In this collection of activities, students will learn about the global food system, the benefits of supporting local farmers, how to grow food, and where food comes from in Canada.
Students will create a food log, map where foods come from, learn the parts of a plant, plant and care for seeds, investigate food miles in a pizza simulation, interview elders about historical food systems, persuade grocery stores to be more sustainable, reflect through journaling, and create a mindmap to synthesize their learning.
Teaching Tips
Positives
Students think critically about their food choices and how they impact the environment.
Many of the activities are collaborative and hands-on.
Students are encouraged to change their food choices to help reduce food miles.
Additional Prerequisites
The resource is also available in French.
The resource provides student worksheets as PDFs and Google Docs.
Students need access to computers with internet access.
Teachers must provide paper towels, plates, spray bottles, seeds, masking tape, markers, pots, drainage trays, potting soil, plastic wrap, and poster/chart paper.
The lesson has five sections of activities: SDG Connections, Getting Ready - Asking Why, Planting Food, Essential Follow-Up Activities, and Extending the Learning. There are also three appendices: Background, Planting Options and Tips, and Assessment Opportunities.
Differentiation
List-making and grocery-shopping activities make this lesson a relevant addition to a life skills class.
This lesson is specific to Canada, but teachers can modify it for other countries by having students research in-season food, percentage of imports, and distances between cities for their area in the pizza simulation.
The resource provides numerous options for extension and differentiation, including means to connect the lesson with English language arts, math, health, and art.
For younger students or those who may need more structure and support, there is a version of this toolkit available for middle grades.
Students less familiar with climate change may need help building connections between the food system, such as food miles and climate change. The additional resources linked throughout the introduction and background information sections can help do this.
Teachers can add questions directly addressing climate change to the journaling follow-up activity, such as "How are my food choices impacting the environment and climate?"
Scientist Notes
This resource from Learning for a Sustainable Future guides students in thinking about where their food comes from, concluding with a gardening project and baking a locally sourced ‘Canadian pizza.’ This resource forces students to examine how their food choices impact climate change due to the international transportation of many foodstuffs. The UN Sustainable Development Goals are a guiding force, and the resource stresses a systems view of food production. The action toolkit provides links to excellent sources that detail crucial background information. This resource features clear text, includes a series of helpful tables that lay out each activity, and is recommended for teaching.
Standards
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
HS-ESS3-4 Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces impacts of human activities on natural systems.
LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
HS-LS2-7 Design, evaluate, and refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment and biodiversity.
College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards
Dimension 2: Economics
D2.Eco.15.9-12 Explain how current globalization trends and policies affect economic growth, labor markets, rights of citizens, the environment, and resource and income distribution in different nations.
Dimension 2: Geography
D2.Geo.2.9-12 Use maps, satellite images, photographs, and other representations to explain relationships between the locations of places and regions and their political, cultural, and economic dynamics.
Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)
Writing (K-12)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
