Beyond the Plate - A Language & Heritage Project Plan for Year 3

​A Creative Communication Resource for Teachers

 

Beyond the Plate was a heritage project led by Bounce Theatre. We explored the origins of plant based cooking from WWII through to the current day. The project was in collaboration with Home Cafe, Earlsfield. A community led kitchen cooking food fusing together inspiration from the global communities of London.

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We worked with Charlotte Wood, founder of Verbal Diversity to devise a project that supported a small group of children to develop their communication skills along with an original cake recipe! 

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We share an overview and a copy of our plan here.

 

Target Group:
Year 3 pupils (KS2)

 

Identified Curriculum Links:

• Spoken Language (National Curriculum: KS2)

• English – Vocabulary, Grammar, and Punctuation

• Design & Technology – Cooking and Nutrition

• PSHE & Citizenship – Community and Cultural Identity

• Art & Design – Collage, Mixed Media

 

Project Overview

 

Beyond the Plate is a creative heritage project that uses reminiscence and recipe-making to support children's speech, language, and communication skills. Through storytelling, sensory exploration, and collaborative design, children will connect with local food memories and develop their own recipe. 

 

Communication Objectives

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• To build oral language and storytelling skills by exploring food-related memories

• To introduce and apply time connectives and sequencing in spoken and written tasks

• To enhance vocabulary using sensory exploration (taste, smell, touch, sight, sound)

• To foster creativity and communication through collaborative recipe development

• To use total communication approaches (gesture, sound, image, word) to support understanding and expression

 

Opportunities to develop vocabulary 

Recipe development offers a wonderful opportunity to encourage the use of the following categories in all activities:

 

Word Type

Examples

Teaching Tips

Nouns (ingredients)

flour, sugar, eggs, spice, raisins

Use real ingredients or images of ingredients to build a word bank.

Verbs (actions)

mix, stir, bake, whisk, fold

Play charades or action songs to reinforce the action to match the word.

Adjectives (senses)

sticky, smooth, crunchy, spicy, sweet

Try a tasting taste with the children. 

Time Connectives

first, next, then, finally, after that

Sequence stories, recipes, or photo steps after allowing them to play making their cake. 

 

Teaching Strategies​

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• Narrative Therapy Techniques: Use photo sequences and storytelling prompts to help children structure and share their experiences in the session..

• Total Communication: Encourage expression using gestures, facial expressions, drawing, writing, and sound as ways to explore communication.

• Physicalisation of Language: Clap, act out, or sing new words to build retention and connection.

• Collaborative Learning: Pair or group children for discussions, baking, and reflection activities.

 

What You'll Need

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• Printed or digital photos for sequencing

• Sensory materials (spices, textures, food-safe ingredients)

• Collage materials (paper, glue, scissors, old magazines)

• Recipe templates / examples

• Simple baking equipment (or collaboration with a local café)

 

Final Outcomes

 

By the end of the project, children will have:

• Created a collaborative recipe inspired by a real-life food memory

• Designed a piece of visual art to accompany their recipe

• Written and performed a recipe song or story

• Contributed to a community celebration and café menu

• Gained new confidence in their speaking and storytelling abilities

 

This resource offers a flexible, joyful approach to language development rooted in community, creativity, and cake – because sometimes the best way to learn is to taste the story first.​