Food and health (MHE01‑03)
Basic skills

Oral skills in food and health involve being able to convey curiosity about the subject and reflection through storytelling, conversations, discussions and presentations. The development of oral skills in food and health progresses from talking about cooking and meals to presenting and discussing increasingly complex topics related to health, food consumption and food safety. The pupils must gradually use more subject terminology when grounding their choices or participating in academic discussions.

Writing in food and health involves structuring texts to use when cooking and in conjunction with meals. It also involves conveying academic competence and being able to express one's own views or choices. The development of writing skills in food and health progresses from being able to write simple shopping lists and short complex texts to being able to plan and create recipes and menus.

Reading in food and health involves understanding, interpreting and assessing recipes, tables and illustrations in conjunction with cooking. It also involves understanding and assessing relevant specialised texts. The development of reading skills in the subject progresses from understanding simple illustrations and complex texts on paper and screens to interpreting and critically assessing more complex specialised texts, figures and tables via different media.

Numeracy in food and health involves knowing and using figures and units for volume, weight, quantities, fractions, percentages, time, temperature and geometric figures in conjunction with cooking. It also involves calculating and assessing portions in recipes and conveying numbers and figures when comparing or discussing academic and interdisciplinary topics. The development of numeracy skills progresses from being able to use correct mass and weight units, and the creation of simple diagrams and tables, to being able to use various mathematical skills in the planning and execution of cooking meals, as well as being able to create more complex tables and figures in written work.

Digital skills in food and cooking involve being able to use a range of digital resources and technologies to strengthen practical cooking skills. They also involve conveying and assessing credible and appropriate digital texts, and audio, image and video files for the subject. The development of digital skills in food and health progresses from being able to use digital resources to searching for information, following recipes and presenting facts to using a wide range of digital resources to critically assess information from different media and to communicate academic reflection. The development may also progress from using simple to more advanced technology in connection with cooking. For pupils in Years 1 to 4, the use of digital devices should be especially cautious, and should not dominate teaching.