CLIL DIDACTIC UNIT: NUTRITION

CLIL DIDACTIC UNIT: NUTRITION Nutrition i​ s a CLIL didactic unit designed for a 25 students 2​nd ESO class in the IES Gaia (San Vicente del Raspeig). The unit consists of 4 sessions of 55 minutes in which they will apply their English knowledge to access to contents of the subject Natural Science following a task-based methodology. Therefore the sessions will follow this structure: pre-task, task, post-task. It has been developed in cooperation with the Biology and Geology Department.

The sessions will be held by two different teachers of the English Department who have been trained in the content to be taught and that will comply with the following objectives:

● To explain the basic functions of nutrition in animals and plants ● To explain the digestive and process in animals ● To know the process of substance transport in animals ● To acquire and develop English vocabulary on the topic of nutrition ● To develop written and oral reception and production skills of English language applied to a specific context

The 4 sessions of this unit are designed and explained as followed: Session 1 is the introduction to the concept of nutrition in animals and plants. For this, after reading a simple definition of the term nutrition​, they have to write their own definition using their words. Then they learn synonyms of key terms and do activities to relate concepts and definitions by classifying different categories. They also provide their own examples to understand better the concepts. They end the session doing a short online quiz which includes the key concepts worked in the different activities.

Session 2 introduces the digestive system in animals. They first relate key terms of the digestive process to introduce the main task, which is completing a key concept scheme after watching an explanatory video on the topic. After this, students will do in groups a brief oral presentation on the kind of nutrition and the characteristics of digestive systems in different animals.

Session 3 is dedicated to the transport of substances in animals that is learnt by a brief theoretical explanation after a brainstorming and by a comprehension activity after watching a YouTube video and in a meaningful way as students are going to learn how to take their pulse and see how the heart works.

In session 4 students will learn about the nutrition of plants. For that purpose they will be exposed to different content input: first a picture about which they need to brainstorm, then a video after which they will need to complete two activities, and at last, an experiment for them to put into practice the content learnt in a meaningful way.

SESSION 1: The function of nutrition

PRE-TASK (10’) In order to introduce the main concept of nutrition and its functions, students will read a simple text and will be asked to provide a definition using their own words.

TEXT:

Explaining Nutrition Nutrition is how food affects the health of the body. Food is essential—it provides vital nutrients for survival, and helps the body function and stay healthy.

Food is comprised of macronutrients including protein, carbohydrate and fat that not only offer calories to fuel the body and give it energy but play specific roles in maintaining health. Food also supplies micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) and phytochemicals that don't provide calories but serve a variety of critical functions to ensure the body operates optimally.

Now, in pairs and using your own words, write a definition of the word n​ utrition for this “dictionary entry”:

TASKS (25’) The aim of these tasks is to acquire vocabulary and main concepts on the topic. For this, students must complete different activities related with main terms and definitions.

ACTIVITY 1 In order to differentiate the two types of nutrition, students will complete the chart below giving their own examples. They will use as guide the following image:

living beings can be divided in two types according to their type of nutrition:

We find other terms to refer to “autotrophs” and “heterotrophs” Could you match each word to its synonym? a) heterotroph

Producer

b) Autotroph

Consumer

Complete this chart with your ideas (at least three): Autotrophs sunflower

heterotrophs Lion

ACTIVITY 2 To understand the main concepts regarding the nutrition of animals students will complete this exercise. They will have to match the images with the words and their definitions:

We can divide animals according to their food habits as:

ACTIVITY 3 Students will complete the text with the missing words which are in the box. After that they will complete the picture below with the key elements used in the process of photosynthesis.

food · sunlight · synthesise · water · substances · pigment · process The modes of nutrition in plants Most of the plants make their ………….. using a green ……………. which is called as chlorophyll. It is used in a ……………… called photosynthesis: plants use …………….. like chlorophyll, carbon dioxide and ………………. to produce their food, for this is required also the …………….. During this process, oxygen gets released. The plants which do not have chlorophyll are unable to ……………….. their own food. They are known as heterotrophic plants.

ACTIVITY 4 In this activity students will know about “food chains” and “food webs”. For this they will watch a very explicative video about it. But first, they will complete this exercise to get into the topic:

Classify the different living beings into the following categories:

grass · zebra · leopard · shark · eucalyptus · sheep · bear · algae

Now students will watch this YouTube video on food chains and food webs (3:52’) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFloV2J-eKI

POST-TASK (15’) Students will do an only quizz in groups of 4. For this we will use the online quiz tool Kahoot. As this Kahoot only has 13 questions, the teacher will also have the questions in a PowerPoint in case some students of a team do not have a mobile phone. This will be done using screenshots and pasting them in a PowerPoint presentation.

The quiz is about the concepts and vocabulary trained in the previous tasks. You can access the quiz here: https://create.kahoot.it/share/5-9ab-ecosystems-and-food-webs-vocabulary-quiz/04b9cb3b-ea 02-4d14-a313-ed655383524d

SESSION 2: The digestive process in animals In this sessions students will know about the digestive process in animals. For this, they will get introduced in the main vocabulary and train their knowledge with specific tasks.

PRE-TASK (5’) In this pre-tasks students will get into some concepts related to animal digestion before the main tasks. For this they will relate these concepts with their definitions. This activity will be done by all the group-class together with the teacher.

Match the different phases of the animal digestion system with their definitions: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Ingestion Mastication Digestion Absorption Metabolism Excretion

a) Nutrients get into bloodstream b) Elimination of wastes c) Cellular and biochemical processes of the body d) Breakdown of nutrients in the stomach e) Taking in feed f) Chewing

TASK (25’) To introduce the main tasks students will watch this video with subtitles and the teacher will stop it at some parts in order to explain the key points on it or provide translations of some unknown words. This will take about 15 min. You can access the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OsmJ_ERO3g

ACTIVITY 1 After watching the video and the teacher’s explanations students will complete a summary scheme of the concepts in order to have a visual structure of the key terms and its relations.

Complete this scheme with the following words and then add the three related characteristics to each corresponding group Terms: multiple-compartment stomached · crop · ruminant · monogastric

Characteristics: Oesophagus has an enlarged area called the crop Poor users of roughage feedstuffs Do not chew feed before swallowing

POST-TASK (20’) In this last tasks students will prepare short brief presentations to their classmates to summarise orally the contents of the main task. This speaking activity consist in: ● The class are divided into three groups ● They choose a card with an animal (the card is turned upside down). There are three cards: one with a lion, one with a cow and other with a chicken. ● They have to explain to the rest of the class the points given in the instructions. ● They have 10 minutes to prepare the presentations. Each group are going to speak during 2 minutes. The teacher can help the groups and they can have some notes with them or the scheme of the previous task.

Cards:

Instructions: 1. What kind of animal is it regarding its nutrition? a) Carnivorous b) Herbivorous c) Omnivorous 2. Which type of digestive system does it have? a) Ruminant b) Non-ruminant c) Avian 3. With the help of the scheme done in the previous task, tell some key points about the characteristics of its diet and digestive system.

SESSION 3: The transport of substances in animals

PRE-TASK (10’) Brainstorming of ideas about the transport of substances in animals that will be followed by a brief explanation of the different types: open, closed (single/double).

TASK (30’) YouTube explanatory video about the double-loop circulatory system in humans: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9ONXd_-anM

This video will be stopped at some parts in order to give the corresponding lesson explanation.

ACTIVITY 1 After the video, students will be asked in pairs to complete the following text gaps with the corresponding words provided in the table to check if they have understood the topic and the exercise will be corrected and explained for them to check.

TEXT

WORDS

The circulatory system helps feed the …………. with

Abdomen

nutrients. Their components are the ……………., ………….

Aorta

and …………. being the first the main one since it pumps

Arteries

…………… around the body distributing ………… and

Blood

nutrients.

Brain

Capillaries

The blood starts coming out through the ………. that

Cells

allows blood to be distributed through many ………. The

Circular

oxygen and nutrients reach the cells through the

Head

………………… The blood first arrives to the ………….,

Heart (x2)

……………. and ……………., the to the ………………. and

Inferior vena cava

…………………. and finally, to both ……………

Legs

Lungs

All this journey is ……………… Therefore, the blood that

Neck

returns from the legs it uses the …………. …………. ……….,

Oxygen

while the one that returns form the highest part uses the

Oxygenated

………………… ………… …………. All the blood arrives to the

Superior vena cava

…………… to be …………… and transported again to the

Thorax

……………...

Veins (x2)

POST-TASK (15’) It is always important to teach meaningful content, and what is more important for them than to know how to learn to take their pulse? This way they will always be able to check their pulse and see if it is fine or not. Therefore, the teacher will show them the next steps:

-

Locate the pulse points either on the ​wrist ​or ​neck​. Place the tips of the ​index and middle finger on the palm side of the other wrist below the base of the thumb. Or on the neck, place the tips of your index and third finger on the point beneath the ear and jawbone.

-

Press lightly ​with the fingers until the blood pulsing beneath the fingers is felt.

Moving fingers around slightly up or down may be needed until the pulsing is felt.

-

Use a watch or look at a clock with a second hand.

-

Count the beats felt ​for 10 seconds​. Multiply this number ​by six to get the heart rate (pulse) per minute. Have students enter this ​"at rest" heart rate on a chart. (Student pulse rate at rest will vary between 70 - 110 beats per minute).

-

Do some exercise ​such as running or jumping in place for one minute. Stop and calculate pulse again over 10 seconds. Calculate the heart rate for each activity and write this on the chart.

-

Compare and ​explain briefly​ why the difference happens.

SESSION 4: The nutrition of plants PRE-TASK (10’) Brainstorming of ideas about the picture that will be shown at first and that will lead them know the topic of the lesson.

TASK (35’) YouTube

explanatory

video

about

the

photosynthesis:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1Ymc311XS8 This video will be complemented with the corresponding lesson explanation mentioning as well the previous image content (nutrient deficiency causes and consequences).

ACTIVITY 1 After the video, students will be asked to do individually this multiple-choice exercise about the information of the video and it will be corrected after some minutes.

The sun provides:

The word photosynthesis comes from:

a) Vitamin B

a)

Photo=light; synthesis=sun

b) Vitamin C

b)

Photo=photo; synthesis=summary

c) Vitamin D

c)

Photo=light; synthesis=put together

In order to get their food, plants use:

Stomata are:

a) sunlight, water, carbon dioxide

a) pores in the leaves that take oxygen

b) sunlight, water, oxygen

b) pores in the stem that take carbon dioxide

c) only sun and water

c) pores in the leaves that take carbon dioxide

The chloroplast takes those 3 elements to:

Chlorophyll:

a) create sugar

a) Is in the Chloroplast

b) create oxygen

b) Gives the green colour to the plant

c) both

c) Both

ACTIVITY 2 Once finished, they will be asked in pairs to put in order ​these pieces of paper that contain the plant

nutrition

process

in

steps

(information

taken

from

https://www.coolkidfacts.com/photosynthesis-for-kids/​). Once they have the order they consider the correct one the teacher will show them the correction on the screen for them to check.

How does photosynthesis work?

Plants do breathe, like us, but it’s through tiny little holes in their leaves.

You can’t see them if you just look at them, you can only spot them if you looked through a microscope.

So how do they get water? Well if you think about the plants you have at home, you always water them don’t you, to keep them alive. Well, plants drink all that water that comes from the sky and your watering can, through their roots.

Now that they’ve got water, they then use sunlight from the air, and everything combined together creates their food, which is called sugars.

In order to make all this happen, plants have something in their leaves called chlorophyll which they need to make all this fancy stuff happen.

This process is called photosynthesis, and oxygen is made at the end of the process. But the plant doesn’t need all that oxygen, so off it goes into the air and lucky for us, we can breathe it and stay alive!

POST-TASK (10’) As this unit wants to enhance the importance of meaningful learning, for students to see how the nutrition of plants work, they are going to do a quick experiment.

Before they prepare that experiment, they are going to be explained another type of experiment but related to the transport of substances in plants (so that we link in another way with session 4) and is the following: - Fill four ​glasses ​that contain a ​flower ​with the same amount of ​water​.

- Pour a few drops of different ​food coloring in each glass.

- Wait 24 hours for the flowers to ​transport the substance ​and you will get beautiful colored flowers!

After this, they will be explained the experiment that they need to prepare. The experiment consists in germinating lentils in cotton for them to see how the plant feeds itself and grows by the photosynthesis.

Of course, the results are not going to be seen in 15 minutes but they will leave it prepared for the rest of the course.

Materials:

A glass or a yoghurt tub Cotton Water Lentils Process: -

Shred the ​cotton ​and place it at the bottom of the ​glass/tub​.

Pour a bit of ​water ​and soak.

Place the ​lentils ​pressing down slightly.

Put the experiment in a ​sunny place ​and keep on watering it so that it doesn’t dry.

-

In some days you will see the first results!