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Global Food Challenge

A cross-curricular resource to investigate global food issues

Elementary

Description

Global food issues are complex. While supplies have surpassed population growth, 821 million people still go to bed hungry every night. This resource allows students to better understand how global supply chains currently work, where our food comes from, and some of the challenges facing the small-scale farmers who produce it.

Students will have the chance to complete six different activities about food challenges and how to advocate for a more sustainable system.                                                                                            

 

Activity 1: Why are people hungry?

During this activity, students will develop an understanding of the scale of the global hunger crisis. Students will realize that there is plenty of food available, but many people go hungry around the world.                                                                                             

Activity 2: Where does our food come from?

This group activity leads students to investigate items found at their local supermarket. Students will realize that some of the items found are originated from poorer countries.                                                 

Activity 3: Who produces our food?

Students will have the opportunity to explore farming across the world. Using a case study and playing a board game, students will look at some challenges small-scale farmers face and solutions to these problems. This will help them identify potential benefits that small-scale farming can bring to communities.                                       

Activity 4: What are global supply chains?

Students will learn about food supply chains and how they can be easily affected during this role-playing activity. This will help them consider what could be done to create a fairer supply chain.

 

Activity 5: By playing the simulation game “Can you beat the system?”, students will better understand the global food system and realize that there are winners and losers. This will help develop their empathy with people whose livelihoods are affected by the global food system.

 

Activity 6: Taking action

Students will explore and discuss different actions which can be taken for a fairer and more sustainable food system. In groups, they will work on an action plan for food justice.

General Assessment

Strengths

  • Students will find the variety of activities and case study very appealing
  • The resource is easy to implement and complete
  • The resource focuses attention on an important issues 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 and to better understand the global food system and the uneven distribution of resources.

Relevant Curriculum Units

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Themes Addressed

Food & Agriculture (3)

  • Food Security
  • Local Food
  • Subsistence Farming

Human Health & Environment (1)

  • Hunger and Malnutrition

Human Rights (1)

  • Poverty

Sustainability Education Principles

Principle Rating Explanation
Consideration of Alternative Perspectives Good

This resource encourages discussion and inquiry on the broader values in regard to the issue related to food security and hunger. Students will realize that we live in a world with abundant food where there is more than enough for everyone, but we ware still faced with famine.  

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 Good

The multitude of activities do an excellent job of 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 by using a number of different approaches to help connect factors involved in providing food security.

Respects Complexity:

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

Acting on Learning Good

Session 6 is designed to have students create an action plan to help raise awareness of world hunger within the broader community. 

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

As students examine world hunger issues it is expected to raise questions about fairness, justice and individual and collective responsibility.

Values Education:

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

Empathy & Respect for Humans Good

The unit raises the student’s awareness and empathy in regard to the many people who suffer from hunger and malnutrition, and it may be expected that student concern for their struggle will follow. 

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 Poor/Not considered
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 Satisfactory

The resource examines the current reality with respect to world hunger and argues that there is a path to a future where hunger has been eradicated.

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 Good

In this lesson, students will have multiple discussions on the challenges represented by world hunger and will have the chance to share their own opinion. Most of the lessons are made to educate students on the issue, although during the last lesson, students will need to create their own action plan. 

Open-Ended Instruction :

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

Integrated Learning Good
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 Good

Each of the lessons asks students to consider questions related to food production and hunger. Students are presented with a variety of activities that allow them to explore these questions.

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 Very Good

The teaching resources include

  • interactive games
  • case studies
  • preparing an action plan 
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 Good
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 Good

The lessons involve students working cooperatively in preparing and presenting their thoughts and ideas. 

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 Poor/Not considered
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
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 includes 2 relevant and real sistuation case studies.  

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 Satisfactory

The lessons are structured around defined aims and learning outcomes but are developed to encourage student engagement in identifying the meaning of, the causes of and the solutions to world hunger.

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.

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