Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes	Introduction
15 minutes	Part A: Sugar – The Basics
30 minutes	Part B: Jigsaw Classroom Activity – There’s More Than One Sugar!?
25 minutes	Part C: How Much Sugar?
10 minutes	Reflection

Note: In the week before delivering this lesson, advise students that they will need to identify a packaged food or drink (for instance, a bag of chips rather than an apple), and bring that product into class with them. You might want to guide students towards higher-sugar items, such as flavoured milk, sports drinks, or sugary breakfast cereals, so that students can see how sugar is presented within the nutritional information panel. We also recommend that students bring in washed, empty packaging (making sure that the nutrition information remains intact).

Introduction

Step 1.

Introduce the lesson by explaining that it will focus on the basic facts of how sugar affects our bodies.

Step 2.

Invite students to explore what they already know and think about sugar by completing the first step of the 3-2-1 Bridge visible thinking routine on the Student Worksheet.

This routine asks students to note three thoughts, two ideas, and one question about a topic. Later they will have an opportunity to connect their answers to new thinking about the topic. There is space provided on the Student Worksheet for them to complete the thinking routine.

Part A: Sugar - The Basics

Step 1.

In this part of the lesson, students will dig deeper into the topic of sugar and how it affects our bodies. Invite students to position themselves where they can see the screen, and inform them that the clip they are about to watch was created by the folks who made That Sugar Film. The clip will explore what sugar actually is, and the effect it has on our bodies.

Step 2.

Watch the clip below from That Sugar Film:

The Science of Sugar - sugar (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3efayTeGzs)

Step 3.

Invite students to form groups of three to four people, and take turns to reflect on the information they saw and heard in the clip. They could use these questions to prompt their discussion:

What new information did you gain from the clip - what did you learn?
What did you already know - what did you have confirmed?
What surprised you?

The questions are on the Student Worksheet, but could also be written up on the whiteboard for students to refer to.

Time permitting, ask groups to choose a response to each question and share it with the class.

Step 4.

Extend students by screening ‘The Science of Sugar - Are all sugars equal’ (below). Make sure to allow time afterwards to reflect on what they learned from the clip by repeating Step 3.

The Science of Sugar - Are all sugars equal (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iQvwKNXgWI)

Part B: There's More Than One Sugar!?

In this part of the lesson, students will work together in a jigsaw classroom activity to deepen their understanding of the different types of sugar.

Step 1.

Invite students to form groups of three people, and arrange themselves so that they are sitting together around a table.

Distribute a different information sheet to each group member:

Invite students to read through and summarise the information. They could use the prompts provided on the Student Worksheet to help them do so (also below). There is space on the Student Worksheet for students to make notes.

What’s the name of the type of sugar you read about?
What are some of the sub-categories of sugar that you read about?
What are some of the uses of the sugar that you read about?
What recommendations (if any) were made about how to consume a ‘healthy’ amount of this type of sugar?

Step 2.

Invite students to create expert groups by moving to sit with the students who read and summarised the same information. Encourage students to discuss the information they read and their responses to the prompts.

After each group member has shared their work, invite students to work together to plan, refine and practice a mini-presentation on what they have learned to present to the members of their original group.

Step 3.

Ask students to re-form their original groups, and take turns to share their mini-presentation. Encourage students who are listening to ask questions and to take notes on the information being shared with them. There is space on the Student Worksheet for them to do so.

Step 4.

While students are still seated in their groups, distribute copies of the ‘61 Different Names for Sugar’ poster to each member of the class. Invite students to read through the poster, and have a quick discussion with their group members about the names for sugar that surprised them, as well as the different types of sugar that each name could be categorised as.

Part C: Where's the Sugar?

This part of the lesson provides students with the opportunity to develop and practice food literacy, so that they are equipped to make positive choices about their food and drink intake.

Step 1.

Ask students to get out the washed, empty packaging of the food/drink they have brought along. They might have brought the drink that they buy from the canteen at lunchtime each day, the snack that they bring from home to eat during recess, or the snack that they buy for themselves on the way home from school each day. They might even have brought the empty box from the breakfast cereal that they eat each morning.

If some students haven’t remembered to bring in the food/drink packaging, encourage them to conduct an online search for the nutritional information of a product. Recommend to students that they enter the product name, followed by the words ‘nutritional information’ into the search bar and advise them that the most reliable information about the product will most likely be found on the producer’s website. You might also choose to bring a few different products with you, just in case.

Step 2.

Ask students to note down the details about their chosen food/drink in the space provided on the Student Worksheet. They are asked to identify the following information:

Name of the food/drink
Look at the ingredients list - does the food/drink contain sugar (remember that sugar can be known by lots of other names!)
What has sugar been called in the ingredients?
Look at the nutrition information on the label - how much of the food/drink is a ‘serving size’?
Look on the nutrition information table - how many grams of sugar is in each serving?
How much of a serving would you have each time? How many mLs or grams?
(You can calculate the amount by looking at how much is in the packet, and measuring what proportion of the whole amount you consume. If you would drink a whole 600mL bottle of soft drink, you have consumed 600mL. If you consume half of a 200g tub of hummus, you’ve consumed 100g.)
How many grams of sugar are in your average serving?
If four grams of sugar makes one teaspoon, how many teaspoons of sugar do you consume each time you have this food/drink?

The World Health Organisation recommends that we limit our consumption of added sugar to six teaspoons a day. Added sugar is sugar that’s added to things - it doesn’t include the sugar that occurs naturally in food, such as the fructose in a piece of fruit. There are two reasons why the WHO wants us to limit the amount of added sugar we consume: it contains extra kilojoules (that most of us don't need), and it's bad for our teeth.

In light of this information, how do you feel about the amount of sugar in the food/drink you’ve described above?
Is there anything that you might do differently?

Step 3.

Facilitate a session where students share what they have discovered with the rest of the class. This sharing will expand their knowledge and understanding of the nutritional information and sugar content of a variety of different food and drink products. Encourage inclusive discussion by asking students to arrange the classroom furniture so that they are sitting together in a large circle, and ask each student to share their findings.

Note: Keep a close eye on how students are feeling: again, nobody should be going away from this exercise feeling embarrassed about their eating. If students don't want to share, maybe allow them to pass. Alternately, if time is limited, ask students to form groups of three and share what they have discovered there. The smaller groups may make students feel more comfortable than they would sharing in front of the whole class.

Step 4.

Summarise the class discussion by emphasising that it's important to eat and drink - it's part of fuelling our bodies so that we can do the things we need and want to do each day. Encourage students to be mindful of the most effective ways to fuel our bodies - that is, consuming food that is high in nutrients and low in ‘nasties’, like added sugar.

Reflection

Invite students to return to the 3-2-1 Bridge visible thinking routine from the start of the lesson. Encourage them to note down three new thoughts, two new ideas and one new question about the topic of sugar. Once students have completed this task, ask them to write a paragraph underneath explaining how their new response connects to their initial response.

Differentiated Learning

Extension - Students could gain further insights into what the recommended daily intake of sugar looks like by completing the “What does six teaspoons of sugar look like” quiz on the ABC website.

(Source: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-17/quiz-what-does-six-teaspoons-of-sugar-look-like/7086790)

Provisions for Learning Support - Ensure that students form mixed-ability groups during the jigsaw classroom activity. Alternatively, create a group that will be led by the teacher.

Teacher Reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:

What did you learn about your teaching today?
What worked well?
What didn't work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

Taking it Further

If you would like more information about SugarByHalf or the movement to reduce our sugar intake, check out the SugarByHalf Teachers Network here.

SugarByHalf would also love to share the results of your teaching with the world! If your students are making amazing changes, consider emailing info@sugarbyhalf.com to let them know. They're excited to tell people about your success!

SugarByHalf - What is Sugar?

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