I N Q U I RY L E A R N I N G P L A N N E R

UNIT TITLE: Where does my dinner come from? From Farm to Table.

LEVEL
Foundation- Level 2

TEAM

TERM

DURATION

Melanie Hollibone
Taryn Lumsden
Mary Buffon
Jessica Moro

10 weeks (1 term)

UNDERSTANDINGS:

FOCUS QUESTIONS:

Foundation

Foundation:
What are living things?
Living things have basic needs, what are they?
How does the environment affect plant and animal
life and growth?

All living things have basic needs including food

and water.
Been able to compare the needs of plants and
animals.
Year 1:
Living things need different environments to grow.
Living things have a variety of external features.
Year 2:
Earths resources, including water, are used in a
variety of ways
Living things grow and change.

Year 1:
What are the needs of different plants and animals?
Living fruit, vegetables and animals have different
external features, what are they?
Year 2:
How are the earths resources used to assist in the
growth of fruit/vegetables and animals?
How do living plants and animals change as they
grow?

KEY CONCEPTS:
Plant lifecycles, animal lifecycles, transpiration,
byproducts,

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Thinking Processes

Communication Skills

Personal Learning

Interpersonal
Development

Make observations of plant

life cycles.

Present knowledge and

understanding and engage
with a range of
communication forms such as
oral, written, visual, diaries
and through the use of
technology including
PowerPoint presentations,
photographs and video clips.

Using graphic organisers such

as the KWL chart for students
to identify what they know,
want to know and what they
have learnt.

Appropriate, positive and

effective engagement with
peers in pairs and/ or groups.

Draw conclusions about plant

life cycles through
observation and recording of
information from practical
experiences with seeds and
pumpkins.

Students can use their visual

diaries to record learning and
development.

Students can work together to

identify and solve problems as
a team.

Represent learning of plant

life cycles through a visual
diary.

RESOURCES
Should be included using APA referencing
Dobbins, J. (2013, April 2). A Farmer's Life for Me. Barefoot Books. Retrieved September 22, 2014, from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=Sr1sQ7kGYlY&list=PL0maGUp7cdUkPJgFg9PL0CAqzSDsWo2UR&index=19
Matthews, P. (2002). A Year on our Farm. Australia: Scholastic.
Owen,A. (2003).Old MacDonald had a farm. Minneapolis: Picture Window Books.
Worth,B. (2008).If I ran the rainforest. London: Harper Collins Children's.
Wise Brown, M. (1989). Big red barn. United States of America: HarperCollins Publishers.

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TUNING IN
Lesson 1:
Read the book, If I Ran the Rainforest by Bonnie Worth

Using the interactive smart board, present the word Plant in the middle of the board.
Activate students prior knowledge about plants through questioning
Explore and clarify unfamiliar vocabulary
Words that may require clarification
Add student responses to the brainstorm on the board to provide a visual for students to activate
knowledge
Hand out I wonder cards, where students are to list what they wonder about plants/fruit/vegetables/
anything related
Students are to then place their wonderings into the I wonder box
Anonymous wonderings can then be shared with the whole class

Lesson 2:
Use the thinking routine Think-Pair-Share to explore the question, Where does my dinner come
from?
Instructional strategy to activate students thinking and make this thinking visible
After students have shared their responses in their pair, hand out yellow post it notes for students to
write down or draw ideas of where their dinner comes from
Students are to place the post it note on the Inquiry wall
Students select a post it note from the wall to share with the class
Read the book, Old McDonald Had a Farm by Ann Owen

Pose the question, Where does my dinner come from? a second time
Hand out pink post it notes for students to add new ideas that they had not initially thought about
Students are to add the pink post it notes onto the inquiry wall

Reflection 1:
Gather students together once they have placed their wonderings into the I wonder box. Encourage
students to draw a wondering out of the box and share it with the class. Pin wonderings onto the board.
Once all the wonderings have been shared with the class, ask students if they had any similar wonderings
that they had with another student and whether the students found that a particular wondering interested
them.
Reflection 2:
Gather students together once each student has added a second post it note to the inquiry wall. Discuss with
students the differences between what they initially thought of when they pondered the question, where
does my dinner come from? and the new ideas that the book may have presented.
Create a display area with the title, Where does my dinner come from where students can add new ideas
to the inquiry wall.
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FINDING OUT
How can we: Take students beyond what they already know?
Challenge their ideas, beliefs and attitudes? Enable them to use skills
and knowledge to collect new information? Provide a range of
experiences to develop our understandings?

SORTING OUT
How will students sort out, organise, represent and present what they
have found out? Ho can they communicate and express what they
know? How will they use preferred ways to demonstrate their
knowledge, skills and values?

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Lesson 3:

Lesson 5:

Building on from what students have learnt about the

lifecycle of plants and vegetables, the children will
further explore what happens above and below the
ground when a seed is planted.

Furthering on from what students have previously learnt

about the lifecycle of plants and vegetables and what
happens above and below the ground when a seed is
planted, students will be responsible for collaboratively
building a kitchen garden to explore and review the needs
of plants.

Introduce the children to the type of seed that we will be

using (a broad bean seed) and pose questions as to what
the children think the seed is, what will it grow, have they Brainstorm with students a range of fruit and vegetables
seen one before and allow time for discussion.
they eat and pose questions in regards to how the plant
grows, what it may need to grow, allowing adequate time
Ask the children if they are aware of how the seed grows for group discussion.
in the early stages (e.g. seed, plant root system and
seedling) and write these ideas down as a class
Discuss with students the process of growing plants and
brainstorm. This will not only aid in oral language
review the needs of different types of plants. Lead this
development, but also development of vocabulary
into a discussion about what plants need to survive and
specific to the topic (define unknown topic vocabulary as how this differs/is similar to what we as humans need to
a group).
survive.
Show the children the created PowerPoint presentation
that displays the plant lifecycle (images of seed to root
development and so forth to growth of seedling) to create
a concrete image of the information being presented.

Have children divided into groups, with each group

taking a section of the kitchen garden, two groups with
fruits (strawberries and tomatoes), while the two other
groups will take vegetables (e.g. cucumbers and
pumpkins). Discuss how clean water and soil are
necessary for plants to grow, the maintenance the plants
need. Have children tend to their garden during Inquiry
lessons, whilst also encouraging children to look after
their garden outside of the classroom during lunch and
recess.

Discuss with the children that we will be working in

mixed age/ability groups to plant one broad bean seed in
a jar with cotton wool and the other in a small pot in soil
with the aid of showing the children that although we
may not see anything growing above the soil, there may
still be things happening to the seed underground that
we cannot see (reason for using the jar and cotton wool to After students have planted the kitchen garden, show
show the children that what growth and changes are
them photos from different stages of the lifecycle of their
happening to the seed that we cannot see above ground). seeds, what their seeds look like at this moment in time,
discuss what they have had to do in order for their seeds
Allow the children to think in their groups about what
to survive, how this will differ from what they will need
care is needed for the seeds what does the plant need to do for a whole garden of plants.
to survive?
For example, you can see the roots growing in the jar but
we cannot see them in the soil. Furthering on from
Explain to the children that each group will be creating a growing seeds in a jar and planting them in the ground,
visual diary that will consist of pictures, thoughts, ideas, discuss with students what the seeds look like when they
new understandings, new vocabulary or anything that
are older and have had time to grow in the kitchen
they feel is relevant that they will collectively work on
garden.
throughout the remainder of this unit. The children will
also be instructed to photograph both their jar and pot
Discuss the three things they each wanted to know more
each week and place it into the diary, along with writing about, their findings and whether they have found this
about any changes that they have noticed, further
out. If they havent, continue to find out how they can.
predictions, new learning and so forth.
Continue to add photos but this time of their plants at
different stages in its growth and photos of what they
Children are then to write down in their visual diary as a group, 3
have to do in order for it to survive. Encourage children
things that they predict will happen to the seeds, 3 things that they
to label their photos using diagrams, words or sentences
want to know more about and 3 new things/words that they have
to explain their understanding.
learnt about the plant lifecycle/growth thus far.

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Lesson 4:
Building on from what the children have learnt
about animals, present the children with different
pictures of dairy products (for example cheese, milk,
cream, butter, yoghurt, ice-cream) and have a picture
chat about what the products are, which animal the
children think that they come from and how they
think that the product got produced from the animal
(how does it get into our fridge?)
Play the children the YouTube clip A Day on the
Farm (https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=oaXFKlYm11o) which allows the children to
visually see how milk comes from cows and the
processes that milk goes through to get to the
consumer.
After watching the video, allow the children to
discuss and reflect upon what they have just
watched.
Ask the children probing questions such as: how do
they think the milk then becomes other dairy
products? Where does the milk go? How is it
processed? In order to get the children to predict
what they think will happen and also display any
prior knowledge.

Lesson 6:
Building on from what the children have previously
learnt about animal by products, have a discussion
with students what they already know about farms,
writing their knowledge on a large piece of butchers
paper into the KWL chart.
Read the book Big Red Barn. Discuss the farm
animals they saw in the book. Discuss as a class
what the children eat for dinner.
Ask children probing questions to see if they know
where this comes from? For example, ham and
bacon come from a pig, a cows job and role is to
provide us with milk and they provide us with chops
and sausages.
Divide students into 6 groups and have each group
given one farm animal (pig, cow and sheep, two
groups will have the same animal to discuss as a
class similarities and differences they each had).
Have children discuss, draw or write about their
farm animal to share with the class.

After students have read the book and completed

their specific animal, have children discuss as a class
each animal, relating this to their everyday lives.
Have children discuss any new knowledge they have
gained and whether this has answered any of their
predictions or wonderings that were completed in
The children will then be divided into 2 groups. One previous lessons of the unit.
group will be experiencing milking the cow and
the other group will be making butter .
Use a KWL chart with students to track, sort,
This will allow the students to experience how to
organise and represent what the students already
milk a cow as well as being able to physically turn know, writing this in the K column. In the W
milk into butter.
column document what the students want to know
and in the L state what the students have learned
about a topic. Use the KWL chart to initially direct
Concrete materials/experiences
students thinking, encouraging them to brainstorm
and pose questions. Have students continuously
return to the chart to revisit their questions What
Reflection
they want to know and answer these when
Gather the children back into a group and have a
appropriate in the What students have learned
discussion about their findings, experiences, and
column. Children can openly communicate and
wonderings as a result of the activities.
express what they know onto the chart with other
students and teachers in the class. Students can use a
To summarise the childrens learning, present them variety of ways and techniques to demonstrate their
with a picture of a farm/barnyard, a factory, a
knowledge and skills throughout the lesson using
supermarket and a house. Ask the children which
pictures, diagrams, words or sentences catering for a
order they go in (what process do the dairy products range of learning styles.
follow e.g. farm to the factory, etc.) and promote
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GOING FURTHER
How can we extend and broaden the unit? What other perspectives or dimensions can we explore? What are the ways which students can
negotiate their own personal inquiries?

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Lesson 7:
Read the book A Year on Our Farm by Penny Matthews and Andrea McLean to the students so they can
make connections to the previous lessons whilst introducing the topic of harvesting.
Take the students out to the kitchen garden they have created and pick/harvest the fruit and vegetables that
have grown. Ask them we need to do to the fruit and vegetables to eat them pick them and wash them. I
will cut open the fruit and vegetables to start a discussion about the seeds how they are on the outside of
the strawberries, but the inside of the tomatoes, pumpkins and cucumbers; the different sizes, shapes etc.
Ask the students if they know what we could do with the seeds.
Start a discussion about how seeds are used to reproduce the plants. This will begin the discussion of the
life cycle of fruit and vegetables. Explain the life cycle of a pumpkin beginning as a seed (show pumpkin
seeds), growing into a plant with leaves and flowers (show picture of a pumpkin plant), and then pumpkins
grow on the vine of the plant and is picked/harvested.
As a group we can list the names of the stages of a pumpkins life cycle.
Activity:
To sum up the students learning of plant life cycles, they will get into their groups with their visual diaries
and draw pictures to illustrate each stage of the pumpkin life cycle. They will have our group list of the
headings for each stage to assist them. Through the scaffolding of mixed ability groups, students will write
short sentences to accompany their illustrations.
Reflection:
We will come back together collectively and each group will take turns to stand up and share their work
from their visual diaries to the cohort. They will explain their illustrations and diagrams and read out their
words and sentences that accompany the pictures. In doing so, children are practising their oral language
and presentation skills.
Lesson 8:
Students will watch the sing along clip a farmers life for me collectively on a big screen projector which
will activate prior knowledge and introduces the topic of animal products. http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=Sr1sQ7kGYlY&list=PL0maGUp7cdUkPJgFg9PL0CAqzSDsWo2UR&index=19
Activate students prior knowledge of meat, dairy through a brief discussion. Then a woollen blanket and a
leather purse will be passed around and the question how do these items connect to our topic of inquiry?
will be posed to the students. Discuss how we use sheep skin and wool to keep us warm, making blankets
and clothing; use leather from a cow to make boots, bags etc. Ask if they know what else we can use
animals for?
List and briefly explain some by-products of cows and sheep so students gain an insight into the many uses
of animals other than food.
Activity:
Two handouts will be given to students, one with pictures of animals, and another with pictures of byproducts (See appendix 3). They are to cut out the pictures and match the animal to the products they make.
The cards would have the names of the products/animals underneath to promote literacy skills, recognition
of the words, encourage reading.
Reflection

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ASSESSMENT SUMMARY (ONGOING: FOR, AS and OF learning)

What are the cumulative and summative opportunities for assessment? How can teachers and students monitor progress? What strategies can
we use to cater for variance in learning styles and progress? How can we allow for expected and unexpected outcomes? How can we provide
opportunities for self, peer, teacher, parent assessment?

INQUIRY STAGE

DESCRIPTION

PURPOSE

Tuning In (Lesson 1)

Teacher will use questioning and

anecdotal notes to assess what
students know about plants.
What is a plant?
What does a plant look
like?
What do plants require?
What plants are edible?
Create a link with fruit/
vegetables
What are the different
environments in which
plants grow?

Tuning In (Lesson 2)

Teacher will rove around the room FOR

during think-pair-share to assess
students prior knowledge of
where does their dinner come
from.
The teacher will use the sticky
notes displayed on the wall and
class discussion to assess the
activated prior knowledge from
the use the resource.

Finding Out (Lesson 3)

FOR

OF

Visual diaries will be collected as OF

work samples that display what
the children have learnt about how
seeds grow through informed
predictions and notes about what
they have learnt as a result of the
lesson.

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Finding Out (Lesson 4)

As children are working through

their activities, the educator is to
rove and ask the children probing
questions.

AS

Group discussion/reflection at the OF

end of the lesson will also inform
the educator of the knowledge that
the children have gained.
Sorting Out (Lesson 5)

Teachers will continue to use the

visual diaries to assess students
knowledge. This will demonstrate
what students have learnt through
answering their predictions and
findings. The use of photos in the
visual diaries will highlight
students understanding in regards
to the lifecycle and elements of a
range of plants.

OF

Sorting Out (Lesson 6)

As students work in groups have

the teacher roving to explore
students understandings of the
characteristics of each animal that
group is completing. Through
teacher roving, ask probing
questions to find out students
knowledge in regards to their
animal, e.g. what meat comes
from that animal.

AS

Going Further (Lesson 7)

Students will be assessed by the

work samples in their groups
visual diaries and their oral
presentation of this information to
the entire cohort.

Doing the work in the visual

diaries is assessment AS learning.

Whilst students are working on

their matching task, the three
educators will roam the room to
have roving conferences and will
have a short checklist to indicate
their level of understanding of the
topic.

Assessment OF what they have

learnt, and assessment FOR what
needs to be taught in future
lessons regarding this topic.

Going Further (Lesson 8)

The oral presentation is an

assessment OF learning.

INQUIRY EVALUATION
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Overall, the inquiry unit was well received from the students. The children were consistently engaged and
responsive to the lessons. The lessons provided the students with appropriate opportunities to develop
understanding of the topic. The unit may have been improved by adding an excursion to a dairy farm or the
Collingwood Childrens Farm so students can have an active, hands on experience that places them within
the context of the inquiry unit topic. Furthermore, the children may have benefited from further exploring
meat and the processes related to meat. We decided not go into too much detail as children may have found
the information too confronting.

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