“Talking about Food” is one of a series of lessons that uses active learning to teach young children concepts associated with understanding their ecological footprint. Students explore their food choices in relationship to the 5 N’s (natural, near, now, naked, nutrition). As they critically examine how food consumption impacts the environment they are active participants in a hands-on learning process where they:
This resource supports Science and Social Studies outcomes related to exploring human impacts on the environment, pollution, stewardship and global issues. Health outcomes are also supported by discussions surrounding nutrition. The learning could be easily extended with a trip to a community garden where students could work alongside local citizens to learn more about the food growing process.
A peer awareness project could involve the class in preparing a snack for classrooms that features local food products and includes a brief presentation about sustainable food choices. A citizenship project could involve students in approaching local farms for donations of “imperfect” produce that might be thrown away and providing this food to local seniors or a food bank.
The following tool will allow you to explore the relevant curriculum matches for this resource. To start, select a province listed below.
Principle | Rating | Explanation |
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Consideration of Alternative Perspectives | Good | Food choices are explored in the context of environmental responsibility and the connection to nutrition. Healthy for the environment typically means healthier for the human since organic food is grown without harsh chemicals and pesticides and natural/local foods typically have higher nutrient values. |
Consideration of Alternative Perspectives:
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Multiple Dimensions of Problems & Solutions | Good | The connection between food miles, intensive agriculture and the environment ensures students are aware that transportation increases carbon emissions, fertilizers impact water quality and pesticides threaten ecosystems and habitats. |
Multiple Dimensions of Problems & Solutions: Effectively addresses the environmental, economic and social dimensions of the issue(s) being explored.
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Respects Complexity | Good | Presents an age appropriate and balanced view of how individual sustainability choices can collectively result in significant global change. |
Respects Complexity: The complexity of the problems/issues being discussed is respected. | ||
Acting on Learning | Satisfactory | The culminating activity "Count Yourself In" encourages student engagement by offering a forum for individual expression about food choices and encourages positive change by tracking when students choose to buy food that is local, in season or has minimal packaging. |
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
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Values Education | Good | Students have many opportunities to analyze and reflect on personal feelings about food and the environment. |
Values Education: Students are explicitly provided with opportunities to identify, clarify and express their own beliefs/values. | ||
Empathy & Respect for Humans | Poor/Not considered | |
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 | One extension activity suggests a community walk so the class can observe signs of food growth such as apple trees. This exercise would deepen student appreciation for nature. |
Personal Affinity with Earth: Encourages a personal affinity with -the natural world.
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Locally-Focused Learning | Good | This resource raises awareness of how farmers within the community can provide many options for grocery shopping at locations like farmer's markets and local food vendors. |
Locally-Focused Learning: Includes learning experiences that take advantage of issues/elements within the local community.
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Past, Present & Future | Satisfactory | Student driven strategies for reducing environmental impact support looking toward the future and increases the likelihood of long lasting changes in the way they think about sustainability. |
Past, Present & Future: Promotes an understanding of the past, a sense of the present, and a positive vision for the future. |
Principle | Rating | Explanation |
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Open-Ended Instruction | Good | The hands-on approach actively engages students in the subject matter and supports evidence based learning, |
Open-Ended Instruction
: Lessons are structured so that multiple/complex answers are possible; students are not steered toward one 'right' answer. | ||
Integrated Learning | Satisfactory |
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Integrated Learning: Learning brings together content and skills from more than one subject area
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Inquiry Learning | Good | Hands-on activities, role play and games encourage meaningful dialogue and stimulate curiosity about the topic. |
Inquiry Learning: Learning is directed by questions, problems, or challenges that students work to address.
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Differentiated Instruction | Good | |
Differentiated Instruction: Activities address a range of student learning styles, abilities and readiness.
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Experiential Learning | Satisfactory | The experiential component of the lesson could be enhanced with a visit to a local community garden to learn more about the growing process by assisting with tasks like planting, weeding or harvest. |
Experiential Learning: Authentic learning experiences are provided
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Cooperative Learning | Poor/Not considered | |
Cooperative Learning: Group and cooperative learning strategies are a priority.
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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.
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Case Studies | Good | The personal connections to food sustain an interest in the topic and encourage extended discussions with family about grocery purchases. Thus, the learners will become invested in this lesson beyond the classroom. |
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 | Good | Students have a great deal of choice in the decision-making process where they identify strategies for lowering their environmental footprint. |
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. |