Overview: Course The specification for this junior cycle short course in Food, glorious food focuses on developing cognitive, social and practical skills through four inter-connected strands. The four strands presented here are: Nutrition, Where does food come from? Eating in and Dining out. Strand 1: Nutrition. In this strand students learn about the feelings of hunger and thirst. They investigate healthy and unhealthy food and drink, and what a balanced diet is. Students also focus on their own individual dietary requirements. Strand 2: Where does food come from? This strand provides opportunities for students to investigate different sources of food and explore their local and wider community. Food from around the world is also explored through the senses. Strand 3: Eating in. In this strand students learn about different types of meals and the foods associated with them. A variety of communication and numeracy skills are used and enhanced through planning and preparing a meal. Safety in the kitchen related to hygiene, use of equipment and storage of food are also learned. Strand 4: Dining out. This strand enables students to use their knowledge and skills related to eating and drinking when dining outside of the home or school. They learn about the different types of dining experiences, choosing food from a menu and appropriate etiquette. Teamwork is encouraged throughout all four strands. Practical, hands-on and problem-solving learning activities should be in evidence across all strands of the course. Opportunities for reflection on learning are embedded throughout the course. The Classroom-Based Assessment outlined below reflects the learning students undertake in this NCCA short course[1]. Schools have the flexibility to adapt any NCCA-developed short course to suit their needs and school context, with the exception of the Classroom-Based Assessment, which all students taking this short course complete. Schools may also develop their own short course(s) and related Classroom-Based Assessment. Guidelines for schools who wish to develop their own short courses are available at Junior Cycle: Short Courses. The learning outcomes in this short course are broadly aligned with the level indicators for Level 1 of the National Framework of Qualifications (Appendix A). The course has been designed for approximately 100 hours of student engagement. [1] Teachers take into consideration the feeding and dietary requirements of students who are undertaking this course.
