The Global Schools Program for Grade 3 aims to teach students about the origin of food, the systems that distribute it and how it impacts the lives of people around the world. The resource is comprised of five lessons.
Lesson 1 Origins of Food: The students will draw and discuss what they are eating for lunch and where the food came from. Then they will complete a picture analysis of lunches from around the globe which they will sort and rank based on quality. As a final activity, the students will create a food production map.
Lesson 2 Farming Culture and Guest Speaker: The students will be introduced to different agriculture practices from around the world. A guest speaker involved in agriculture will present to the class. Afterwards the students will complete a piece of writing as a reflection activity.
Lesson 3 How Plants Grow: The students will learn about the plant life cycle and then design an individual garden that will be shared with the class.
Lesson 4 Class Garden: After a review of the individual garden plans, each student will complete an individual assigned task in order to help in the creation of a class garden.
Lesson 5 Food in Complex Systems - Harkness Discussion: The students will participate in a Harkness style discussion in order to share and reflect on their learning.
This resource is suitable for early elementary classrooms. It connects very well to the Social Studies, Science and Health curriculum and can be used later in the year to plant a garden as a culminating year end activity.
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 | Very Good | The basis of the resource and its five lessons are on open ended discussions that allow the students to explore the topic of food and food production. |
Consideration of Alternative Perspectives:
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Multiple Dimensions of Problems & Solutions | Satisfactory | |
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 | Satisfactory | |
Respects Complexity: The complexity of the problems/issues being discussed is respected. | ||
Acting on Learning | Very Good | The students are involved in planning and building their own class garden. This may lead them to encourage their parents to build a family garden. |
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 | The Harkness discussion at the end of the resource allows the students an opportunity to express their learning, beliefs and values. |
Values Education: Students are explicitly provided with opportunities to identify, clarify and express their own beliefs/values. | ||
Empathy & Respect for Humans | Good | The discussion of the origin of food and the analysis of meals from around the globe will allow students to explore other cultures and learn about their food choices. |
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 | Very Good | |
Personal Affinity with Earth: Encourages a personal affinity with -the natural world.
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Locally-Focused Learning | Good | The building of a class garden could benefit the local food bank or the students themselves. |
Locally-Focused Learning: Includes learning experiences that take advantage of issues/elements within the local community.
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Past, Present & Future | Satisfactory | |
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 | Very Good | |
Open-Ended Instruction
: Lessons are structured so that multiple/complex answers are possible; students are not steered toward one 'right' answer. | ||
Integrated Learning | Very Good |
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Integrated Learning: Learning brings together content and skills from more than one subject area
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Inquiry Learning | Satisfactory | |
Inquiry Learning: Learning is directed by questions, problems, or challenges that students work to address.
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Differentiated Instruction | Good | There are no strategies provided for learners with difficulties. |
Differentiated Instruction: Activities address a range of student learning styles, abilities and readiness.
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Experiential Learning | Very Good | The building of the garden allows students to have a learning experience that is in a natural setting. |
Experiential Learning: Authentic learning experiences are provided
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Cooperative Learning | Good | The students will learn the necessary skills of a fair and equal discussion by participating in the Harkness discussion. The teacher will have to research how to properly conduct such a discussion as there are no materials provided for background information. |
Cooperative Learning: Group and cooperative learning strategies are a priority.
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Assessment & Evaluation | Very Good | Although there are no tools provided, there are concrete assessment suggestions for the teacher that are easily implemented. |
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 | Satisfactory | |
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 | Poor/Not considered | This is not a focus for this resource. |
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 in a manner where the goals of the lessons are very focused; therefore, there is not a lot of choice for the students to make. |
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. |