Summary

This project is approved by european Commission in Lifelong Learning Programme, action Comenius.
The Food for Thought project will bring together nine European schools in Denmark, England, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, and Wales. Our mix of partner schools reflects the diversity within the European Union. This partnership includes brand new private schools and established public schools from small rural communities to urban capital cities.
Students will discover, study and share information about food, climate and traditions in all of our partner countries. They will use conventional and new technologies to compare temperature readings over two years, produce a multilingual dictionary of weather terms, grow local produce to make their own dinner, make a calendar of international festivals, a picture cookery book of traditional recipes, and finally produce a healthy lifestyle guidebook based on proper eating and exercise.
Regular meetings of teachers will ensure appropriate planning and evaluation at every stage. These will also enable a thorough understanding of European education systems.
The Food for Thought project will not only benefit each school but also their associated local communities. As our pupils gain a greater understanding of food production and preparation the knowledge of these young Europeans will directly filter upwards through family, local and international communities creating a healthier generation of Europeans.

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Objectives of the partnership

Barker’s Lane, the co-ordinating school has an interest in learning through the outdoors and has developed it’s school grounds to a high standard to include a forest class, pond area, sensory garden and allotment area. We are also part of the Healthy school’s initiative. Growing food, healthy eating and sport are a theme we would like to develop as part of an international project. All our eight European partners share this interest in educating our students to become healthy active European citizens.
As a Welsh school we understand the importance of learning a second language, all our pupils are taught Welsh. Colegio Rincón-Añoretas S.L is a bilingual school and most of our other partner schools have specialist language teachers within their primary schools. Through a project such as Food for Thought, students will be able to have direct contact with their peers in different countries to practice language skills.
Weather and climate are topical features, which can lend themselves to basic language skills and develop scientific skills in recording. Once the climate in each country is understood then the project will develop the students growing skills in the garden. This will lead to cookery, traditional cultures and celebration foods. Towards the end of the two-year period the students will consider healthy lifestyle choices.

Our theme will address the following Comenius objectives;
- to develop knowledge and understanding among young people and educational staff of the diversity of European cultures and languages and its value.
-to help young people acquire the basic life-skills and competences necessary for their personal development.

Objectives of our project, Food for Thought:
1. To encourage students to be aware of and value cultural and linguistic diversity in Europe
2. To promote students personal and professional development in order to become a healthy, active European citizen
3. To encourage foreign language learning and sharing through the use of new technologies
4. To enhance the pedagogy of all participating schools.
5 To become aware of the different climate and how this may affect lifestyles within Europe.

Approaches to achieve objectives:
1. Students will have direct contact and communicate with pupils in eight other European countries. They will work together to produce picture dictionaries, which will reflect the diversity of languages within Europe. Traditional crafts and food will be highlighted in our celebrating food project. This will also encourage community groups to become involved in the project. Our cultural calendar will display the richness of traditions within the European Union.
2. Giving students the opportunity to engage in gardening, cookery and sport will promote their well being and help them develop into healthy active citizens. They will grow their own dinner using fruit and vegetables, prepare and taste traditional food from 9 countries and be encouraged to take part in a wide variety of sport.
3. Our weather and greetings dictionaries with associated C.D. of songs and phrases will encourage our students to converse in new languages. Using new technologies with a learning context of simple greetings and weather phrases will motivate everyone to communicate.
4. During mobilities, planned observations of each school will be timetabled. On their return from mobility all teachers will complete a report about the school and its pedagogy to share with colleagues in staff meetings. Discussions will be held on the implications for each school.
5. The two-year climate programme will give everyone a detailed analysis of temperatures across Europe. Pupils will be able to use this information as a means of understanding places within Europe.

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Pupils and staff involved in the partnership

 

Name of participating organisation	Country	Total nr of pupils involved	Total nr of staff involved
BARKER’S LANE COMMUNITY SCHOOL	Wales	227	18
CIRCOLO DIDATTICO RIGNANO SULL’ARNO	Italy	395	40
COLEGIO RINCÓN-AÑORETAS S.L	Spain	210	8
SKOLEN VED BÜLOWSVEJ	Denmark	150	20
SZKOLA PODSTAWOWA IM. LECHA BADKOWSKIEGO IN LUZINO	Poland	200	20
OSNOVNA ŠOLA FRAM	Slovenia	120	10
SCOALA “MATEI BASARAB” TARGOVISTE	Romania	250	12
ÖZEL KARŞIYAKA YAMANLAR İLKÖĞRETIM OKULU	Turkey	144	8
ST MARTINS GARDEN PRIMARY SCHOOL	England	200	16

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Climate mini project

Duration: from September 2008 to June 2010

Aims: In our 2-year climate study students will take accurate readings of temperature, record their results conventionally, graph them and use digital methods. Students will be able to use their own results from 9 European countries to predict, and use their thinking skills to problem solve in Maths and Science lessons.

Activities: Take temperature daily, note days with precipitation. Plot results on a line graph. Upload onto a web page.
Pupils take digital photographs of weather, upload onto web page and use a selection for final presentation.
E-mail partner schoolchildren use the weather as a starting point for conversation.

Finished Products: Two years of Temperature charts for 9 European countries.
Two years of graphs showing number of days rain for 9 European countries.

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Weather Dictionary mini project

Duration: from October 2008 to June 2009

Aims:  To encourage foreign language learning and sharing through the use of new technologies

Activities: Pupils draw weather symbols and label in own language. Also include weather phrases.  Comunicate observations about the weather with children in Europe using a new language.

Finished Products: Multilanguage Dictionary of Weather on web, booklet and Power Point presentation

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Greetings Dictionary mini project

Duration: from October 2008 to June 2009

Aims:  To encourage foreign language learning and sharing through the use of new technologies

Activities: Record simple greeting in mother tongue, with photos and translation in English. Video diaries of children role-playing using new language for weather and greetings. Share results.
 

Finished Products: Multilangual Dictionary of Greetings on web, booklet and Power Point presentation

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Weather songs mini project

Duration: from October 2008 to June 2009

Aims:  To encourage foreign language learning and sharing through the use of new technologies

Activities: Sing and record songs about weather in mother tongue. If possible, make video recording of songs. Share the songs with a concise English translation.

Finished Product: cd with songs and/or video.

Grow your meal mini project

Duration: from February 2009 to October 2009

Aims: Know and compare climate, typical crops and recipes of nine different European countries

Activities: Pupils grow vegetables on the school allotment, record and compare growing from seed to the harvesting of crop. Every country  plants typical crops and  also one common crop (runner beans). Each school prepares a meal with products from the vegetable garden, sharing recipes with partners.

Finished Product:
European Children’s Gardening and Cooking Book with diary and graphs of growth, recipes and photographs of the final meal.
 

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Celebrating food mini project

Duration: from March 2009 to March 2010

Aims:  To learn about traditional food and dishes connected with festivals, holidays and other important days in the nine partner countries.

Activities: Make  a list of festivals which are accompanied by typical dishes. Find out the dishes from families and / or local clubs. Write recipes and take photos of the dishes, either at appointed students' homes or of the food prepared at school. Share recipes and photos.

Finished Products: a calendar of festival and traditional food in the nine partner countries

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