Choclate & Chips 'The Project'

'Chocolate & Chips'

‘Chocolate & Chips’ is an eTwinning project designed to promote a healthy diet, lifestyle, and enjoyable exercise for Nursery and Infant children. (4-6yo) Pedagogical exchange, team working and practical curriculum development through the use of ICT were high on the list of priorities for the staff involved.

'Chocolate & Chips' addressed many of the curriculum targets and objectives in both partner schools, while significantly enriching and motivating both pupils and staff through this unique and exciting European dimension. The ability of pupils to compare and contrast the Mediterranean diet with a Northern European diet enabled healthy choices to be presented and an enjoyable but deeper understanding of the importance of good, balanced nutrition and active, healthy lifestyles.

Language and music activities involving the exchange of action songs, using digital video, enabled pupils to experience and try using each other’s language and exposed both sets of children to their European partner’s language and culture. This was particularly important for initiating early second European language skills contextualised within the wider citizenship agenda. Presentations were constructed by the Nursery and Early Years children and staff using software, digital photos, and simple sentences sharing information about each other.

Through the focus of structured play, games and dance the children experienced at first hand health promoting activities, then with the use of ICT exchanged presentations, digital photos and digital video of their activities. Children then tried out some of their partner’s activities and games in their playground. The level of staff support for both scribing and using ICT was proportionate to the age of the pupils, however children were contributing to the creation of the presentations as well as being exposed to the broad range of ICT in the pre school and early infant classes including digital stills and video cameras.

Many creative elements of the curriculum were addressed through the exchange of health and activity related drawings, pictures, fruit and vegetable prints and food pyramids which were scanned or digitally photographed and electronically sent attached to emails. ‘Art Galleries’ of the partnership children’s work were displayed in both schools. Personal hygiene and food hygiene issues were able to be addressed through fun activities of tasting different foods and fruits and trying alternative national meals and less familiar foods. The activities were also designed to reinforce the development of ‘sharing’ as a concept for the young children both within their class and between partner classes. Personal and Social Development curricular targets were addressed through this European partnership and these activities.

‘Chocolate & Chips’ enabled the early science curriculum to be addressed through the children comparing and contrasting changes in their bodies before and after exercise activities. The exercise activities reflected the play, games or cultural dance of both European partners. Taste and smell activities related to the foods, vegetables and fruits were an effective and fun ways of complimenting the science curriculum.

‘Chocolate & Chips’ was designed with a specific focus of European pedagogical exchange at the heart of the project. Staffs in both schools were in regular contact developing joint lesson plans and curriculum ideas then delivering and evaluating them. Team working between the European schools was firmly established and the regular exchange of pedagogical ideas and philosophies benefited both groups of children and staff.

Motivation among the children was very high and the excitement and anticipation of receiving items from their partner school’s children ensured positive engagement. Providing a wider audience for curricular activities outside the classroom had a very positive effect on the children’s day to day motivation.

Example: Activity 5 – Food Pyramid

Learning Objective
To identify which foods should be eaten regularly, should be eaten sometimes and which should be eaten rarely, to keep healthy.
Resources
Large 2D paper pyramid with a green, orange and red section.
Coloured pencils, scissors and glue.
Activity
Discuss with children foods that should be eaten daily to keep healthy – 5 portions of fruit and veg.
What foods should we eat occasionally?
What foods should we eat rarely?
Show children paper pyramid. Discuss different coloured sections and how they relate to eating healthily.
ie red section – foods to be eaten rarely
orange section – foods to be eaten sometimes
green section – foods to be eaten everyday
Hand out pictures of a range of different types of foods.Children colour, cut out and then stick onto the appropriate section of the food pyramid.

The strong ICT element was supported by the school managements and other colleagues in both the schools. Sequences of lesson plans were produced by the teachers and are a legacy which can be made available to others wishing to use this project idea. A new Nursery/Early Years project between our schools and with others in Europe has been planned and is at the early stages of implementation. This attests to the continued commitment to collegiate European working between staff and pupils in both schools.

‘Chocolate & Chips’ was awarded both a UK and Maltese eTwinning Quality Label. The project also achieved a UK National Award for 2006 and the prize funds were used for staff to visit their partner school in Malta to meet their partners.

‘Chocolate & Chips’ : An eTwinning Project for Nursery/ Early Years between Cauldeen Primary School UK and Dun Guzepp Zerafa Primary School Malta.
Teacher: Marsalidh Chapman Teacher: Miriam Schembri