LITERACY THROUGH COOKING: UPPER KEY STAGE TWO
Cooking is a fantastic way to support teaching and learning within this age group. These contexts show how you can use various different types of texts alongside cooking activities, supporting key points of the curriculum.
THE CONTEXT: WRITE IN STYLE
Food writing is all around us, and the chefs, celebrities and food journalists behind the writing all use a different style and tone. Gather a range of recipe books or articles that focus on making a specific dish (eg a tomato-based sauce) then follow the instructions to make the recipe. Consider how successful each style of writing is.
Use an instructional text These include recipes, technical manuals, non-fiction texts, timetable or map directions, lists of rules, posters, notices, signs, instructions on packaging and instruction leaflets. Here are some possible authors to consider:
Nigel Slater Valentina Harris • Food descriptions linked to emotion • Organised by region • Uses rough quantities • Notes about region and agriculture • Glossy photos • Words and phrases in another • Emphasis on flavour and texture language
Delia Smith Madhur Jaffrey • Prose rather than step by step • Info on how food is eaten in India • Serving suggestions • Suggested recipe combinations • Asides to the reader • Spice glossary and illustrations
Jamie Oliver • Casual, uses slang • Personal anecdotes • Links to his TV shows www.jamieoliver.com/jamies-30-minutes-meals
THE ACTIVITIES
• In style: Explore authorial style and the use of oral and written language • Go compare: Look at a range of cookbooks and TV cooking shows to compare and contrast the styles and presentation of information • Star features: Use your findings to draw up a checklist of features that make cookbooks and food shows effective • Steal their style: Choose an author’s style and use it as a model for speaking and writing – eg a TV-style chef presentation using a video camera / writing up new recipes
WWW.FOCUSONFOOD.ORG
THE CONTEXT: FOOD MILES
In today’s global society, our food is rarely homegrown. This activity offers the chance to find out where our foods are from and the distance they’ve travelled. It also gives you the chance to discuss sustainability, supporting local producers and growing your own fruit and veg.
Use a persuasive text Examples of persuasive texts include advertisements, posters or fliers, book blurbs, newspaper or magazine articles, letters eg to the editor or editorial, propaganda leaflets, catalogues, travel brochures and political manifestoes. Here is a great text for this activity that allows you to follow the journey of a banana: • https://www.oxfam.org.uk/education/resources/go-bananas
THE ACTIVITIES
• A multinational meal: Focus on one recipe to make in class and investigate where all the ingredients have come from (remember one ingredient may contain parts from more than one country) • Map it out: Label maps to show the journey of particular foods • Headline news: Write a newspaper article to express your concern about increasing food miles. Choose examples to help make your point clearly and suggest helpful ideas to inspire us all to help cut food miles
WWW.FOCUSONFOOD.ORG
THE CONTEXT: WASTE NOT, WANT NOT
Food waste is a growing problem in today’s society, but there are plenty of ways to avoid food you’ve bought or grown going to waste. Compare modern and traditional ways to make the most of foods produced throughout the year. Some ideas include jellies and jams; butter and cheese; salting, smoking and curing; preserving in fat eg confit; bottling; freezing; canning; clamping; and freezing.
Use a report or information text Examples of report texts include information leaflets, school website pages, visitor guidebooks, magazine or newspaper articles, non-fiction books, encyclopedia entries, letters and catalogues. Suggested texts for this context include: • BBC programme Victorian Farm • Cookbooks – old and new (ask grandparents to donate books) • River Cottage Handbook No. 2, Preserves, Pam Corbin
THE ACTIVITIES
• Read up: Read a range of cookbooks and information sources about preserving food • Write idea: Write an information text on preserving, featuring recipes and instructions • Healthy profits: Preserve produce from the school garden and sell it at the school fair or farmers’ market
THE CONTEXT: WORLD FOOD
Food is an integral part of every culture – so the world offers us a wealth of food attitudes, flavours and differences to explore. Why not focus on the food of a particular country or group of countries and their food?
Suggested texts • Cookbooks and travel guides related to particular countries • COOK SCHOOL website and app (www.focusonfoodcookschool.co.uk)
THE ACTIVITIES
• Countryfile: Focusing on a country, investigate the differences in attitudes to food, food availability, cultural significance of food and seasonal and regional variations • School dinners: Compare school meals in different countries to ours • Taste of culture: Cook and try a variety of recipes from the country being studied
WWW.FOCUSONFOOD.ORG
THE CONTEXT: FOOD ADDITIVES
Many of our favourite food products (eg tomato ketchup, jams, fish fingers, cereals) contain added salt, sugar and colouring – and we might not even know it’s there. Discuss cause and effect and what can happen if we have too much salt, sugar or colouring in our diets.
Suggested explanation texts Examples of explanation texts include: Q&A articles and leaflets, letters, part of a newspaper article, encyclopedia entries, non-fiction texts, textbooks, conclusion to science experiments, technical manuals. A good text to start with is: • Food and Farming – from farm to table by R&S Spilsbury
THE ACTIVITIES
• Food detective: Find out the salt and sugar content of popular foods by looking at the ingredients on the label and watch out for ‘secret’ names for sugar (such as sucrose and fructose) and salt (such as sodium and monosodium glutamate) • Recipes reworked: Create your own low-salt or low-sugar version of a popular product (eg tomato ketchup) and design packaging to promote its health benefits • Traffic lights: Compare the nutritional profiles of different shop-bought products and compare the traffic lights to Focus on Food recipes • Ask the experts: Jigsaw activity to read texts and discuss in expert group and then feedback to the main group • Educate everyone: Produce Q & A health education leaflets based on your findings • Spot the difference: Create charts showing a comparison between factory products and home-grown or home-prepared foods
TIP: Find recipes online at www.focusonfoodcookschool.co.uk or order a Skill Up, Start Cooking pack at www.focusonfood.org
WWW.FOCUSONFOOD.ORG