new approach, it was clear that teachers had begun to look at opportunities for formative assessment as well as documenting summative achievements. Perhaps one of the most relevant findings was that students enjoyed and were motivated by the inquiry activities and the teachers seemed relatively confident in both facilitating the inquiry and assessing it.

In the various implementations, several different approaches to assessment were taken and different skills were identified for assessment. All case studies used the context of nutrition and making healthy food choices to introduce the topic, but did not necessarily assess students on this, instead focusing on development of inquiry skills. Most commonly used assessment methods were on-the-fly interactions, structured dialogue and evaluation of students’ worksheets or other artefacts.

Below you can find the full inquiry and assessment unit for download (excluding the case studies), as well as an archive containing all the case studies.

Unit booklet Case studies

CS1 Turkey

Concept focus	Proportional reasoning Vitamin C content in everyday foods
Activities implemented	Packed lunches Testing for vitamin C
Inquiry skills assessed	Developing hypotheses Working collaboratively
Scientific reasoning	Proportional reasoning Drawing conclusions
Assessment methods	Classroom dialogue Teacher observation Worksheets
Level	Lower
Age	11-12
Prior experience with inquiry	Some experience

Two activities from the Food and food labels SAILS inquiry and assessment unit were chosen for implementation, seeking to develop students’ skills in scientific reasoning, developing hypotheses and working collaboratively. Students were guided using a worksheet, which included a chart for recording results. The teacher tried to assess the research process, through observation of the class as they worked, and provided formative feedback. Evaluation of student worksheets allowed for further assessment of skills.

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CS2 Hungary

Concept focus	Composition and nutritional values of foods Designing a healthy meal
Activities implemented	Packed lunches Food cards The washing line Testing for vitamin C
Inquiry skills assessed	Planning investigations Developing hypotheses Forming coherent arguments Working collaboratively
Scientific reasoning	Proportional reasoning Collecting data
Scientific literacy	Analysis and interpretation of data
Assessment methods	Classroom dialogue Worksheets
Level	Lower
Age	14
Prior experience with inquiry	No experience

This case study describes full implementation of the Food and food labels inquiry and assessment unit, with modifications to fit with the level of the students and availability of materials. The skills assessed were scientific reasoning, planning investigations, forming coherent arguments and working collaboratively. The teacher prepared four-level rubrics for assessment of these skills, observed students during the activities and gave feedback on-the-fly.

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CS3 Ireland

Concept focus	Making informed food choices Developing inquiry skills
Activities implemented	Food cards
Inquiry skills assessed	Forming coherent arguments Working collaboratively
Assessment methods	Classroom dialogue Student devised materials
Level	Lower
Age	12-14
Prior experience with inquiry	No experience

One activity from the Food and food labels SAILS inquiry and assessment unit was chosen for implementation as a class discussion. The students were given some food labels, and the research question “What do you think junk food is?” was posed. The students’ skills in forming coherent arguments and working collaboratively were assessed. Students completed a placemat summary sheet in small groups and the teacher engaged in dialogue to ensure all students contributed. Formative feedback was provided through a whole class discussion.

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CS4 Portugal

Concept focus	Nutritional composition of food Making healthy food choices
Activities implemented	Food cards
Inquiry skills assessed	Working collaboratively
Scientific reasoning	Problem-solving
Assessment methods	Classroom dialogue Teacher observation Self-assessment Student devised materials Presentations
Level	Upper
Age	14-19
Prior experience with inquiry	No experience

Students were asked to address a real-world problem – how might their school prepare “healthy snack kits,” as there was no cafeteria available. The teacher focused on the inquiry skill of working collaboratively, which was assessed through observation using an observation grid and students were assigned a performance using a four-level rubric. The teacher discussed the criteria with the students in advance. In addition, summative assessment was carried out, which included a contribution from working collaboratively.

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CS5 Hungary

Concept focus	Nutritional composition of food Making healthy food choices
Activities implemented	Food cards The washing line Testing for vitamin C
Inquiry skills assessed	Planning investigations Working collaboratively
Scientific reasoning	Making reasoned decisions
Scientific literacy	Critical thinking Collection and analysis of scientific data
Assessment methods	Classroom dialogue Teacher observation Worksheets Student devised materials
Level	Lower Upper
Age	14-16
Prior experience with inquiry	Some experience

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Food and food labels

From foods to meals – making choices