Yes
for yoghurt – years 1 and 2
This material was produced by the Royal Society of New Zealand (RSNZ)
under contract to the Ministry of Education in 2000 and 2001. It was written
to assist teachers and schools in their delivery of the technology/ hangarau
curriculum statements. The project was jointly coordinated by personnel
from the Technology Education New Zealand (TENZ)
and National Association of Māori Mathematicians, Scientists and Technologists
(NAMMSAT) networks. Monitoring and evaluation of the material was carried
out by a national project advisory group.
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Written by Belinda Matthews with support from the Royal Society of
New Zealand Teaching Fellowship 2000.
The junior school teachers wanted to teach a biotechnology unit on yoghurt.
The children had a range of technology experience because of the wide
difference of time they had been at school. I had been on a year's leave
hosted by New Zealand Dairy Foods. My technology teaching background and
new yoghurt knowledge meant I could support the teaching of this unit.
In one teaching trial, I co-taught the unit in a two-day intensive. This
was really exciting as the children were focussed on the topic. Mathematics,
language, music (Little Miss Muffet, Going to Kentucky),
and art were incorporated in with the yoghurt theme. The children steered
their own learning path with this approach and it involved being prepared
for any learning experience! The other trial consisted of one afternoon
a week for four weeks. Other curriculum areas were incorporated also during
other class time. This tended to be a more teacher-controlled method of
learning.
Opportunity
Fresh'n'Fruity wants to encourage children to eat healthy foods like yoghurt.
They need to develop a new yoghurt flavour that will appeal to 5-10 year
olds. The awesome technologists at Beachlands School are the perfect choice
to help out.
Contexts
Industrial, Business, Home.
Technological
Areas
Biotechnology, Food, Production and Process, Information and Communication
Teacher
knowledge and skills required
- Hygiene requirements for food preparation and taste testing,
-
use of an Easi–Yo maker,
-
awareness of information on a label,
-
awareness that yoghurt is a living food,
-
basic knowledge of how yoghurt is made,
- establishment any lactose intolerants in the class (we also had
a child highly allergic to nuts – watch the vanilla and hazelnut
flavour!).
Introductory
Activity
Children taste tested a variety of Fresh'n'Fruity yoghurts. Results were
graphed and displayed. A food technologist was e-mailed to ascertain the
favourite flavour in the market places (apricot and strawberry). The new
entrant classes had parent help for the taste testing.
Sequence
of learning activities
Check allergies!
What is yoghurt? What do we already know? What do we want to find
out about yoghurt?
Leave pottles of yoghurt in different conditions. Observe what
happens. This takes a while. Perhaps start several weeks earlier and
keep aside.
Taste testing language –sweet like a lolly, sour like a lemon,
smooth like ice cream, crunchy, fluffy, milky. This takes some time
and if the budget permits, try foods of different textures and flavours
as a build up of taste testing language.
Taste testing: hygiene is very important. Record results on a prepared
sheet. What was our favourite flavour? Possibly survey others at home
or school to broaden results. Graph results.
How is yoghurt made? Brainstorm possible ingredients and write
as a class, "our recipe and method". One class got side–tracked
on where milk comes from. An excellent video available from New Zealand
Dairy Board is becoming slightly outdated but is simple and informative.
The children loved the fact yoghurt has bacteria in it, albeit beneficial
bacteria.
I borrowed overalls, paper hat and big gumboots from the factory
and children dressed up in these. Because of the risk of headlice
they didn't share the hat!
Brainstorm favourite flavours. What could we use to make these flavours?
Look at clean, empty yoghurt pots collected by. It is important
to differentiate between dairy food (chocolate, caramel, and strawberry)
and yoghurt. Dairy food is like a dessert; yoghurt has live bacteria
in it! What information is on the label? Only year 2 students did
this, as year 1 students couldn't read it. Look at logos. Some classes
designed logos using their names, using only two colours. Which colours
stood out best? Linked to naming of own yoghurt.
Make yoghurt label for own flavour. Older children then glue these
to yoghurt pottles. Younger ones can do larger versions and display
them on wall.
Make Easi-Yo plain unsweetened yoghurt. Leave overnight.
Add chosen flavour. Taste test. Examine taste and colour. How could
this be improved or changed? Share results.
Draw flow diagram of class production method. Extension activity
- draw factory flow diagram. How is it different?
Brainstorm –What do we now know about yoghurt? Revisit.
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