Exploring Sugarcane Origins

Overview

In this first lesson of the unit From Farm to Table: Sugar, students explore sugarcane as a source of sugar through shared reading of The Sugarcane Harvester Song. They listen for key ideas, discuss the journey from farm to table, and connect sugar with familiar foods.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• listen and respond to a shared song and information about sugarcane
• identify where sugar comes from
• sequence simple stages in the journey from farm to table
• share personal connections to foods containing sugar
• help create a class question for the unit investigation

Success criteria

• I can say where sugar begins.
• I can talk about something I learned from the song.
• I can show that sugar travels from a farm to people’s tables.
• I can name a food or drink I eat that may contain sugar.

Curriculum links

• QCAA English — Unit 1: Organise and sequence subject matter to achieve particular purposes.
• QCAA English — Unit 2: Organise and sequence subject matter to achieve particular purposes.
• QCAA English as an Additional Language — Unit 1, Responding to and creating texts: Use strategies for planning, editing and refining.
• Students practise listening, speaking, responding to a text, using topic vocabulary and sequencing ideas for a shared purpose.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Wondering hook. Display a picture of a sugar cube beside a sugarcane field using the opening mystery image. Ask, “What could these two things have in common?” Students quietly observe, turn to a partner and share a prediction. Collect a few ideas without confirming the answer.

2. 5–15 min · Shared reading and listening. Introduce The Sugarcane Harvester Song and explain that students will listen for clues about where sugar comes from. Open the shared-reading slides and sing or read the song aloud twice, using actions for words such as “grow”, “cut”, “carry” and “table”; students join in with repeated lines and actions.

3. 15–23 min · Talk about meaning. Revisit selected lines from the song with the song discussion slides. Ask: “Where does sugarcane grow?”, “What happens to the cane?”, “Who or what helps move it?”, and “Where might sugar be used?” Students use partner talk, then contribute answers while the teacher records simple words and drawings on the board. Clarify that sugarcane is a tall plant grown on farms and that sugar is made from the cane.

4. 23–33 min · Build the journey. Show four large picture stages on the farm-to-table sequence slides: sugarcane grows, cane is harvested, sugar is made and packed, and people use sugar in foods or drinks. Model the sequence language “first”, “next”, “then” and “finally”. In groups of five, students use the pictures on the farm-to-table picture sequence sheet to retell the journey, placing or drawing the stages in order. Each group rehearses one sentence to explain its sequence.

5. 33–40 min · Make connections. Display familiar foods and drinks on the food connection slides. Students think of one food or drink they have eaten, tell a partner and explain whether they think it might contain sugar. Invite several students to share. Emphasise that foods can contain naturally occurring sugars or added sugar, and that today’s focus is where sugar begins rather than judging foods as “good” or “bad”.

6. 40–45 min · Plenary and question wall. Return to the opening question, “How does sugar get from the farm to our table?” Students help construct a class response using the sequence words. Ask each student to draw or dictate one thing they learned on the learning reflection box. Finish by displaying the unit question on the closing question slide and explain that the class will investigate it across the unit.

Resources

• The Sugarcane Harvester Song teacher copy
• the sugarcane introduction and discussion deck
• the farm-to-table picture sequence and reflection sheet
• Board or large paper
• Markers
• Four enlarged farm-to-table picture cards
• Pencils and crayons
• Class question wall or display space

Assessment

• Listen during partner and group talk for students who can identify sugarcane, describe its farm origin and use sequence words.
• Observe each group’s picture sequence and ask students to explain one stage using a complete idea or supported sentence.
• Collect or view the reflection box. Check whether students can represent one learning point and connect sugar with a familiar food or drink.

Differentiation

• Provide realia or clear visuals, gestures and repeated oral sentence frames: “Sugar starts at the ___.” “First ___, then ___.” “I eat or drink ___.”
• Allow students to draw, point, act or dictate responses rather than requiring independent writing. Scribe children’s ideas where needed.
• Pair students strategically and rehearse answers before whole-class sharing. Support EAL learners by pre-teaching sugarcane, farm, harvest, factory, pack and table with pictures.
• Extend confident speakers by asking them to explain why the stages must occur in a particular order or to add a stage they think may occur between the farm and the table.