1. Primary age children may associate good health with what they eat and drink. Although the focus in this unit is on food and diet, it would be important to emphasise the role of exercise and rest (sleep) in promoting healthy development.
2. Pupils may recognise that exercise and rest are important for good health, but only think that this is a concern for adults. The importance of developing good habits in childhood should be discussed.
3. Many pupils will be aware of the fact that food is nutritious, but may be less clear about the need for balance in the diet, and that some foods should be consumed in moderation. This issue may need especially sensitive handling. There will be pupils who are not following a moderate, balanced diet and discussion could inadvertently and unhelpfully focus other pupils' attention on such pupils.
4. Pupils may equate the word 'diet' with the calorie controlled, restricted food intakes that some adults follow in order to lose weight. This could cause difficulties in understanding. Pupils should be helped to understand that 'diet' simply means the amounts and types of food that any particular person eats - and that different people may have different diets.
5. Most pupils will relate the material in this website to their own experiences and so one of the main difficulties with learning is that some children's experiences and current practices conflict with the messages provided. This may lead pupils to reject the information as irrelevant to their own lives. (e.g. a pupil who brushes their teeth twice a day may still have lots of fillings; a pupil who eats chips on most nights of the week may still be fit and healthy.) Alternatively, pupils may feel they aren't able to change their lifestyles (some things may be beyond their control, like the grocery shopping), and then become anxious. Where possible, the teacher should provide opportunities for further, sensitive discussion about issues relating to e.g. dental hygiene or dietary choices. Pupils would need to understand that choices about such issues as a healthy diet are rarely clear-cut.
6. Research has shown that successful strategies for helping children make healthier life choices, not only involve providing information but also involve building pupils' self esteem so that they feel confident about making choices now and in the future. In contrast, teaching that focuses on negative messages or scare / shock tactics has been shown to have little impact on changing behaviours.
Assessment
Some of the web-based activities provide opportunities for assessment. The 'Big Quiz' could be tried by pupils at the start of a unit of work on food and health, and tried again towards the end to see if their subject knowledge has improved. Other activities could be used for assessment before and/ or after other in-class work e.g the tooth timeline; tooth or false; have you got a sweet tooth?; energy foods; lunchbox challenge and germs quiz.