Essential Minerals

Overview

In this lesson (15 of 30) in “Nutrient Essentials Unlocked”, students learn what essential minerals are and how key minerals such as calcium and magnesium support the human body. They build the ability to identify at least three minerals and explain their functions.

Learning intentions

Students will be able to:

• Define “essential minerals” and explain why they are needed in the diet.
• Describe the functions of calcium, magnesium, and one other essential mineral.
• Use evidence from a short information source to match minerals to body functions.
• Communicate mineral functions clearly using scientific wording.

Success criteria

• I can identify at least three essential minerals by name.
• I can state the main role of calcium in the body.
• I can state the main role of magnesium in the body.
• I can link a third mineral to its function using correct terminology.

Curriculum links

• Understanding nutrients in food and how they support healthy functioning of the body.
• Using scientific knowledge to explain biological processes and bodily needs.
• Applying subject-specific vocabulary accurately in explanations.
• Communicating findings clearly through short written or spoken explanations.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 5 min — Starter: Quick recall

• Students do a brief “nutrient flash” prompt: What nutrients do you already know from the unit (macronutrients and at least one nutrient from earlier lessons)?
• Teacher clarifies where minerals fit alongside vitamins and nutrients.

2. 10 min — Mini-teach: Essential minerals

• Teacher explains essential minerals as nutrients the body needs but cannot make in sufficient amounts, so they must come from food.
• Cover calcium (bones/teeth, muscle contraction), magnesium (enzyme reactions, muscle and nerve function), and introduce another mineral (iron OR potassium OR sodium) as “third mineral candidates” for today.

3. 10 min — Guided reading (dyslexia-friendly options)

• Students read a short teacher-provided information sheet in one of two formats:
• a short, clearly spaced text version, or
• a chunked version with headings and sentence starters.
• They highlight only the function sentences for calcium and magnesium.

4. 12 min — Matching task: Minerals to functions

• In pairs, students complete a “function match” card set (e.g., calcium ↔ bones/teeth; magnesium ↔ enzyme reactions and muscle/nerve function; third mineral ↔ a relevant role).
• Teacher circulates using prompts such as: “What is the job of this mineral?” and “What in the text tells you?”

5. 8 min — Checkpoint: Class reasoning

• Teacher runs a rapid whole-class verification. Students justify one match each using evidence from the sheet.
• Emphasise using full explanations (mineral → body process/function → where it shows in the body).

6. 10 min — Output: 3-mineral explanation

• Individually, students write a short response: “Essential minerals are needed for… Calcium helps… Magnesium helps… [Third mineral] helps…”
• Success criteria focus: at least three minerals and correct functions for calcium and magnesium, plus a third accurate link.

7. 5 min — Exit ticket: “Name + function”

• Students submit a one-minute exit ticket:
• Name three minerals and write one function for each (brief, not essay length).
• Teacher uses this to plan next lesson grouping.

Resources

• Teacher information sheet on essential minerals (two reading formats for dyslexia-friendly access)
• Calcium, magnesium, and third mineral function card sets (cut-out cards or slides)
• Highlighters or coloured pencils
• Pair work recording sheet (blank table: Mineral → Function)
• Individual writing frame with sentence starters
• Exit ticket slips
• Timeline or simple diagram of the body systems (optional: bones/muscles/nerve diagram)
• Classroom projector or printed key terms list (mineral, essential, function, muscle, nerve, enzyme, bones/teeth)

Assessment

• Formative observation during card matching and teacher questioning at the checkpoint.
• Written response assessed against success criteria (three minerals and correct functions).
• Exit ticket reviewed for accuracy and misconceptions (especially calcium/magnesium roles).

Differentiation

• Support: Provide the chunked reading version with headings and sentence starters; allow students to use a function word bank during writing.
• Support: Offer a guided example match completed as a model before independent matching.
• Extension: Advanced learners choose the third mineral and add a second function (e.g., iron’s role beyond oxygen transport, or potassium’s role in fluid balance) and justify using the text.
• EAL/SEN: Pre-teach key words using short, concrete prompts (e.g., “calcium = bones/teeth”); allow sentence frames and oral responses before writing.

Extension (optional)

If time allows, students create a one-slide “Mineral Responsibility Chart” for three minerals (who/what it supports in the body, and what could happen if intake is too low).