TastEd and Beans is How are proud to present “The Bean Curriculum”, a special set of three lessons introducing children to beans, peas, and lentils, while exploring sustainability and food origins.
Each lesson focuses on a different sense, offering children a rich, hands-on learning experience.
Target age group: Upper Key Stage 2 (ages 8–11)
Lesson length: Each session takes between 45 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes, depending on the lesson, your setting and
level of engagement.
Materials included:
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A detailed Lesson Plan outlining what to prepare, step-by-step instructions, a word bank, background facts, and extension ideas.
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An accompanying PowerPoint to guide you and your class through the lesson in a clear, engaging way.
Lessons can be taught in any order. However, it is recommended to start with sight and gradually progressing to taste, allowing children time to build confidence in a pressure-free environment.
1: “Good Luck Lentils”
Explore lentils through the sense of SIGHT—encouraging observation of shape, size, and colour.
2: “Raw and Cooked Chickpeas”
Use the sense of TOUCH, compare the texture of raw vs cooked chickpeas and taste hummus.
3: “Beans and Biodiversity”
Through the sense of TASTE, explore a variety of beans and create a simple bean salad.
Complementary Materials
About TastEd
TastEd (Taste Education) is a UK charity that brings sensory food education into schools and early years settings. Their approach is based on the Sapere method, which supports children to explore food using all five senses—without pressure to taste or eat.
The core principles of TastEd are:
- Exploration through the senses: Sight, smell, touch, hearing, and taste.
- Pressure-free learning: Lesson create an environment where children have
agency to decide how and when they want to interact with the food. - Positive food experiences: Encouraging curiosity and confidence with healthy
foods. The aim of a TastEd lesson is to support children to build confidence trying new foods.
Further training videos, lesson plans, and support materials are available on the TastEd resource hub. Sign up at www.tasteeducation.com.
Acknowledgements
These lessons were developed by TastEd in collaboration with Beans is How, a global campaign to double the consumption of beans, peas, lentils and other pulses by 2028, bolstered by a Coalition of 120+ partners. Beans are a simple, affordable solution to help address malnutrition, climate change, biodiversity loss, and food affordability.
Financial support was contributed by the US Dry Bean Council, which represents the global trade interests of the U.S. dry bean industry, promoting international market development and providing information to consumers.
Additional support was also received from Hodmedod’s —a UK-based company working with British farmers to provide pulses, grains, seed & more from fair and sustainable production — and Bold Bean Co., a certified UK-based B Corp on a mission to make you obsessed with beans through premium, cooked and seasoned, jarred beans.
