Teaching the Workshop

Show the video

The La Vida de Matilde video focuses on a realistic situation and family and is presented in a telenovela, or soap opera, style. It follows Matilde over several weeks as she opens her own home day care. In the process, she becomes more aware of food safety issues and learns how to combat BAC, the bacteria that food can contain when it is not properly prepared or handled. While Matilde already practices basic food safety habits, like most of us, she could improve in a few areas.

Although the video is in Spanish, its key points can be understood by viewers who do not understand Spanish. If the facilitator does not speak Spanish and some or all of the participants do, the facilitator can read through the script in English and enlist the assistance of a translator (or a participant) to help translate during discussions. If neither the facilitator nor the participants speak Spanish, the workshop can be centered on the participant booklet and hands-on activities, with video clips shown to illustrate key points.

The video consists of three telenovela segments. Stop the video at the end of the first segment to allow participants to identify food safety issues they observed. As these issues are noted on a flipchart or transparency, encourage participants to elaborate on their comments. How could this situation have been prevented? What is Matilde already doing correctly?

After participants have discussed the segment, turn on the video again. An on-screen narrator will provide her own analysis of the segment and thus review for the participants the issues that they identified themselves. Stop the video after the narrator finishes, since participants may have additional comments after seeing the narrator.

Show the second and third segments in this same way. The facilitator should refer to the video script and the video segment synopsis while the video is being shown.

Conduct hands-on activities

Incorporate one or more of the hands-on activities in your workshop. They can be conducted before the video is shown, in between the segments, and/or at the end of the workshop.

Introduce the participant booklet

After the participants have viewed the video, hand out a copy of the booklet to each participant. Familiarize them with its contents and stress its usefulness as a take-home reference. You may want to use a quiz-show format and work through the review questions at the end of each section of the booklet. Encourage participants to copy and post pages from the booklet at their child care centers. Children can color the pictures on these "miniposters."

Conclude the workshop

At the end of the workshop, present a certificate to each participant. Conduct the quick evaluation described on page 12. Ask each participant to mention one or two food safety practices he or she plans to improve. Thank the participants for attending!