Students in this course have been working on developing critical thinking skills and each week are given different topics to research and discuss. At the end of the class, students will choose one topic and work as a group to create a video-project about this issue which will be used for assessment. Assessment criteria was negotiated with the students. This class deals with the issue of food. For the demonstration class I have cut the video down and reduced the time for discussion, but in the full class more time would be spent preparing the students for the task and they would have been given topics to research for homework.
This issue is important to our society as too many people take for granted the large quantities of meat that are available each day. Usually we only eat the prime-cuts of meat as well, especially chicken, such as breast and leg. As a result, the extreme demand for cheap and quick meat, has led to the emergence of ethically unsound and unhealthy sources of meat rearing. People may argue that these things are necessary evil, but in fact the health risks far outweigh the benefits. Other health risks include immunity to antibiotics and increased risk of cancer.
What makes it CLIL?
Because the focus of the class is to teach the students something about Food and Food issues, to raise awareness, critical thinking and higher order thinking skills. The focus of this class (and the entire course) is not only language for its own sake but also the content knowledge is part of the learning aims.Content knowledge is assessed and used to grade the students for the course, not only language skills.
1. CLIL Demo Lesson
TTCLIL_Food_Handout.docx 1
Food Sources and You
Warm-up
Decide if the following are positive, negative or neutral. Check any words that you don’t know in a
dictioary.
1. Organic farming is increasing by 20 per cent a year in France, Japan and the United States.
2. Sixty million people (the same number who starve to death worldwide every year) could be fed
with the savings in grains and soybeans if Americans reduced their meat consumption by 10 per
cent.
3. Between 30 and 40 per cent of kitchen waste in Japan is leftover food; 14 per cent is still just as it
was when it was purchased.
4. Every day, 790 million people do not get enough food.
5. More and more people - including some 150 million people in Europe - are either becoming
vegetarians or reducing their consumption of meat.
6. The British Soil Association reported in 2003 that 75 per cent of British babies now eat organic
baby food on a regular basis.
7. Number of animals eaten in Japan in a single year:
Pigs: 20 million
Chickens: 800 million
Bovines (cows, etc.): 1.5 million
(Exercise and statistics taken from Summerville (2006) Looking Back, Moving
Forward. Macmillan Language House)
Brainstorm: What are some of the problems with modern day agriculture and farming?
Consequences
1. Do you ever think about where your
food comes from?
2. Where are all the cows in Tokyo that
go into your beef burgers?
3. Where are all the millions of chickens
whose meat we eat each day?
4. What are the environmental
consequences of producing so much
food for so many people?
You are what you eat?
Do you agree that “you are what you
eat”?
How important is
food in a healthy
lifestyle?
What is the current
population of the
world? How many
will there be in 2050?
How are we feeding
so many people?
Cruelty
Do you think intensive agriculture and battery farming are cruel?
Is it wrong to kill animals for food?
Do you think that you would be a vegetarian if you had to kill the animals yourself?
2. CLIL Demo Lesson
TTCLIL_Food_Handout.docx 2
Vocabulary
Intensively reared
Organic
Free-range
Fat
Protein
Factory farm
Video
Watch the video of Hugh Fearnley-Whitingstall, British TV chef
and food campaigner. Visit http://www.chickenout.tv/
Before you watch
Is chicken a healthy meat?
Is chicken a good source of protein?
What is omega-3? Why is it important to us?
Now watch the video. Do you want to change your answers?
While you watch
1. People think they are getting _ _ _ _ _ _ _ when they buy cheap
chicken but in fact they are getting _ _ _ .
2. Which organ in our bodies needs omega-3
a. Brain
b. Stomach
c. Skin
3. What three things do chickens need to produce Omega-3?
a. G_ _ _ _ _
b. E_ _ _ _ _ _ _
c. T _ _ _
4. Chicken is now, bite for bite as _ _ _ _ _ as a _ _ _ _ _ _.
5. Organic Free-Range chickens contain ___times more omega-3 and
___% less fat than standard intensively reared chickens.
6. The levels of omega-3 in chicken has dropped ___% since the 19___s.
After you watch
What is the most shocking thing about the video?
What could happen if we don't eat enough omega-3?
Happy animals
There are lots of good online places such as: http://www.rakuten.co.jp/tone/ *地鶏チキン
What can we do?
Buy responsibly
Boycott certain
products
Eat one or two
vegetarian meals a
week
Tell your friends
Write letters
Post on Facebook
3. CLIL Demo Lesson
TTCLIL_Food_Handout.docx 3
Teacher’s Notes and Answer Key
Course Name: Discussion on contemporary topics Lesson No. 5
Preparation
Class/Level:
Upper Intermediate (can be used with intermediate if more time spent on vocabulary and
comprehension)
Students: University or High-School
Time: 90 minutes
Aim:
To teach students about the value of eating well and to think more critically about the food they eat
and where it comes from. To practice listening to a food/documentary program and answer
comprehension questions. To practice speaking about food issues which are relevant to our society
Materials: Video. Handout.
Instructions
Open
Explain the structure of today’s class and the aim
Do the warm-up activity with the students – students have to rate if they think each item is
positive, negative or neutral.
Show a picture of some rotting food. Ask students if they would eat it. Next, show a pictre of a
battery farm chicken. Ask the same question. Ellicit a negative reaction to the food, then explain
that students have already eaten hundreds of chickens that look like that.
Discuss the Consequences questions in groups. Feedback from the groups and then discuss the
You are what you eat questions in the same way. – note world population is currently 7.09 Billion
and is expected to reach 11 billion by 2050
Discuss the Cruelty questions. Show pictures of intensively reared animals
Middle
Watch the video of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall from River Cottage Spring. Do the video
comprehension questions in order, before, during (answers at the end) and after.
Give students the chance to discuss their response and reaction to the video. Encourage follow up
questions and then ask them to make a list of things they can do to improve their diet and support
free-range produce.
Close
Show the students the link to a place where they can buy free-range food. Set-up the homework
task.
Review main points of class and sum-up
Set-up next class
Homework/Assignment:
Prepare for next class. Try some free-range chicken and compare the taste. Post a
comment online about free-range chicken in Japan.
Additional Activities
Meal Plan
Is there any way that you could avoid battery farmed products in your diet for a week?
Make a meal plan
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
4. CLIL Demo Lesson
TTCLIL_Food_Handout.docx 4
Answer Key
world population is currently 7.09 Billion and is expected to reach 11 billion by 2050
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall Video – River Cottage Spring, episode 5 31.56 – 38.25
Is chicken a healthy meat? – Yes and no. People think of it as a good source of protein, but it is no longer healthy
now that it is intensively reared.
Is chicken a good source of protein? – Again, as above. This used to be the case but levels have dropped
What is omega-3? Why is it important to us? Omega-3 is a fatty acid often found in oily fish and other sources
foods which many scientists beleive helps brain functions and development.
Comprehension Questions
1. People think they are getting protein when they buy cheap chicken but in fact they are getting fat.
2. Which organ in our bodies needs Omega-3
a. Brain
b. Stomach
c. Skin
3. What three things do chickens need to produce Omega-3?
a. Greens (and grubs and bugs that live in them)
b. Exercise (to develop the dark muscle meat)
c. Time (to grow, length of life)
4. Chicken is now, bite for bite as fatty as a burger.
5. Organic Free-Range chickens contain 10 times more omega-3 and 25% less fat than standard intensively
reared chickens.
6. The levels of Omega-3 in chicken has dropped 85% since the 1970s.
After you watch
What is the most shocking thing about the video? Students should have their own answers.
What could happen if we don't eat enough omega-3? Cases of mental ill health will rise. The professor says
mental health will be in the top 3 burdens of ill health, not just in Europe but worldwide.
Rationale/Syllabus Fit
Students in this course have been working on developing critical thinking skills and each week are given different topics to
research and discuss. At the end of the class, students will choose one topic and work as a group to create a video-project
about this issue which will be used for assessment. Assessment criteria was negotiated with the students. This class deals
with the issue of food. For the demonstration class I have cut the video down and reduced the time for discussion, but in
the full class more time would be spent preparing the students for the task and they would have been given topics to
research for homework.
This issue is important to our society as too many people take for granted the large quantities of meat that are available
each day. Usually we only eat the prime-cuts of meat as well, especially chicken, such as breast and leg. As a result, the
extreme demand for cheap and quick meat, has led to the emergence of ethically unsound and unhealthy sources of meat
rearing. People may argue that these things are necessary evil, but in fact the health risks far outweigh the benefits. Other
health risks include immunity to antibiotics and increased risk of cancer.
What makes it CLIL?
Because the focus of the class is to teach the students something about Food and Food issues, to raise awareness,
critical thinking and higher order thinking skills. The focus of this class (and the entire course) is not only language for its
own sake but also the content knowledge is part of the learning aims.Content knowledge is assessed and used to grade
the students for the course, not only language skills.