Technologies K–10 · Years 1–2
Preparing a fruit platter: serves and safe food steps
Living World (NSW Science and Technology K–6, 2017, food and fibre); Design and Technologies: Knowledge and understanding, Technologies context: Food specialisations (ACARA v9)
School laboratory, not for home
In a school laboratory, with a teacher supervising, under the school's risk assessment. Not for home.
The idea
A standard serve of fruit is about 150 g, so weighing prepared fruit shows how many serves a platter holds and how to share it fairly.
Safety card
Setting: In a school laboratory, with a teacher supervising, under the school's risk assessment. Not for home.
Hazards
- Food allergy (for example to kiwi fruit or banana)
- Cuts from knives
- Food contamination
Controls
- Check allergy and anaphylaxis plans; leave out any fruit a child is allergic to
- Serrated nylon knives only for learners; an adult handles sharp knives and cores fruit
- Hands and fruit washed; fruit eaten the same session
Note
No heat or chemicals. Follow the NSW Department of Education anaphylaxis procedures and food hygiene practice; record on Primary School RiskAssess (riskassess.com.au).
What you need
- 2 apples, 2 bananas and 1 orange, washed
- 1 kitchen scale reading to 1 g
- 1 serrated nylon child-safe knife and 1 cutting board per pair
- 1 platter and 1 paper plate per child
- Handwashing station and a clean bench cloth
How to do it
- Wash hands and wipe the bench.
- Weigh one whole apple and compare it with one serve (about 150 g).
- An adult cores the apples and peels the orange; learners slice the fruit with the child-safe knife on the board.
- Put all the prepared fruit on the platter, weigh it and divide the mass by 150 g to find the number of serves.
- Share the fruit so every plate holds the same mass: divide the platter mass by the number of children and weigh each plate.
- Write the steps in order as a recipe another class could follow.
What you should see
Eat for Health defines one serve of fruit as about 150 g, or one medium apple, banana or orange. A platter of prepared fruit weighing 600 g holds 4 serves; shared among 8 children that is half of a serve, 75 g, each. Peel and cores removed before weighing mean 5 whole fruit give fewer than 5 serves on the platter. The learner knows it worked when each plate reads close to the platter mass divided by the number of children and another group can follow the written steps.
What changes
This activity lists no variables to change, measure and keep the same.
Common misconceptions
Each of these ideas is wrong, and the activity is a chance to test it.
- Fruit juice counts the same as fruit (only half a cup, 125 mL, counts, and only occasionally).
- A bigger piece always means a whole serve (serves are set by mass, about 150 g).
- Peeling does not change the amount of food (peel and core are removed, so the platter weighs less than the whole fruit).
Curriculum references
The NSW syllabus outcomes and Australian Curriculum v9 codes this activity supports. They are references, not a verified or complete curriculum alignment.
- Science and Technology K–6 Syllabus (2017), NESA. The syllabus taught in 2026; the 2024 syllabus replaces it from 2027. Code read from the official syllabus document (DOCX) on 2026-09-22.ST1-5LW-TST1-2DP-T
- Science and Technology K–6 Syllabus (2024), NESA. Implementation from 2027, so this code describes the future syllabus. Code read from the outcomes page on 2026-09-22.ST1-DDT-01
- Australian Curriculum v9AC9TDE2K04AC9TDE2P04
Sources
The pages the author read to write this activity.