SugarByHalf - Guardians of the Gums - Advertising

SugarByHalf - Guardians of the Gums - Advertising

Lesson 4 of 5 in this unit

  • Primary
  • Foundation
  • Year 1 - 2
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Lesson summary

‘No added sugar’ – a phrase advertisers love to use to convince us something is healthy. But what about the sugar that’s already there?
Students will study some of the convincing language and tricky terminology advertisers use, as well as how to look up nutrition labels to get the real story. Students will then demonstrate their understanding by creating their own drink label and advertisement.

Learning intentions:

Students will...

  • understand some strategies companies use to advertise their products
  • know how to find the true nutritional value of foods.

Success criteria:

Students can...

  • compare and contrast the differences between healthy and less healthy occasional foods
  • identify 'convincing' words in a piece of food advertising copy
  • find the nutritional label on a piece of food packaging and figure out the information there
  • think critically and creatively to demonstrate their understanding by creating their own convincing advertising.

Lesson guides and printables

Lesson Plan
Teacher Content Info

Lesson details

Curriculum mapping

Australian curriculum content descriptions: 

Lesson & Curriculum Details

To view our Australian Curriculum alignment click here

This lesson is part of the wider unit of work SugarByHalf – Guardians of the Gums – Early Learning to Year 2

Time required: 45 mins

Level of teacher scaffolding: High – read the story, facilitate class discussion. Students will require a high level of support with design and communication choices during independent work.

Resources required

  • Art supplies – coloured pencils and textas
  • Device capable of creating digital media, such as an iPad or Laptop (optional) – one per student
  • Device capable of presenting a video to the class
  • Fruity Juicey Advertisement
  • The Sneaky Sugar Cube story – you can read the book yourself or watch a video of it being read here
  • Worksheet – Drink Can Design

Additional info

These lessons were developed in partnership with SugarByHalf and the Australian Dental Association. Guardians of the Gums was written by Bee Healthy Stories; if you would like to see more of their stories, head to Bee Healthy Stories.

SugarByHalf promotes action to reduce sugar-related diseases so that we can live better, stronger and healthier lives.

Their message is simple: to reduce added sugar consumption by half. Eating too much added sugar is a key driver of serious health problems including obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, tooth decay, dementia and mental health conditions. A poor diet also puts children behind their peers, affecting brain development, sleep and ability to learn. Poor diet choices ultimately mean that this generation of children could be the first in modern history to live shorter lives than their parents.

Much of the added sugar in our diet comes from the processed foods and drinks we consume. On average, we consume 14-16 teaspoons of added sugar per day. Teenagers consume more than 20 teaspoons per day. The World Health Organisation says we should limit our daily added sugar intake to 6 teaspoons for good health. To put that in perspective, there are 4 grams of sugar in one teaspoon. If something has 20 grams of sugar, that's 5 teaspoons of sugar. 

This English lesson focuses on developing the skills and knowledge students need to critically consider messages about food and drink they are exposed to, thereby equipping them to be able to make healthy choices.

Talking about Health:

  • Be mindful of students who may experience weight stigma. Some students may be sensitive to conversations around weight, body size or shape. Terms including obesity, weight issues, weight-problem and fat can be stigmatising for some people because they assign blame. It is important to note individual preferences around language vary. Research has shown using the terms ‘weight’, ‘weight gain’, ‘healthy weight’, ‘unhealthy weight’, and ‘high BMI’ are preferred as better alternatives.
  • Be mindful about how you use the word ‘diet’. We recommend focussing students on the positive impacts of healthy nutrition and healthy lifestyles which help us to have stronger bodies and minds, feel good and sleep well.
  • Steer students away from any focus on appearances by communicating that appearance does not determine your worth. We recommend the fact sheets from the Butterfly Foundation on body image tips.
  • Avoid using labels such as obese or diabetic. Refer to people living with diabetes, people living with cancer, people with high BMI etc.
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