Food I Eat Writing Activity

In this writing activity, students explore the foods they eat and where those foods come from. For example, a student might write that the ingredients in their hamburger come from a farm. This activity is a great companion to a study on food, food production, and food waste. Some key points to teach may include the following:

• impact of food waste on climate change
• emissions from food production
• inequality in access to food, (i.e., food deserts)
• native vs. imported foods

• Students may draw, write, and/or dictate to share their thoughts and ideas.

• This writing activity can be placed in a station for independent or partner work.

• It may be helpful to provide students with a vocabulary wall to use as a model for spelling difficult words.

• Some students may be facing food insecurity. It is important to be aware of this and to provide a space for students to share their feelings and wonderings. In these cases, focus on food eaten at school. The teacher may choose the writing page that focuses on the individual student (I like to eat…) versus the student’s family (My family eats…).

• There are multiple levels and versions of this writing activity. Please use the one that best fits the needs of your students.

Through this assignment, students can write about the effects of the food value chain on the climate, identify the source of their food (including food miles and food desert), and provide recommendations for how to equitably increase food security. This exercise is suggested for use in the classroom following the scientific review.

Primary Standards

• Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)
  • Writing (K-12)
    • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.K.2 Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic.
    • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.1.2 Write informative/explanatory texts in which they name a topic, supply some facts about the topic, and provide some sense of closure.
    • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.2 Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section.