Food & Nutrition Foundations

Overview

This first lesson introduces the unit goals for cooking and nutrition. Students will learn what “food hygiene” means in practice, how nutrients support the body, and what cooking skills they will build across the eight lessons, in line with KS3 expectations for applying nutrition and cooking safely.

Learning intentions

• Students will understand the unit goals and what success looks like over the 8 lessons.
• Students will identify personal learning targets for hygiene, nutrition understanding, and cooking techniques.
• Students will use key vocabulary accurately: hygiene, nutrition, contamination, equipment, (plus 4 other core terms).
• Students will explain how contamination can happen and why safe preparation matters.

Success criteria

• I can explain what we will learn in this unit in my own words.
• I can state my personal learning target and how I will practise it.
• I can correctly use the 8 unit key vocabulary terms in sentences.
• I can describe at least one way food contamination can occur and one way to prevent it.

Curriculum links

• Cooking and nutrition: pupils should understand and apply the principles of nutrition and healthy eating.
• Cooking and nutrition: pupils should become competent in a range of cooking techniques (selecting and preparing ingredients, using utensils/equipment, applying heat, and using sensory awareness to season/combine).
• Cooking and nutrition: pupils should cook a repertoire of predominantly savoury dishes so they can feed themselves and others a healthy and varied diet (unit builds to this across lessons).
• Cooking and nutrition: pupils should understand the source, seasonality and characteristics of a broad range of ingredients (introduced as part of “food foundations” for later lessons).

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Welcome & hook. Teacher displays a “mystery lunch” scenario card (e.g., touching raw chicken then handling bread) and asks: “What could go wrong and why?” Students discuss in pairs and share one idea each.

2. 5–12 min · Unit overview (teacher input). Teacher explains the 8-lesson journey: food safety/hygiene, nutrition basics, and cooking techniques, using a simple class roadmap poster. Students follow along with a “What we will learn” mini-worksheet and highlight the three areas: safety, nutrition, cooking skills.

3. 12–20 min · Key vocabulary focus. Teacher introduces the 8 core terms on cards with a picture/gesture for each; students match term ↔ definition (or term ↔ example) in a quick rotation. Students then write one sentence per term using a provided starter frame (sentence stems on the sheet).

• Core terms (8): hygiene, nutrition, contamination, equipment, ingredients, utensils, temperature, allergens.

4. 20–28 min · Contamination mini-check (concepts). Teacher shows three short “true/false” statements about hygiene and contamination (e.g., “Wash hands after touching raw meat.” “Use the same chopping board for everything.”). Students vote using mini whiteboards or fingers, then justify one answer with a vocabulary term.

5. 28–38 min · Personal learning targets. Teacher models how to set a target using SMART-style wording for this unit (simple for Year 7): “In Lesson 3, I will… (action) so that… (reason).” Students choose one target from each strand (hygiene, nutrition, skills) and fill their target sheet.

6. 38–45 min · Exit ticket (quick assessment). Students answer two prompts:

• “What will we learn in this unit?” (2–3 sentences)
• “Use 2 vocabulary words in a hygiene explanation.” Teacher checks for vocabulary accuracy and target clarity.

Resources

• Unit roadmap poster (3 strands + 8 lesson icons)
• Vocabulary cards with pictures/gestures (8 core terms)
• Vocabulary matching worksheet + sentence-starter frames
• “Mystery lunch” scenario cards (1 per pair)
• True/false hygiene mini-cards or whiteboards
• Personal learning target sheet (hygiene / nutrition / skills)
• Exit ticket slips
• Timer and classroom hygiene routine visual (e.g., handwashing steps)
• Dyslexia-friendly reading alternatives: audio recording of instructions, larger font sentence stems, and colour overlays

Assessment

• Formative: observe vocabulary matching accuracy and listen for correct word use during discussions.
• Formative: check justifications in the true/false contamination section for correct reasoning.
• Summative-lite (exit ticket): verify students can state unit goals and apply at least two vocabulary words in a hygiene explanation.

Differentiation

• SEND support (Tier 1–2): provide a visual learning map (three strand icons) and pre-highlighted sentence starters for each vocabulary term; allow students to match term-to-definition using picture clues; provide audio read-aloud for all instructions.
• Additional SEND support (Tier 3): reduce writing demand—students complete “fill in the blanks” sentences for 4 key terms first, then attempt the remaining 4 with teacher support; offer a word bank and allow pointing/choosing answers before writing.
• Core level (Tier 2–3): students write one sentence for all 8 terms using provided stems; they create one hygiene prevention example using a model.
• Extension (advanced learners): students set a more specific target linked to later technique work (e.g., “I will explain why we change utensils to prevent cross-contamination”); they also create an additional true/false statement and justify it using vocabulary.

Dyslexia-friendly reading options (build into the lesson)

• Provide an audio version of the teacher instructions and written tasks (same wording as the handouts).
• Use larger font worksheets with generous spacing and colour-coding (safety in green, nutrition in blue, skills in orange).
• Offer “read with me” support: teacher reads the first example sentence and students echo it before independent work.