“We Wanted to Make Life Easier for Teachers”: Inside the Thinking Behind Flourish for Junior Cycle Home Economics
Designing a new home economics resource is no small task, particularly when the goal is to meet the needs of both students and teachers in today’s classrooms. For the authors of Flourish, the starting point was clear: create something practical, accessible, and genuinely useful.
“We wanted everything to be presented in a really modern way, it’s a text-heavy subject, but we’ve broken it down as much as possible so it doesn’t come across that way. The text is needed to support learners, but all of the images and illustrations are really specific to home economics and really supportive for learning.”
Accessable & Student-friendly
That focus on design and accessibility was central from the outset. “The book is very clear in its presentation. It’s got lots of images, lots of illustrations, and it’s brightly coloured. Each unit is done in a different colour, so it’s very clear for students to see that these topics are linked.”
That clarity is especially important for a diverse classroom. “The font is very student-friendly, and that’s really important, especially for students with AEN or English as an additional language. It’s important they can look at the book and not be intimidated by it.”
Keywords are another key feature. “It also has keywords which makes it very easy for students to identify the key learning in each chapter. They’re highlighted really well, so it’s easy for students to pick them out and develop their literacy skills.”
“I was constantly making my own resources”
The idea for Flourish was driven by a clear gap in existing materials.
“I found that I was constantly making my own resources,” the author says. “So I really wanted to take that extra piece of work off teachers, just to make life easier. The activities are ready to go, the worksheets are already made, and there are prompts and probes there for teachers.”
Exam preparation was another missing piece. “There wasn’t anything that could actually practise an exam question. So in Flourish, we have short style and long style exam questions for every single chapter. Students can practise from day one.”
Supporting the 50% practical exam
A major focus of Flourish is the Culinary Skills book, designed to support the practical element of Junior Cycle Home Economics.
“The culinary skills book really fills the gap for the cookery exam, which is 50% for students,” the authors explain. “It highlights key skills. It has the sustainability. It has hygiene, safety, presentation, sensory evaluation, theory evaluation, all in one.”
It’s also designed with real classroom constraints in mind. “All 40 recipes are suitable for one-hour classes, but we also have modifications. So regardless of your school timetable, they can be adapted. Students learn the basic skill, and then there are modifications so you can come back and build on it.”
Students are also supported in developing evaluation skills. “There’s a write-in evaluation where students can actually write in their answers after every cookery.”
Easy planning and ready to go
“Everything is done for the teacher in advance”
Time pressure is a reality for every teacher, and Flourish is designed to respond directly to that.
“So much time goes into developing PowerPoints, lessons, and class tests,” the authors say. “With Flourish, all of this is developed. It’s all ready to go.”
Even practical lessons are streamlined. “All of the PowerPoints are done in the AB method, which is a real time consumer for teachers. Now you can just put it up on the board and run the class.”
The book also supports mixed-ability classrooms. “Our assessment allows for different levels. If you look at the ‘assessment menu’, we have a starter, a main course, and a dessert, and that's addressing the different levels of ability of assessment within the classroom.”
Building confidence for exams
Exam support is embedded throughout the programme.
“There are exam tips throughout where it clearly explains what’s needed to get marks,” the author explains. “We also have the short and long exam questions in every chapter, which really helps teachers prepare students.”
The Culinary Skills book further reinforces this by focusing on the specific areas where marks are awarded in the practical exam.
A complete package for Junior Cycle Home Economics
When schools adopt Flourish, they receive a full suite of resources.
“There are four books in the package: the textbook, the activity and assessment book, the culinary skills book, and the teacher resource book,” the authors outline. “The activity and assessment book has short and long answer questions, and the culinary skills book focuses on the 50% cookery exam.”
Alongside this, there is a full suite of digital resources. “There are PowerPoints, online quizzes that are self-correcting, tests and worksheets for every chapter, and PowerPoints for every recipe.”
“Practical, supportive, modern”
Asked to describe Flourish in three words, the answer is straightforward:
And equally: “Accessible, student-friendly, and creative.”
To see how Flourish can support your Junior Cycle Home Economics classroom, contact your local Gill Education rep today!