Specialising in Technological and Applied Studies, with a focus on Food Technology, Hospitality and Textiles, all resources have been tried and tested in my classroom over the past 10 years. I have also tutored numerous students in a wide range of subjects and have developed a range of resources to assist in their learning. Any resource that I have created that has helped me help my students will be added to my shop so that I can help you, help your students.
Specialising in Technological and Applied Studies, with a focus on Food Technology, Hospitality and Textiles, all resources have been tried and tested in my classroom over the past 10 years. I have also tutored numerous students in a wide range of subjects and have developed a range of resources to assist in their learning. Any resource that I have created that has helped me help my students will be added to my shop so that I can help you, help your students.
It’s important to stay abreast of things happening in the Hospitality industry in order to meet Vocational criteria such as Source & Use Information on the Hospitality Industry. It also helps students to show their understanding of the industry to potential employers and in exams. This comprehension task is on the current trend of video resumes (AKA the Visume!). Students are given an article to read through and in conjunction with their knowledge of how the industry works, respond to the questions in as much detail as they can. Then they get the opportunity to put knowledge into practice by developing their own visume!
It’s important to stay abreast of things happening in the Hospitality industry in order to meet Vocational criteria such as Source & Use Information on the Hospitality Industry. It also helps students to show their understanding of the industry to potential employers and in exams. This comprehension task is on the current trend of digital innovations in restaurants. Students are given an article to read through and in conjunction with their knowledge of how the industry works, respond to the questions in as much detail as they can.
It’s important to stay abreast of things happening in the Hospitality industry in order to meet Vocational criteria such as Source & Use Information on the Hospitality Industry. It also helps students to show their understanding of the industry to potential employers and in exams. This comprehension task is on the Table Service trend popular in the 1960s & 70s but which is now making a come back. Students are given an article to read through and in conjunction with their knowledge of how the industry works, respond to the questions in as much detail as they can.
Herbs and spices are used to add colour, variety and unique flavours to food. Herbs and spices also come from different components of plants. This task utilises student fine motor skills of cutting and pasting with digital research to track down which part of the plant each herb and spice comes from. There is a classification table that should be printed A3 size for each student and 4 (printed on A4) pages (a total of 28 herbs and spices) flash cards for students to cut out. Answers are included. This activity is a great one for giving to Life Skills or Support students while the remainder of the class is working through the more in depth Herbs & Spices Research Task
An important aspect of working in a kitchen is the ability to plan and organise tasks in a time efficient manner. Poor workflow can impact not only the running and morale of the kitchen but also customers who become dissatisfied with long wait times and low quality meals. This often leads to loss of profits and potentially closure of the kitchen/business. This worksheet explains the importance of a smooth running workflow, common mise en place tasks and the four important areas to consider when writing a workflow plan. There are two templates students have access to - one which has them allocate tasks to group members for team meals and one for tasks that require them to work individually on a recipe/meal. To really get students understanding the importance of incorporating a logical order of steps and complete a couple recipes at the same time, students are provided with two recipes - Japanese Dumplings and Arancini. Each step has been separated for a cut and paste style activity. Once students have laid out the order they think the steps should go in, run through it as a class before writing it fully into the workflow plan template, making note of required equipment. If there is the time and budget, cook the recipes over a practical lesson or two while students follow their workflow to determine whether they really placed each step in the correct order!
Knowing how to eat healthy is a vital aspect to having a healthy mind and body. Our bodies can’t make nutrients so knowing the foods that are high in essential nutrients helps us make informed choices about the foods we eat. This research task asks students to select one of the 6 important nutrients, outline its importance for the body, identify the minimum and maximum daily requirements, explain what happens if we are deficient in it as well as locating a short recipe that provides the body with a good amount of the nutrient. Task includes marking criteria.
This THIS VS THAT quiz game is a great nutrition revision resource for senior Food/PE students or it can be a fun filler lesson for a junior class. Students are given the choice of two options along with a question such as which has more caffeine per 100ml? the Red Bull energy drink or the can of Coca-Cola. Students need to note down their answer on the worksheet along with their reasoning. Vote as a class and go with majority rules to click on the answer. Was the majority correct? Did they make a lucky guess or do they need to brush up on their nutrition understanding? Is their favourite food as healthy for them as they think it is? There are 20 questions comparing items from total fat content to energy, caffeine, carbohydrates, iron, protein and sugar. At the end of the quiz on the back of the worksheet, there are some extension questions for students to work through. The zip file contains the worksheet and the slide presentation in PPT and PDF format. All options in both the PPT and PDF are hyperlinked directly to the answers which makes it easy for the class to see how right or wrong they were!
Nowadays most people use online reviews from websites such as TripAdvisor or Yelp to help them decide whether they should visit a particular restaurant or decide which meal they should try (or avoid!). With this 12 page Restaurant and Food Review task, students learn to write informative pieces based on their real world experiences of local restaurants, cafes or take-away shops (or even mum’s cooking if need be!). They will identify the differences between poorly written and quality written reviews, learn the importance of following a specific structure, brainstorm and draft their responses before providing their final review ready to share with the world. This task is easily adapted to any food situation and could even be used as a great intro to a cultural food feast where students write their reviews of the meals on offer to encourage and recommend their favourite to their peers!
Needing a quick and easy but fun ice-breaker for a new cooking class? Look no further than these Cooking Verbs cards! Cut out and laminate each card (it makes it so easy to store and use for the next class or the next year), hand one card to each student, set a timer for 2 minutes and get students to race around trying to find their match. These cards match the cooking verb to a picture example of the verb, so they’re great to use as an ice-breaker task, a revision game at the end of the term or they can even be used as a match-up game for support/life skills or ESL students. To make the task a little more challenging, set a new 2 minute timer and have each pair brainstorm as many foods that link to their verb as they can (e.g. GRATE = carrot, apple, pear, onion, zucchini). The pair with the most correct, wins. There are 12 verbs for a class of 24 plus space to add your own!
Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) can be a complicated procedure for students to understand. This poster outlines the seven HACCP steps in an easy to understand manner with examples. Print the poster in A4 or A3 size and display around the kitchen or theory room for students to utilise when necessary. Once hazard identification has been completed the next step is to decide the Critical Control Points (CCP). This can be tricky, so included with the poster is a colourful CCP Decision Tree to help students work out if the hazards they’ve identified need a control measure to be applied in order to prevent, eliminate or reduce food safety hazards to an acceptable level.
This Think-Tac-Toe game board provides three different levels of tasks for students to work through. Green tasks are labelled easy, orange tasks are moderate and red tasks are more in-depth and difficult. Students need to choose three tasks to make a tic-tac-toe row. The way the tasks are structured on the game board means students are unable to choose three easy tasks, they must select a range. Tasks include making a textiles related find-a-word to writing a fictional story around the ‘fibre to fabric’ theme to comparing and contrasting WW1 style clothing repair and mending. Scaffolds for all activities are included and can be allocated to students once they decide which tasks they want to work through. A perfect activity for a sequence of lessons left with a casual or relief teacher or for fun non-practical related lessons once the practical projects have been completed.
In the Stage 5 NSW curriculum, Child Studies explores the broad range of social, environmental, genetic and cultural factors that influence prenatal development and a child’s sense of wellbeing and belonging between 0 and 8 years of age. The Newborn Care unit within the Child Studies subject has students identifying the physical characteristics of a newborn, along with the tests and special care options available to the child immediately after birth. Students develop an understanding of ways to satisfy the needs of a newborn in order to promote their safety and wellbeing, as well as exploring the impact of bringing a newborn into a family.
This is a complete unit of work and includes:
a Teaching & Learning Program outlining the outcomes students aim to achieve, teaching and learning activities matched to the student workbook and including all website links and YouTube video links used, resources needed as well as space for teacher registration
Student Workbook which provides all the learning materials identified within the teaching program
Differentiated Extension Task for students who are more advanced in the subject (could also be used as a homework task)
Assessment Task to provide the teacher with a summative mark and evaluation of student learning at the end of the unit. This task requires access to eggs. Students become the ‘parent’ of a drained but decorated egg for a week. They are required to keep a journal of their experiences
Egg Baby Scrapbook/Journal Scaffold
Assessment Task Register so teachers know which students have been given the assessment task and who was away/need to catch up
*The Teaching & Learning Program, Assessment Task and Assessment Task Register are provided in an editable MS Word/Google Docs format
*The Student Workbook, Differentiated Assessment Task and Egg Baby Scrapbook/Journal is provided in PDF format
These resources are provided in a zipped folder. To access them, you will need to unzip the folder once it has been downloaded to your computer.
Swing tags are attached to textile items, most often clothing. They contain important information about the product and reflect the brand. Care labels are sewn into textile items and provide the buyer with information on how to ‘care’ for that item (wash, dry, iron). There are 5 internationally recognised care symbols which provide an alternative to the written care instructions.
This worksheet provides students with a care symbols reference sheet as well as images of care tags for students to examine and determine how the textile item should be cared for. Students are given the chance to draw appropriate care symbols based on a provided written label and design their own swing tag based on a piece of clothing they have made or will make in their textiles/art lesson.
The wearing of clothing is a specifically human characteristic and most human societies wear some form of clothing. This comprehension task runs briefly through the types of clothing worn in ancient civilisations such as Ancient Greece, Rome, the Iron Age and the Byzantines and why they preferred to leave their fabric uncut. It also covers the Enlightenment period which introduced formal dress and ‘undress’ or casual clothing as well as how the Industrial Revolution impacted clothing as we know it today. Students read through the article and answer the questions. This can be done as a whole class task or set for individual students as part of a casual or filler lesson.
A well-plated meal not only appeals to the diner’s senses but also showcases the chef’s skills and creativity. The way a dish is presented can impact the diner’s overall dining event and leave a lasting impression on their experience with the hospitality establishment.
This activity includes a PowerPoint Presentation (PPT) that covers tips and tricks for styling food for awesome food photography (also provided in a PDF version), 8 important elements to think about for a good food photo, as well as showcasing a range of plated meals for a Positive, Minus, Interesting (PMI) task. Notes from this PPT can be taken down in the Food Presentation, Styling and Garnishing work booklet.
The work booklet also goes into detail on the differences between a garnish and a decoration; classic fruit, herb and vegetable garnishes; step-by-step methods for producing a range of garnishes; and all important tips for food presentation such as plate types, the ‘clock’, use of colour, height and avoiding symmetry.
This task is perfect for Senior Food and Hospitality students who need to be thinking about and practicing plate presentation.
This Guess the Textiles Item game is similar to the traditional Celebrity Heads game. Select two students to step up in front of the board. Shuffle the textiles items cards and pick two at random. Stick the cards up on the board above the students head so the class can see them. The selected students take it in turns asking YES/NO questions to the class to unravel the identity of their textiles item. The student who guesses their textile item first correctly wins the game!
Included in the PDF is:
Instructions
40 cards
Print and laminate the cards to re-use them again and again!
The design process is a tool that helps students (and designers) break down large projects into smaller, easier-to-manage stages. Students are given a design brief which identifies a problem or area of need and they work through the design process to research, create, prototype and evaluate a solution.
This Cadbury Chocolate Bar task requires students to create a new flavour of chocolate bar to market to teenagers. Students are given the design brief, are required to pull it apart to fully understand what they need to do and then work through the design process steps to produce a chocolate bar that meets the design brief. This task can be used as a stand alone task or embedded into a food design unit.
The design process is a tool that helps students (and designers) break down large projects into smaller, easier-to-manage stages. Students are given a design brief which identifies a problem or area of need and they work through the design process to research, create, prototype and evaluate a solution.
This Strawberry Food Design task requires students to create a simple yet tasty recipe using strawberries to get consumers to buy more fresh strawberries to help farmers cope with the despair over excess waste, mass dumping and devastating price reductions due to unforeseen weather conditions, supermarket size requirements and the continued effects from the COVID lockdowns.
Students are given a design situation and design brief. They are required to pull it apart to fully understand what they need to do and then work through the design process steps to produce a strawberry recipe and prototype that meets the design brief. This task can be used as a stand alone task or embedded into a food design unit.
A skill requirement for Vocational Studies - Hospitality Cookery students is being able to detect deficiencies in foods based on issues such as temperature danger zones, storage principles and safe food handling in order to ensure the best, highest quality menu items are served to customers.
This activity has 32 flashcards each with a different photo showing a poor handling/food issue. Students are to use their knowledge of how to maintain the quality of food items to identify the issue in each flashcard. As an extension task for students to further demonstrate their understanding, students are to explain what could happen if each issue was allowed to happen in a commercial kitchen as well as describing the effects on the business, food handler and customer.
Download includes the Flashcards, Extension Worksheet and Answers for the flashcards.
Food-borne illness affects many hundreds of people throughout the world each year and is often caused by pathogenic bacteria, viruses or toxins in food. This research task gets students to select and research a food-borne pathogen. A graphic organiser and task list is supplied to help them organise their information and they can let their creativity surface by producing their newfound knowledge in the form of a ‘wanted poster’ and presentation.
This is a great end of term filler task or a casual/relief lesson as the task can be divided up so students only produce the wanted poster or the presentation depending on the length of class time available. It can also be used as a summative assessment tool due to the inclusion of a marking/grading rubric and an example of the wanted poster.