Bring the canteen to the classroom!

As a teacher, the canteen probably isn’t top of mind. However, using the canteen when linking the classroom to the greater school environment is a great way to compliment the PDHPE curriculum. Plus, it can make learning more fun and interactive while also alerting children to the healthier, GREEN items on the canteen menu. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Stage 1 (K – year 2)

Ask the canteen staff to provide you with clean packaging from snacks sold at the canteen. Students can use the packages to classify foods by their source (i.e. dairy, meat, poultry). Keep it simple with these kids as they are likely to get confused when you start talking about more complex concepts such as vitamins and minerals.

Ask the canteen if they can supply some exciting new fruit and vegetables for the students to try. This could be done as part of Crunch & Sip or for Fruit & Veg Month.

Stage 2 (years 3 & 4)

Use canteen foods to explain the concept of paddock to plate. Talk about where foods start and where they come from before they end up being sold at the canteen.

Use the canteen menu to categorise foods into groups such as everyday vs sometimes foods and discuss why some foods are more nutritious foods than others.

Discuss why food safety & hygiene is important using the canteen’s procedures as a case study.

Stage 3 (years 5 & 6)

Use packaging from canteen products to conduct a label reading exercise. Discuss the Nutrition Information Panel and Ingredients list and how we use it to make informed decisions about foods. Also, touch on the claims found on the packaging.

During a cooking class, choose a popular recipe from the canteen to cook, using produce from the school’s garden.

Whole school

Get involved in Fruit & Veg Month! There are plenty of ways the canteen can get involved and link to what the children are learning in the classroom as part of Fruit & Veg Month. Speak to your canteen staff about selling some exotic and exciting fruits during this month and tie the produce in to classroom activities.