The Tikkun Project
Investigating the Attributes of What We Eat
Add a Title
Investigating the Attributes of What We Eat
Goals
- Science (B2.2): Identify the major parts of plants and describe their functions (specifically those we eat).
Health & Phys-Ed (D2.1): Describe how different foods provide energy and nutrients for growth.
Mathematics (D1.1): Sort and classify concrete objects by two or more attributes (e.g., Colour and Plant Part).
Thinking and Learning Skills
- Thinking (Critical Thinking): Can the student explain how one object can belong to three different groups at the same time?
Research (Information Literacy): How effectively does the student use the provided plant-part diagram to solve a sorting "puzzle"?
Communication (Exchanging Information): Is the student's vocabulary becoming more specific when describing the attributes of the food?
Concept
Lesson Outline
The "Mystery Basket"
Show a basket containing an apple, a carrot, a piece of bread, and a chocolate chip. Ask: "If I want to put these in groups, how should I do it?"
Students generate as many ways to group them as possible (e.g., "Things that are red," "Things I like"). [Strategy: Generate-Sort-Connect-Elaborate (PZ). Source: PZ GSCE]
The Multidimensional Sort
Set up different stations. Groups move food items through the following "Lenses":
The Rainbow Lens (Colour): Sorting by pigment.
The Gardener’s Lens (Plant Parts): Is it a Root (carrot), Stem (celery), Leaf (kale), Flower (broccoli), or Seed (peas)?
The Tradition Lens (Hebrew Bracha): Is it Ha'Etz (Tree), Ha'Adamah (Earth), Mezonot (Grains), or Shehakol?
The Energy & Nutrients Lens (Nutritional Value): Instead of "Healthy," use: "Does this give my body lots of vitamins to grow?"
The Chef’s Lens (preference): Foods I LOVE to cook or eat, foods I don’t like to cook or eat
Point to a potato. Ask, "Where does this go in the Gardener's Lens? Where does it go in the Bracha Lens?"
"Can a food be in the Ha'Etz group AND the Red group AND the Tastes Great group?" [Source: PZ Parts, Purposes, Complexities]
Ve’ahavta and the Whole Person: The Preference vs. Fuel Matrix
"When we love our neighbors, we care about what they need (Fuel) and what they like (Preference). Both are part of being a person!"
Place two lines on the floor to make a cross (a 4-quadrant grid).
One axis: Preference I love it <---> I don’t like it
Other axis: High Fuel/Nutrients <---> Low Fuel/Nutrients.
Find 2 foods that fit in each category (I love it & High Fuel, I love it & low fuel, I don’t like it & High Fuel, I don’t like it and low fuel). Strategy: Reasoned Judgment (TC2).
Critical Challenge Note
This lesson deconstructs the "shame" often associated with food. By using the Gardener's Lens and the Bracha Lens, we elevate food to a biological and spiritual level. This helps students make more "Reasoned Judgments" when they eventually choose ingredients for their community meal.
Assessment
Are students thinking beyond just "Healthy vs. Junk"? Do they notice physical attributes like shape or skin?