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World Food Day Teaching Resources

Elementary, Middle

Description

This is a very engaging resource package that will focus the attention of young learners on the issue of food security.   Through discussion and activities based  on stories told by 3 children from developing nations, students will learn the different reasons why people go hungry around the world and what steps might be taken to address the problem.   Students will:

  • Watch the slides and listen to the first-hand accounts of the challenges to grow enough food faced by each child
  • Complete a Venn Diagram exercise (materials provided) to identify which challenges were unique and which ones they faced in common
  • Complete a flow sheet exercise (materials provided)  that demonstrates the interconnections that give rise to hunger and its effects on health
  • Consider and record possible solutions to the food challenges faced by each of the 3 children
  • Complete an exercise (materials provided) in which they will compare their typical day to that of the children in the stories
  • Summarize all of the reasons they have learned as to why people go hungry

General Assessment

What skills does this resource explicitly teach?

Listening, reflecting and expressing points of view.

Strengths

  • Students will find the story format and case study approach very appealing.
  • The resource is easy to implement and complete successfully.
  • The resource focuses attention on an important issue and addresses a number of curriculum outcomes

Recommendation of how and where to use it

The resource strongly supports world issues outcomes in social studies programs.  It was developed to connect students to food security issues on World Food Day.

Relevant Curriculum Units

The following tool will allow you to explore the relevant curriculum matches for this resource. To start, select a province listed below.

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  • British Columbia
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    • Grade 6
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      • Social Studies
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        • Global Issues and Governance: Complex global problems require international cooperation to make difficult choices for the future.
  • Manitoba
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        • Communities of the World: Communities of the World
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        • My Province, Exploration, History of the Atlantic Region: Geography
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        • Cultures
        • Empowerment: Economics
        • Atlantic Canada and the World:
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        • Exploring Our World
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        • Communities of the World: Communities of the World
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      • Social Studies
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        • Global Issues and Governance: Complex global problems require international cooperation to make difficult choices for the future.
  • Nova Scotia
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      • Social Studies
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        • Social Studies 4: Physical Environment
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        • Social Studies 6: World Issues
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        • Connecting With the World: Global Connections
  • Ontario
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        • People and Environments: Canada's Interactions With The Global Communty
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        • Community Comparisons: Resources and Welath
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    • Grade 6
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        • Global Issues and Governance: Complex global problems require international cooperation to make difficult choices for the future.

Themes Addressed

Food & Agriculture (2)

  • Food Security
  • Subsistence Farming

Sustainability Education Principles

Principle Rating Explanation
Consideration of Alternative Perspectives Good

Students consider the information provided in first-hand accounts and draw their own conclusions.

Consideration of Alternative Perspectives:
  • Satisfactory: absence of bias towards any one point of view
  • Good: students consider different points of view regarding issues, problems discussed
  • Very good: based on the consideration of different views, students form opinions and  take an informed position
Multiple Dimensions of Problems & Solutions Very Good

The activities that support the stories told do an excellent job in demonstrating the environmental, social, and economic interconnections that impact food security.

Multiple Dimensions of Problems & Solutions:

Effectively addresses the environmental, economic and social dimensions of the issue(s) being explored.

  • Satisfactory: resource supports the examination of  these dimensions
  • Good:  resource explicitly examines the interplay of these dimensions
  • Very Good:  a systems-thinking approach is encouraged to examine these three dimensions
Respects Complexity Very Good

The resource effectively communicates to a young audience the number of connected factors involved in providing food security.

Respects Complexity:

The complexity of the problems/issues being discussed is respected.

Acting on Learning Poor/Not considered

Action opportunities are not included.

Acting on Learning:

Learning moves from understanding  issues  to working towards positive change — in personal lifestyle, in school, in the community,  or for the planet

  • Satisfactory: action opportunities are included as extensions 
  • Good: action opportunities are core components of the resource
  • Very Good: action opportunities for students are well supported and intended to result in observable, positive change
Values Education Good

Activities are structured to allow reflection and to require students to express their own perspectives.

Values Education:

Students are explicitly provided with opportunities to identify, clarify and express their own beliefs/values.

Empathy & Respect for Humans Very Good

The activities forge a strong connection between the learner and the children featured in the stories.

Empathy & Respect for Humans: Empathy and respect are fostered for diverse groups of humans (including different genders, ethnic groups, sexual preferences, etc.).
Personal Affinity with Earth Satisfactory

The close connection between nature, natural processes and food production is made clear. 

Personal Affinity with Earth:

Encourages a personal affinity with -the natural world.  

  • Satisfactory: connection is made to the natural world
  • Good: fosters appreciation/concern for the natural world
  • Very Good: fosters stewardship though practical and respectful experiences out-of-doors 
Locally-Focused Learning Good

Two of the activities are focused on how the student's own experience compare with the children featured.

Locally-Focused Learning:

Includes learning experiences that take advantage of issues/elements within the local community. 

  • Satisfactory: learning is made relevant to the lives of the learners
  • Good: learning is made relevant and has a local focus
  • Very Good: learning is made relevant, local and takes place ‘outside’ , in the community 
Past, Present & Future Poor/Not considered

Not considered.

Past, Present & Future: Promotes an understanding of the past, a sense of the present, and a positive vision for the future.

Pedagogical Approaches

Principle Rating Explanation
Open-Ended Instruction Very Good

The fact that there is no one cause or solution to food security is made clear.

Open-Ended Instruction :

Lessons are structured so that multiple/complex answers are possible; students are not steered toward one 'right' answer.

Integrated Learning Good

The resource package supports learning outcomes in social studies, geography, citizenship and language arts.

Integrated Learning:

Learning brings together content and skills  from more than one  subject area

  • Satisfactory: content from a number of different  subject areas is readily identifiable
  • Good:  resource is appropriate for use in more than one subject area
  • Very Good:  the lines between subjects are blurred 
Inquiry Learning Poor/Not considered

Not considered.  The resource does not adopt inquiry as a learning strategy.  It connects learners to the issue of food security through first-hand accounts, told through pictures and stories by children of their own age.

Inquiry Learning:

Learning is directed by questions, problems, or challenges that students work to address.   

  • Satisfactory: Students are provided with questions/problems to solve and some direction on how to arrive at solutions.
  • Good: students, assisted by the teacher clarify the question(s) to ask and the process to follow to arrive at solutions.  Sometimes referred to as Guided Inquiry
  • Very Good:  students generate the questions and assume much of the responsibility for how to solve them.  . Sometimes referred to as self-directed learning.

 

Differentiated Instruction Good
Differentiated Instruction:

Activities address a range of student learning styles, abilities and readiness.

  • Satisfactory:  includes a variety of instructional approaches
  • Good: addresses  the needs of visual, auditory &  kinesthetic learners
  • Very Good: also includes strategies for learners with difficulties
Experiential Learning Satisfactory

Activities encourage students to compare their own experiences to those of the children featured in the resource. 

Experiential Learning:

Authentic learning experiences are provided

  • Satisfactory: learning takes place through ‘hands-on’ experience or simulation
  • Good: learning involves direct experience in a ‘real world context’
  • Very good: learning involves ‘real world experiences’ taking place’ beyond the school walls.
Cooperative Learning Poor/Not considered

Not considered.  The activities are structured to allow students to work individually or in small groups.  No specific direction is given to support cooperative learning.

Cooperative Learning:

Group and cooperative learning strategies are a priority.

  • Satisfactory:  students work in groups
  • Good: cooperative learning skills are explicitly taught and practiced
  • Very Good: cooperative learning skills are explicitly taught, practiced and assessed
Assessment & Evaluation Satisfactory

The teacher's guide includes reflection questions and a range of possible answers with each activity.

Assessment & Evaluation: Tools are provided that help students and teachers to capture formative and summative information about students' learning and performance. These tools may include reflection questions, checklists, rubrics, etc.
Peer Teaching Poor/Not considered

Not considered

Peer Teaching:

Provides opportunities for students to actively present their knowledge and skills to peers and/or act as teachers and mentors.

  • Satisfactory: incidental teaching that arises from cooperative learning, presentations, etc.
  • Good or Very Good: an opportunity is intentionally created to empower students to teach other students/community members. The audience is somehow reliant on the students' teaching (students are not simply ‘presenting')
Case Studies Very Good

The resource activities are based on three first-hand accounts provided by children living in the developing world.

Case Studies:

Relevant case studies are included.  Case studies are thorough descriptions of real events from real situations that students use to explore  concepts in an authentic context.

Locus of Control Poor/Not considered

Not considered.  Specific requirements of each student for completion of the activities are scripted.

Locus of Control: Meaningful opportunities are provided for students to choose elements of program content, the medium in which they wish to work, and/or to go deeper into a chosen issue.