Ten new lesson plans, catering for Years 1-6, have been developed for New Zealand teachers by The 5+ A Day Charitable Trust and now include interactive eBooks which students can use in the classroom and at home.
The 5+ A Day education resources will be sent to all primary schools nationwide this term to help teach Kiwi kids the importance of eating fresh fruit and vegetables.
“5+ A Day has been developing free curriculum-linked print resources for many years but these new ones have been developed by global education experts Cognition Education Group,” explains 5+ A Day Project Manager Carmel Ireland. “Supplementary material is available online including new digitally interactive eBooks which we’ve never done before and are quite excited about.
“The print and online resources are engaging, colourful and promote fruit and vegetable consumption by using lots of different topics which are linked to The New Zealand Curriculum through health and physical education, literacy, numeracy, and science.”
5+ A Day’s mascot, Fredge, is the star of five new eBooks which can be experienced on tablets, computers, or with the whole class using a data projector. Each title is designed to be used as part of one of the lessons, as an introduction, or to help reinforce key ideas through small group or independent use.
“At the younger levels, we explore topics like growing seeds and germination, and help build the link between eating well and performing well,” Carmel explains. “For older students, we introduce topics like composting and companion planting for pest control, as well as the social aspects of preparing food and the seasonality of fruit and vegetables.”
Carmel says the new digital component will allow children to work in small groups in the classroom and either repeat or further explore the topic at home and talk to their parents about healthy eating habits.
“Repetition is good for reading and learning and we certainly hope these lessons will be used widely to teach children why it’s important to eat five or more servings of fresh fruit and vegetables every day for good health.
As well as the eBooks, each lesson is supported by colourful student materials such as fact files and graphic organisers. Learning intentions, possible achievement objectives, preparation, lesson details and reflection opportunities are all mapped out for teachers who will have everything they need at their fingertips.
Sample print resource kits will be sent to 2000 primary schools at the beginning of May, and teachers can order the new resources (free of charge) from www.5adayeducation.org.nz.
“Providing quality education resources is an important part of what we do at 5+ A Day,” Carmel says. “Educating the next generation about fruit and vegetable consumption, serving sizes and seasonality is the best way to improve the health and wellbeing of our population for generations to come.”
I look forward to receiving these resources.