Food Waste Lesson Plan
Lesson Plan
1 hour 10 minutesGrades6, 7, 8Social Studies
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Written by Kate Strangfeld
About this lesson
This lesson explores the complexities of food waste and its connection to climate change.
Inquire: Students think about food waste and how it may be connected to climate.
Investigate: Students learn about different sources and areas of food waste, how food waste is rooted in inequity, and how food waste contributes to greenhouse gas emissions.
Inspire: Students discuss different solutions and actions being taken to address food waste and reflect on the actions they can take within their own community.
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Everything you need to teach it
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Teaching tips
Suggestions
- This lesson includes a diverse set of perspectives, communities, and solutions where students learn about the complexity of food waste from different contexts.
- Seeing the severity and inequities of food waste might cause feelings of anxiety, sadness, anger, despair, or surprise in some students. Teachers can remind students that those feelings are normal and natural. Sharing those feelings with the class can help support students’ social-emotional learning. Encourage students to share their honest reactions.
- Students are likely to have different perspectives and emotions regarding food waste. It can be an overwhelming experience to learn about the severity of this problem. This lesson embeds questions to give students time and space to process these emotions and inequities.
- The flexibility of this lesson allows teachers to use their established classroom strategies for learning about a topic, including a student KWL chart, anchor charts, an introductory lesson into further research, brainstorming, and categorical organizers.
- Questions in the Investigate section can be completed in pairs or individually. Alternatively, students can be required to answer them on paper and submit them as a formative assessment.
- Students can apply their learning about food loss to their school and cafeteria, and consider action to minimize food waste.
- Students and classes can explore other resources on food waste, including the following:
- “Why food waste is a global problem and what can be done”(5:48) - PBS News Hour
- WASTED (8:16) - award-winning short documentary
- Why Does Food Waste Matter? (6:01) - World Wildlife Fund
- How to turn the tables on food waste (11:26) - TED Talk
- How Ben & Jerry’s is recycling food waste into energy (7:04) - PBS News Hour
- Students can download and take home the EPA’s Food Matters Action Kit & Activity Guide for at-home or classroom extension activities. This resource is available in English, Spanish, French, and Mayan, and can be used to support English Language Learners.
Prerequisites
- Teacher should be aware of student contexts related to food waste and food insecurity.
- This exploration and these discussions might naturally lead to the “What can we do about it?” discussion. Teacher should be ready to engage in and guide these discussions within their classroom contexts.
- Teacher can preview the other resources on food waste, which are listed in the Suggestions section, and determine which to show their class based on content.
- Teachers should decide if students will answer discussion questions on paper to turn in, through an online platform like Google Docs or Google Classroom, verbally in pairs, or in a whole-class discussion.
Differentiation
- Teacher can use various organizers, lined paper, or sentence stems for students who need structured support.
- Students can further research what their local community is doing regarding food loss and food waste.
- Students can explore how their school and cafeteria manage food waste and develop a plan to address issues they discover.
- As an extension activity, students can track food waste at home or in the school cafeteria for a week, categorizing the types of food wasted, estimate amounts, and reasons for food waste such as spoilage, over-purchasing, or leftovers. Students can create a chart or graph to show their findings and propose solutions.
- Students can research a local nonprofit or food bank that works to reduce food waste, then write a report, conduct an interview, or create a profile of the organization.
- Students can research different policies related to food waste in their community or region, then propose and develop one for their school or home.
From the scientist review
This lesson illustrates the concept of food waste and food loss and provides initiatives to reduce food waste. This will not only help in improving food security but is a good alternative to draw down greenhouse gas emissions from food waste. All materials have been fact-checked, and the lesson is credible for teaching.
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About the teacher writer
Kate Strangfeld
6-12 Chemistry Teacher
I'm a current student at Harvard Graduate School of Education and previously taught middle school science and high school chemistry for 8 years in Washington, DC. I also love to cook and be active. I focus on designing lessons that are hands-on and use real-world scenarios to make science engaging and approachable to students. I'm also currently exploring how we can use cooking and food to teach chemistry in a more interesting & relatable way.
