BreakfastBrilliance

BREAKING NEWS: Breakfast boosts test scores Scientists have shown that students who eat breakfast are more likely to do well in tests than students who skip breakfast. BREAKING NEWS: Breakfast boosts test scores To set the context – this scientific study was published in 2015 in the journal Public Health Nutrition

“Will students’ breakfast habits boost success at our school?” asks about your breakfast choices. Did you have breakfast? What did you have? Where did you have it? In this activity you will use data from the survey to answer this question: “Will students’ breakfast habits boost success at our school?” This is the big question students will investigate in this activity.

Will students’ breakfast habits boost success at our school? In pairs, analyse the full survey data (or your own school’s data) for one of the three breakfast questions. Use Student Sheet 1, 2 or 3. Get together with pairs who have analysed data from the other two breakfast questions. In this group of 6, share what you have found out. Write or film a report for your school web site. Use Student Sheet 5 to help you plan. These are the steps students will follow to answer the big question. The following student sheets give further guidance on the task, and do not need to be part of the presentation.

Q1: Did you eat breakfast? 6 Read the article below. Then predict how students’ breakfast habits might affect the exam results of your school as a whole. ARTICLE Breakfast boosts exam success A team of Cardiff scientists, led by Hannah Littlecott, has found a direct link between students’ breakfast consumption and their school attainment. The scientists asked 5000 9-11 year olds from 100 primary schools to list what they ate for breakfast on two days. Between 6 and 18 months later they looked at their results in Year 6 exams. The scientists found that children who ate breakfast were more than twice as likely to achieve above average test scores as those who ate no breakfast. Hannah Littlecott said: “this study offers the strongest evidence yet of links between what students eat and how well they do at school.” 1 Draw a pie chart on the template sheet to present the answers from your data. Calculate the yes angle like this: angle = (number who said yes ÷ total number of students) × 360° 2 Explain why a pie chart is a good way of presenting students’ answers to this question. 3 Describe what your pie chart shows. Include phrases like ‘a quarter’, ‘a third’, or ‘three-quarters’. “In my school/in the school data …” 4 Suggest reasons for students deciding to eat breakfast, or not. “Students might decide to eat breakfast because…” “Students might decide not to eat breakfast because…” 5 How could you find out if your suggested reasons are correct? If possible, carry out your idea. Student sheet, to be printed out for one third of the pairs in the class (so for a class of 30, print 5 copies) Student Sheet 1

Q2: Where did you eat breakfast? 1 Draw a pie chart to present the answers from your data. Calculate the home angle like this: angle = (number who eat breakfast at home ÷ total number of students) × 360° 2 Explain why a pie chart is a good way of presenting students’ answers to this question. 3 Describe what your pie chart shows. Include phrases like “most” or “over half” or “fewer than a quarter”. “In my school/in the school data …” 4 Suggest reasons for students’ decisions about where to eat breakfast. “Students might eat breakfast at home because…” “Students might eat breakfast at school because…” 5 How could you find out if your suggested reasons are correct? If possible, carry out your idea. 6 Discuss the questions below: Can you use your pie chart to make conclusions about the numbers of students in the UK who eat breakfast at home / at school / on the go? Why, or why not? The pie chart below shows where students in one school in Paris eat breakfast. Student sheet, to be printed out for one third of the pairs in the class (so for a class of 30, print 5 copies) How is the data on the pie chart similar to yours? How is it different? What reasons might there be for any differences? Student Sheet 2

Q3: What did you eat for breakfast ? 6 Discuss the questions below: Can you use your bar chart to make conclusions about the numbers of students in the UK who eat different foods for breakfast? Why, or why not? The bar chart below shows what students in one school in Hull eat for breakfast. 1 Draw a bar chart on the template page to present the answers from your data. 2 Explain why a bar chart is a good way of presenting students’ answers to this question. 3 Write a few sentences to describe what your bar chart shows. Include phrases like: “the most popular breakfast food…” or “very few students ate…” “In my school/in the school data …” 4 Suggest reasons for students’ breakfast choices. “The most popular breakfast food was …” “I think this might be because…” “The least popular food was…” 5 How could you find out if your suggested reasons are correct? If possible, carry out your idea. How is the data on the bar chart similar to yours? How is it different? What reasons might there be for any differences? Student sheet, to be printed out for one third of the pairs in the class (so for a class of 30, print 5 copies) Student Sheet 3

This chart represents: Student sheet, to be printed out for each pair (so for a class of 30, print 15 copies) Use these Pie Chart and Bar Chart templates to represent your data in the question you’ve chosen. Graph Templates

NOTES for our website report All about the Big Food Survey (What it is, who did it, what questions did it ask, and so on) NOTES for our website report What percentage of students eat breakfast? (Pie chart and sentence describing it.) Will students’ breakfast habits boost success at our school? Why? Where do students eat breakfast? (Pie chart and sentences describing it.) How to get your son or daughter to eat breakfast: advice for parents and carers What do students eat for breakfast? (Bar chart and sentences describing it.) Students groups of 6 (made up of three pairs, each of which tackled a different student sheet) can use a print out of this sheet to help them to plan their article or video reporting findings of the Big Food Survey for your school web site. Why is breakfast important? Student Sheet 5

Learn more about the science of eating! Visit The Crunch operated by The Wellcome Trust for more lesson plans, games and interactive resources to get in the know. This is the big question students will investigate in this activity. https://thecrunch.wellcome.ac.uk