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FOOD FOR THOUGHT.

Deir, Paul; Barbara Mansfield; and Mimi Vallat.

Illustrated by David McLaren. Toronto, The Canada Studies Foundation, c1986. 59pp, paper, $5.95, ISBN 0-92086644-1. Distributed by Dominie Press.

Grades 5-8
Reviewed by Nadiya Blaine

Volume 14 Number 6
1986 November


Food for Thought is a text and activity book designed to teach nutrition to students in grades 5 and 6, although teachers could also use this book for students in grades 7 and 8, especially in the latter units. This book contains an introduction, an overview, and five units that cover the following: "Nutrition," "Food Habits," "Interdependence," "Food in Our Past-Present-Future," and "Food for Thought-Issues."

Included in each unit is a section of main ideas and a section of notes and activity pages that could be duplicated for the use of the students. As the book is three-hole punched, the torn out pages and the book could be kept in a binder.

I found that, on the whole, the notes lack sufficient detail for a teacher with little or no background in nutrition. The activity pages are well designed with cute line drawings, but the book does not contain an answer page. Although it could be argued that the answers would be generated by the students' discussion, a guideline would be very helpful. Meatier notes and an answer page would make a teacher much more willing to use this book as a teaching aid.

The book, however, is well organized otherwise, and contains many good ideas for topics of discussion, class work, and group work. It also takes into account and suggests ways of using the students' ethnic backgrounds to enrich the study of food and nutrition.

Food for Thought would be a very useful tool for the teaching of nutrition if the teacher uses it the way it is intended, as an aid and not as the sole source of information.


Nadiya Blaine, Bertie E.S., Ridgeway, Ont.
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