Beginner
40 mins
Teacher/Student led
+70 XP
Teacher-led from the board. Pupils do not need a device, but can follow on one.

Food Gives Us Energy to Grow

Explore how food provides the energy your body needs to grow, play and think throughout the school day. Discover the five key needs that help children stay healthy and develop well, including water, air, sleep and care.

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    1 - Getting Started ~4 mins

    Real everyday food, the fuel the lesson is about, shown plainly and closeThink about your school day. You run, you listen, you play, you think hard. What keeps you going from morning until home time?

    Hands up: what do you think gives your body the energy to do all of that?

    2 - Food Gives Us Energy ~5 mins

    Key point

    The five needs all connecting to a growing, healthy childToday's big word is energy: the go-power our body gets from food (our fuel) so we can grow, run and think.

    Where do you think most of your energy for school comes from?

    We also need more than food. Our second word is needs: the things our body must have to grow and stay well.

    Key point

    Our needs are food, water, air, sleep and care.

    3 - Where Food Energy Helps ~10 mins

    Every job on your cards needs energy from food. But do some jobs need more energy than others?

    1. Put each card on your mat, under A little energy or Lots of energy. Tell your group why.
    2. Choose the job that needs the most energy, and the job that needs the least.
    Tip

    Is your whole body moving, or just your hands and your brain? Do you puff and get hot?

    Be ready to tell the class your two choices and how you could tell.

    4 - Act Out the Energy ~4 mins

    Let's test our sort with our bodies. Does a busy job make your body work harder than a quiet job?

    1. Thinking: sit still and count back from 20 in your head. Put your hand flat on your chest. Is your heart slow or fast? Is your breathing slow or fast?
    2. Playing: stand up and copy a clapping pattern. Hand on your chest again. Any change?
    3. Running: run on the spot as fast as you can until you hear stop. Hand on your chest. What changed now?

    Whisper to your partner: which job made your body work hardest? Which job used the most energy from your food?

    5 - Needs to Grow and Stay Well ~6 mins

    Our class will build a poster: What we need to grow and stay well.

    Key point

    The five needs cards are food, water, air, sleep and care. For each one, tell us one reason it helps a child grow and stay well.

    Pupil practice · Investigation Journal
    Module 1 · Living Things: Needs, Senses, Plants and Life Cycles
    Lesson 4 · Food Gives Us Energy to Grow
    Download Investigation Journal sheet (PDF)
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