Designing Healthy Wraps

Overview

Lesson 5 of 19 continues the “Culinary Skills Development” unit. Students analyse how food properties and preparation/presentation choices affect health, then plan a healthy wrap and create a worksheet that guides ingredient selection and presentation.

Learning intentions

WALT: Plan and design a healthy wrap. WALT: Create a worksheet that helps others choose ingredients for healthier eating. WALT: Match wrap ingredient choices to desired sensory features (flavour, aroma, appearance, texture) and health needs. WALT: Use technical terms and a clear graphic organiser to communicate ideas.

Success criteria

• I can choose ingredients for a healthy wrap and explain how food properties affect preparation and presentation.
• I can design a worksheet with headings, ingredient lists, and serving/presentation steps.
• I can justify at least two ingredient choices using health reasons and food property reasons.
• I can present my wrap plan clearly using a graphic organiser.

Curriculum links

• Design and Technologies: analyse how properties of foods determine preparation and presentation techniques when designing solutions for healthy eating.
• Design and Technologies: analyse how characteristics of food-related preparation methods impact sensory properties (flavour, appearance, texture, aroma) and nutrient value, and modify methods to enhance health benefits.
• Design and Technologies: generate, test and communicate design ideas using appropriate technical terms and graphical representation.
• Design and Technologies (safety/skills bridge for later making): select and justify appropriate processes/tools when preparing foods (linked to future lessons).

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Retrieve and focus. Teacher displays the unit goal (healthy wrap design) and reviews the last lesson’s shortlist criteria (healthier choices, balanced ingredients). Students do a quick write: “One ingredient property that matters for a wrap is… because…”

2. 5–15 min · Mini lesson: food properties → choices. Teacher models a “property to technique” example using everyday wrap ingredients (e.g., crisp vegetables need less time/low moisture; leafy herbs release aroma when chopped; browning/texture changes when cooked vs raw; whole grains affect chew/texture). Students complete a 3-box scaffold: Ingredient / Food property / Planned presentation.

3. 15–25 min · Graphic organiser planning (differentiation provided). Teacher introduces today’s worksheet template (printed or digital) with clear sections:

• Wrap name and health goal (e.g., higher fibre, lower added sugar, more vegetables)
• Base, protein, vegetables, flavour boosters, optional sauces (with “healthier choice” prompt)
• Preparation/presentation steps (include at least one technique choice)
• “Justification” box (2–3 sentences) Students use a graphic organiser to draft their wrap plan. Teacher circulates and checks that each student includes food property reasoning (not only taste).

4. 25–40 min · Worksheet creation: design and communication. Teacher demonstrates how to use technical terms (e.g., sauté, steam, roast, mince, slice, julienne, fold, garnish) and how to present steps clearly (numbered stages, consistent headings, arrows/diagrams if helpful). Students finalise their worksheet design and label where each ingredient fits in the wrap. Teacher uses a short checklist while observing:

• Ingredients are grouped clearly
• Steps show how presentation affects sensory experience
• At least two justifications are linked to properties/health

5. 40–50 min · Peer critique: “Glow, Grow, Why”. Students swap worksheets with a partner. Partner feedback prompts:

• Glow: one thing that looks healthy and appealing
• Grow: one ingredient or step to improve
• Why: one question asking for the reason linked to food properties or health Teacher provides sentence starters for support.

6. 50–58 min · Whole-class share-outs (2–3 wraps). Teacher selects a few students (volunteers) to share their wrap name, health goal, and one food property justification. Class contributes one improvement suggestion using “because it affects…”

7. 58–60 min · Exit ticket. Students answer: “My wrap plan includes one technique because it changes (flavour/texture/aroma/appearance/nutrient value) by…” and submit.

Resources

• Printed worksheet template with graphic organiser sections (or a digital equivalent)
• Ingredient cards (vegetables, proteins, grains/wraps, flavour boosters, sauces) for reference
• Example student model (annotated) showing property-to-technique justification
• Highlighters/colour pencils for ingredient categories
• Sentence starter strip for justifications and peer feedback
• Timer and checklist rubric (teacher-facing)
• Dyslexia-friendly reading supports: large-font instruction sheets, short paragraphs, clear icons/symbols, reduced text slides

Assessment

• Formative during planning: teacher checks each student includes at least two “ingredient choice → property/technique → presentation” links.
• Peer critique quality: listen for feedback that asks “why” and refers to properties (not only preferences).
• Exit ticket: verify understanding that preparation/presentation affects sensory outcomes and/or nutrient value.

Differentiation

• Support:
• Provide a pre-filled partially completed worksheet (one example per category) and require students to choose the remaining options.
• Offer sentence starters: “I chose ___ because ___.” “To improve texture, I will ___.” “For aroma, I will ___.”
• Use icon-based headings (🥬 vegetables, 🍗 protein, 🌾 base, 🌿 flavour).
• Provide dyslexia-friendly format: large font, generous spacing, consistent layout, and colour-coding for sections.
• Extension (advanced learners):
• Include an “ingredient swap challenge”: propose one substitution to improve nutrient value (e.g., keep flavour but change sauce type or base grain) and justify using food properties and health reasons.
• Add an optional cultural wrap add-on: research and propose a culturally inspired wrap with at least one technique that supports nutrient retention and palatability.
• EAL learners:
• Allow oral rehearsal with a partner before writing the justification.
• Provide a word bank of technical terms and common action verbs for techniques.
• SEN adjustments:
• Reduce writing load by permitting labels plus a single two-sentence justification.
• Provide checklists and step-by-step instructions with visual cues.

Extension (optional)

• Cultural wraps: Students choose one cultural wrap idea and identify one key preparation/presentation technique that would suit the food properties (e.g., stir-fry for crisp-tender vegetables, roasting for deeper flavour, steaming for moisture retention). They add a short “Cultural technique” note to their worksheet.