Lesson Plan: Food Keeps us Fit and Healthy (Class 3 – Our World)

Subject: Environmental Studies (EVS) / Science Topic: Food Keeps us Fit and Healthy Grade Level: Class 3 Time Allotment: 6 Periods (approx. 35-40 minutes each)

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this lesson, pupils will be able to:

• Identify the need for food for all living things.
• Recognize various foods available from plants and animals.
• Know that food is essential for birds and animals.
• Know the process of cooking food.

Materials Required:

• Textbook: “Food Keeps us Fit and Healthy (E).pdf” (Class 3 – Our World)
• Chart paper, markers, crayons/color pencils
• Pictures/flashcards of various food items (fruits, vegetables, grains, milk, eggs, meat)
• Pictures of different cooking methods (boiling, frying, steaming, roasting) and utensils
• Real examples of some raw and cooked food items (e.g., a raw carrot, a cooked potato – for demonstration, not tasting)
• Whiteboard/Blackboard

Period-wise Breakdown:

Period 1: Introduction to Food & Why We Eat Food

Objective: To introduce the concept of food and understand its basic need for all living things.

Introduction (5 minutes):

• Begin with a warm greeting: “Good morning, my healthy eaters! Today, we’re going to talk about something we all love and need every day – FOOD!”
• “Imagine a day without food. How would you feel? (Tired, hungry, no energy). Yes, food is super important!”

Activity 1: Storytelling & Discussion (15 minutes):

• Read aloud the story of John’s picnic with his family (Page 86).
• Observe the picture of the picnic (Page 86).
• Ask questions:
  • “What did John’s family eat at the picnic?”
  • “What food items did you eat yesterday?” (Encourage sharing).
• Make this a quick, interactive class survey. Ask a few students to share their meals for different times of the day, and note down a few common items on the board. This makes the activity more engaging and immediately relatable.

Activity 2: Why Do We Eat Food? (15 minutes):

• Read the story about John feeling hungry during a long journey (Page 88).
• Discuss: “Have you ever gone to school without taking breakfast? How did you feel?”
• Explain the importance of food: “If we do not take food, we cannot play, sit in the class, or work. Food gives us energy. We have to eat food to work, grow and stay alive.” (Page 88).
• Discuss: “Do people of all age groups eat the same kind of food?” (Lead into next period’s topic).

Closure (3-5 minutes):

• Summarize: “Today, we learned that food is essential for us to have energy, grow, and stay healthy. It’s like fuel for our bodies!”
• Preview: “Next time, we’ll discover that not everyone eats the same kind of food, and where our food comes from!”
• Homework: Ask students to list three reasons why they think food is important for them.

Period 2: Food for Different Age Groups & Sources (Plants)

Objective: To recognize that food needs vary by age and identify food obtained from plants.

Recap (5 minutes):

• “Good morning, everyone! Who can tell me one reason why we need to eat food? Great!”

Activity 1: Food for Different Age Groups (15 minutes):

• Read the story about John wanting to give peanuts to his infant brother and grandfather (Page 90).
• Discuss: “Why did mother stop John from giving peanuts to his brother? Why does John’s grandfather eat soft food?”
• Explain: “Infants don’t have teeth, and old people may lose their teeth. So, they need milk or soft food. Food habits change according to age.” (Page 90).
• Guide students to fill the table on “Food for different age groups” (Page 90). Clarify that filling this table is a homework activity, to be completed after the class discussion. This ensures students have time to ask their elders and brings real-world data into the next class.

Activity 2: Food from Plants (15 minutes):

• Introduce: “We get food from plants and animals.” (Page 90).
• Focus on Food from Plants: “We eat different parts of plants as food.” (Page 94).
• Discuss examples of edible plant parts:
  • Roots: Carrot, Beetroot, Radish, Potato (Page 94).
  • Stems: Ginger, Sugarcane (Page 94).
  • Leaves: Amaranthus, Drumstick leaves, Spinach, Curry leaves (Page 94).
  • Grains/Seeds: Paddy (Rice), Wheat, Pearlmillet, Cashew, Peas, Groundnuts, Pulses (redgram, greengram, blackgram) (Page 94, 98).
• Ask: “Is cabbage a flower or a leaf?” (Page 94). Instead of simply clarifying, turn this into a mini-discovery moment. Ask students to observe a picture of cabbage or, if possible, a real cabbage, and encourage them to guess based on its appearance. Then, confirm the answer and explain why it’s considered a leaf.

Closure (3-5 minutes):

• Summarize: “Today, we learned that food is different for different ages, and we get so many wonderful foods like roots, stems, leaves, and grains from plants!”
• Preview: “Tomorrow, we’ll continue exploring food from plants, focusing on fruits and flowers, and then move on to food from animals!”
• Homework: Ask students to list 5 food items they eat that come from plants.

Period 3: Food from Plants (Fruits & Flowers) & Identifying Vegetables

Objective: To continue exploring food from plants, focusing on fruits and flowers, and to practice identifying common vegetables.

Recap (5 minutes):

• “Hello, my budding botanists! Who can name one root vegetable and one leafy vegetable we discussed yesterday? Excellent!”

Activity 1: Fruits and Flowers as Food (15 minutes):

• Discuss Flowers as Food: “We eat the flowers of banana and cauliflower. Cloves (lavanga) are flavored buds. Saffron flowers are used in special food items.” (Page 96).
• Discuss Fruits as Food: “We love to eat fruits like mango, orange, jackfruit, papaya, apple, banana, grapes, muskmelon and watermelon.” (Page 96).
• Ask: “Do all fruits taste sweet? We must eat all fruits. They give us good health.” (Page 96).
• Clarify: “Tomato and cucumber are also fruits, but we eat these as vegetables.” (Page 96).

Activity 2: Identifying Vegetables (15 minutes):

• Activity (Page 92-93): “Identify the vegetables and write their names. Use the help box.” Enhance this activity to make it more interactive. Instead of just naming, turn it into a ‘Vegetable Detective’ game. Show pictures of vegetables one by one and ask students to describe their color, shape, and texture before revealing the name. This encourages observation skills. Guide students to identify and name brinjal, ladies finger, bottle gourd, cauliflower, onion, cucumber, beetroot, bittergourd, cabbage, drumstick. This can be done as a class activity or individually.

Closure (3-5 minutes):

• Summarize: “Today, we discovered that even flowers can be food, and we explored many delicious fruits! We also practiced identifying lots of common vegetables.”
• Preview: “Tomorrow, we’ll learn about food that comes from animals and discuss the difference between raw and cooked food!”
• Homework: Draw your favorite fruit and your favorite vegetable.

Period 4: Food from Animals & Raw vs. Cooked Food

Objective: To identify food obtained from animals and differentiate between raw and cooked food.

Recap (5 minutes):

• “Good morning, food detectives! Who can name one fruit that we eat? And one vegetable that is actually a fruit?”

Activity 1: Food from Animals (15 minutes):

• Introduce Food from Animals: “We eat eggs and meat as our food. We drink milk.” (Page 98).
• Discuss sources of milk: Cows, goats, buffaloes (Page 98).
• Discuss milk products: Curd, ghee, butter, cheese (Page 98).
• Discuss eggs and meat: Hens and ducks for eggs and meat. Sheep, goat, pig, buffalo for meat (Page 100).
• Discuss sea animals: Fish, prawns, crabs, snails (Page 100).
• Discuss Honey: “Bees collect nectar from flowers. They store it as honey in a comb. We get honey from honey comb.” (Page 100).

Activity 2: Raw vs. Cooked Food (15 minutes):

• Read the story about John eating raw vegetables while helping his mother (Page 100).
• Discuss: “Which vegetables can we eat directly? Can we eat brinjal without cooking?”
• Explain: “We cannot eat rice, meat etc. without cooking. We can eat some vegetables without cooking. For example: carrot, onion, cucumber (kheera) etc.” (Page 100).
• Guide students to fill the table for “Cooked” and “Raw” food items (Page 100).

Closure (3-5 minutes):

• Summarize: “Today, we learned about all the delicious food we get from animals, and the important difference between food we can eat raw and food we need to cook!”
• Preview: “Tomorrow, we’ll explore different ways we cook food and the tools we use in the kitchen!”
• Homework: List 3 food items from plants and 3 food items from animals that they eat.

Period 5: Cooking Methods & Utensils

Objective: To understand different cooking methods and identify the utensils used for them.

Recap (5 minutes):

• “Hello, my kitchen helpers! Who can name one food item we get from animals? And one food item that we must cook before eating?”

Activity 1: Why We Cook & Cooking Methods (20 minutes):

• Discuss: “Why do we cook certain items?” (Page 102).
• Explain: “Because, the food gets soft and tasty. The cooked food is easily digested. Some food items do not get easily digested when they are eaten raw.” (Page 102).
• Discuss: “Do we cook variety of food in the same way? Why?” (Page 102).
• Introduce different Cooking Methods (Page 102):
  • Boiling: (e.g., rice, eggs)
  • Frying: (e.g., papads, bajjis)
  • Roasting: (e.g., corn)
  • Steaming: (e.g., idly)
• Guide students to fill the “Cooking Method” table (Page 102). Clarify that this table should be filled as a homework assignment. Encourage students to interview their parents/guardians about different cooking methods and dishes prepared using them. In the next class, they can share their findings, making it a collaborative learning experience.

Activity 2: Identifying Utensils (10 minutes):

• Introduce Utensils: “We use utensils to cook food.” (Page 102).
• Discuss examples: Pan for frying, cooker for steaming and boiling, grill for roasting (Page 102).
• Activity (Page 102-104): “Identify the following pictures, and write for what purpose they are used.” (Pan, Idly cooker, Rice cooker, Spoon, Bowl, Slotted spoon). Guide students to identify and state their uses.

Closure (3-5 minutes):

• Summarize: “Today, we became kitchen experts! We learned why we cook food, different ways to cook, and the various utensils that help us prepare our meals.”
• Preview: “Tomorrow is our final review, where we’ll talk about good food habits and consolidate all our learning!”
• Homework: Ask students to help their parents identify 2-3 utensils in their kitchen and their uses.

Period 6: Good Food Habits & Review

Objective: To learn and practice good food habits and to review the entire lesson.

Recap (5 minutes):

• “Good morning, my wonderful class! Today is our review day! To get started, can anyone name one cooking method and one utensil used for it?”

Activity 1: Good Food Habits (15 minutes):

• Introduce “Good food habits” (Page 104).
• Read and discuss each habit with the students:
  1. Wash hands before and after having meal.
  2. Chew the food well and eat slowly.
  3. Do not leave food in plate, at home and in school.
  4. Eat all the vegetables in the sambar.
  5. Eat curry leaves and coriander in the curries.
  6. Sit properly while eating and do not spill food from plate.
  7. Wash the fruits and vegetables before eating or cooking.
• Activity (Page 104): “Read and tick ( ) the good food habits you have.” Students can self-assess.
• Discuss: “John’s family members sit together and eat. They turn off the TV and mobile phone, while eating. Why?” (Page 106). Emphasize mindful eating and family bonding.

Activity 2: Review & Project Work (15 minutes):

• Review “Key words” (Page 106): raw food, cooked food, digestion, healthy, recipe, habits. Discuss each term briefly.
• Review “What we have learnt” (Page 106) to summarize main points:
  • Food is essential to live and work.
  • Different foods are needed for different age groups.
  • We get food from plants and animals.
  • We eat various parts of plants.
  • We get milk, meat, eggs from animals.
  • We cook different food items in different methods using different utensils.
• Improve Your Learning (Page 106):
  • Conceptual Understanding: “What will happen if we do not eat food?” “Name the food items that can be eaten raw.” “What is the importance of food?”
  • Questioning: “What questions would you ask your mother to prepare Pulihora?”
• Project Work (Page 108):
  • Experiments and field observations (point 5): “Soak some greengram for three hours in water. Drain the water, shift the soaked seeds into a wet cloth and tie it tightly. Leave it over night. Open it the next day. What do you observe?” (Discuss sprouting).
  • Information skills, Projects (point 6): “Prepare a list of food you get from plants and animals in your area.”
  • Drawing pictures and model making (point 7): “Draw your favourite fruits and vegetables.”
• Appreciation (Page 108):
  • “What good food habits would you suggest to your friends?”
  • “Write two slogans on avoiding wastage of food.”

Closure (3-5 minutes):

• “Fantastic work throughout this lesson, my amazing food experts! You’ve learned so much about why food is important, where it comes from, how we prepare it, and how to eat healthily. Remember, a healthy body starts with healthy food habits! Let’s make a promise to always eat well and avoid wasting food!”

Assessment:

• Formative Assessment: Observe student participation in discussions, activities, and group work. Check their completed tables, drawings, and self-assessment of good habits.
• Summative Assessment: Review the “Improve Your Learning” questions and project work.

Differentiation:

• For advanced learners: Encourage them to research a traditional recipe from their family and write down its ingredients and steps. They could also investigate different food groups and their benefits.
• For struggling learners: Provide simplified lists of food items. Focus on identifying basic food sources (plant/animal) and 2-3 essential good food habits. Use more visual aids and repetition.

Cross-Curricular Connections:

• Language Arts: Writing recipes, slogans, and short descriptions of food.
• Art: Drawing fruits and vegetables.
• Math: Counting food items, categorizing.
• Social Studies/Culture: Discussing different food items consumed in various regions or by different families.
• Science: Understanding digestion, nutrients (briefly).

This lesson plan is designed to make learning about “Food Keeps us Fit and Healthy” a practical, engaging, and enriching experience for Class 3 pupils, promoting healthy eating habits and an appreciation for food sources.