Activities
Teachers’ notes on activities
Activity 1: Diet and Nutrition Key Questions
This activity consists of a series of questions that could be used before, after or during the video, or at another appropriate time in the topic, perhaps for homework. The questions could be used as the basis for discussion or written work. Alternatively, the question sheet could be used as a stand alone activity to review the topic ‘Diet and Nutrition’. Students may find answers in a variety of sources, including the programme, the internet and reference books.
Activity 2: Diet Check
This activity encourages students to use a dietary analysis programme to compare their diet with students in other parts of the world. Dietary Analysis programmes are common on the internet but some are very slow.
The following site, Nutrition Analysis Tool 2, can be recommended:
www.nat.uiuc.edu/mainnat.html
The Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia also contains an analysis tool.
Depending on the programme used, slight adjustments may need to be made to find a food similar to that suggested on the worksheet. Thought may also be needed when considering quantities. To put 50g of a food into the Nutrition Analysis Tool 2.0, a 1g amount should be selected with the number of servings given as 50.
Activity 3: Investigating Brown Flour
In this activity, students practically investigate the absorbing powers of white and brown flour. Students will require access to white flour, wholemeal flour, funnels, filter paper, measuring cylinders and possibly a balance. To answer the questions on the sheet they may need access to additional information. This could be the suggested websites, a multimedia encyclopaedia or even the nutrition leaflets that are often provided by supermarkets.
Activity 4: Using Your Loaf
This activity asks students to carry out a survey of the nutritional content of different breads. They can use a spreadsheet to analyse their information. The teacher might prepare the spreadsheet in advance, although it is very simple and the students are given the necessary instructions to fill it in.
