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Discover Dairy

Discover Dairy

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Lesson and Activity Ideas



Health & Physical Education / Health & Wellbeing / PDHPE / Interpersonal Development / Personal Learning

  • Students to complete the It's Your Dairy Choice student activity sheet. Students will be able to use the accompanying It's Your Dairy Choice Menu Plan to keep a record of the dairy foods they eat over the period of a few days. As a class activity, students could discuss the importance of having three serves of dairy every day.
  • In pairs, students to design an obstacle course within the school that promotes exercises for building unbeatable bones. At home, students to investigate their house and garden for ways in which they can exercise to build unbeatable bones. Give example questions including: Are there any steps? Do you have a trampoline? Are there trees and plants you can walk around? Do you have a skipping rope? Students to report their findings to the class. As an extension activity, students to work out a simple program to help every member of the family to build unbeatable bones.
  • Younger students to complete the Know Your Skeleton activity sheet.
  • Working in groups, and using a diagram of a skeleton as a reference guide, (see the Bone Basics section) students to draw and cut out life-sized bones from cardboard. They then jumble up the pieces and race to see which group can construct a skeleton first.
  • Students to complete The Great Calcium Comparison activity sheet.
  • Students to complete the Lunchbox Audit activity sheet. For an additional activity (a Canteen Audit), photocopy your school canteen product list and have students list the items that are dairy foods, or that have dairy as a main ingredient. Students could offer some creative suggestions for increasing the amount of dairy available at the canteen to help everyone build unbeatable bones.
  • As a class, organise a healthy mini-milkshake day. Perhaps you could sell milkshakes to other classes at recess or lunch to raise money to buy a milkshake maker or two for the school canteen.

English / English - Literacy

  • There are many phrases and sayings that use the word 'bone', or refer to bones - for example 'bone dry'. Students to list as many as possible and research their meaning and origin. Students to also ask their parents/carers if they know of any phrases and sayings that use the word bone, or refer to bones, to add to the class list.
  • Students to complete the Dairy Detectives activity sheet.
  • Students to write a story about a cow who loves to give her milk to children so that they build strong, healthy bones.
  • Students to prepare and present a one minute talk entitled 'Why Dairy Foods Should be in Your Lunchbox Every Day'.
  • Students to complete the Dairy - Quick Facts Crossword activity sheet to find out more about how dairy foods help to build unbeatable bones.

Mathematics / Mathematics - Numeracy

  • Students to investigate the nutritional panel of a dairy product. What can they find out from it? What nutrients are in the product? Discuss the benefits of consuming the dairy product for strong, healthy bones.
  • Using a calcium content guide, (found in the Dairy for Bones section) students to calculate their daily calcium intake. Graph the results and have students compare their intake of calcium to the recommended dietary intake (RDI). Discuss the findings.
  • At home, students to select three dairy foods (milk, cheese or yogurt) from the kitchen and compare the weight and size of each product. Report the findings to the class.
  • Students to complete the Create Your Skeleton activity sheet.
  • As a home activity - students to ask their parents/carers how long they were when they were born. Students to then measure how tall they are now. In class, graph the results. Is the student who was the longest at birth the tallest now? Students to calculate their individual average growth rate.
  • What is a serve of dairy? Investigate the size, weight and amount needed for one serve. As a class, suggest ways in which you can include three serves of dairy in your daily diets.

Science & Technology / Design & Technology / Technology & Enterprise / ICT

  • Students to research X-rays. Who invented them? How do X-ray machines work? What does an X-ray look like? What does it tell us? Why do we need X-rays?
  • Students to research why the nutrients found in dairy foods are good for building unbeatable bones.
  • Students to research osteoporosis, the risk factors for it and what can be done to help prevent it. List these and discuss them with the class.
  • As a home activity, students to ask family members if they have any old X-rays that could be brought to school to be examined and discussed with the class.
  • Investigate what 'Recommended Dietary Intake' means. What is the RDI for calcium for students in the class? How does this compare to the calcium RDI for their family members? Students to write a three day menu plan that ensures they reach their RDI for calcium each day.
  • As a home activity, students to research the symbols and abbreviations for some of the minerals found in healthy, strong bones.
  • Students to investigate three dairy products (milk, cheese and yogurt), and conduct scientific experiments and analyses on their texture, form, taste, smell, appearance etc. Record and discuss the findings.
  • Research how yogurt is made? How is cheese made?

SOSE / Society & History / The Humanities / HSIE / Social Sciences / Civics & Citizenship

  • In groups, students to research traditional recipes from other countries around the world that include dairy ingredients and share the recipes with the class.
  • As a home activity, students to find a recipe that includes dairy (it could be milk, cheese or yogurt or a combination of all three!) and share it with the class. Students then choose their 'yummiest' recipe and create a recipe card promoting it. Students to take their recipe cards home to share the recipe with their families.
  • As a class, brainstorm and then promote ideas for recycling milk cartons and other dairy containers within your school.
  • Students to research the types of dairy foods available in two other countries in the world and compare them to those available in Australia. Students to share their findings with the class and discuss reasons for the differences.

The Arts / Creative Arts

  • Students to work in groups of four. Fold a piece of paper into quarters. The first person draws the start of a skeleton and then folds the paper so that the other students cannot see the picture. A small connector line indicates to the next person where to start their part of the skeleton. The process continues until all four people have added their part to the skeleton. Students then unfold the paper to reveal the crazy skeleton. This activity can be repeated on the reverse side of the page. This is a good introduction to the topic and is also a fun extension activity for early finishers. Another variation is using the concept of a crazy milk-sipper straw.
  • In groups, students to write and perform a two-minute skit entitled, 'Why I have Unbeatable Bones'.
  • Students to complete the Building Unbeatable Bones Maze activity sheet.

LOTE / Languages

  • Students to find words in three or more other languages for milk, cheese and yogurt.
  • Students to discover how to say 'healthy bones' in sign language. How is 'healthy bones' written in Braille?
  • Discuss how you might communicate to someone who speaks another language the importance of dairy for unbeatable bones.
  • At home, ask parents/carers if they know any unbeatable bones words in languages other than English. Share them with your class.

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