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Description
Canada's Food Guide highlights how eating a variety of fruits, vegetables, grains and heart healthy proteins like legumes has tremendous health benefits. A diet that focuses on plant products has also been recognized as an important component of global efforts to reduce the environmental impacts of large-scale animal agriculture. This action-based lesson introduces students to the concept of "plant-forward" nutrition using a balanced approach that describes the relationships between "factory farming", climate change, pollution and ecosystem degradation while emphasizing how individual and collective action can improve the sustainability of food systems. Students explore why we should all make more "green" food choices as they complete the following learning objectives:
- Identify the environmental problems associated with animal-sourced food production and processing
- Define and compare plant-based, vegetarian, vegan and traditional meat-based diets from the context of nutrition and human health
- Collect and analyze data about personal eating habits
- Describe how transitioning to a plant-based diet can support ecosystem conservation and climate change mitigation
- Plan individual action goals and public awareness strategies to support and promote plant-based eating
- Use the Commit2Act platform to record and describe success in achieving action goals
General Assessment
What skills does this resource explicitly teach?
- Collecting and analyzing data to build knowledge
- Examining and interpreting information
- Problem-solving to develop sustainabilty solutions
- Reflective thinking
- Using digital tools to engage with learning
Strengths
- Focuses on environmental responsibility as students develop, implement and track sustainability goals and actions
- Provides an extensive list of additional content support materials
- Well-organized with an accompanying slide presentation to guide the lesson
- Examines an environmental issue by including first-hand data from students
- Integrates technology into the learning experience
Weaknesses
- Lesson videos provide minimal content about sustainable farming practices from the perspective of agricultural producers
- Does not provide an assessment rubric to evaluate student action plans
Recommendation of how and where to use it
This resource supports Grade 6-9 Science curriculum topics related to carbon emissions and climate change, human impacts on ecosystems and the connection between habitat loss and biodiversity declines. Connections to Geography concepts exploring land use and agricultural activity are also integrated into the lesson. The focus on plant-based eating builds links to human health and the environment while increasing awareness of social and economic factors that affect diet. Students also learn valuable environmental citizenship skills as they create public awareness plans and identify how local action supports global food sustainability.
This resource integrates very well with the "Plant a Tree or Garden" lesson Plan that is also part of the Commit2Act learning collection. Combining these two lessons could extend into a service learning project during which a class works with local citizens to create a community garden and accompanying brochures about topics like container gardening or preparing flavourful plant-based meals on a budget. The vegetables, fruits and educational materials could be donated to local food banks or provided free at events in low-income neigbourhoods.
Relevant Curriculum Units
The following tool will allow you to explore the relevant curriculum matches for this resource. To start, select a province listed below.
- Step 1Select a province
- Alberta
- Step 2Select a grade level
- Grade 6
- Step 3Select a subject
- Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Earth Systems: Understandings of the living world, Earth, and space are deepened through investigating natural systems and their interactions.
- Grade 7
- Step 3Select a subject
- Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Interactions and Ecosystems
- Plants for Food and Fibre
- Grade 9
- Step 3Select a subject
- Environmental Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Environment and Outdoor Education: Commitment to Action
- Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Environmental Chemistry
- Knowledge and Employability Science: Environmental Chemistry (Social and Environmental Contexts Emphasis)
- Manitoba
- New Brunswick
- Newfoundland & Labrador
- Northwest Territories
- Nova Scotia
- Nunavut
- Step 2Select a grade level
- Grade 7
- Step 3Select a subject
- Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Interactions and Ecosystems
- Plants for Food and Fibre
- Grade 8
- Step 3Select a subject
- Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Interactions in Our Environment
- Grade 9
- Step 3Select a subject
- Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Chemistry and the Environment
- Knowledge and Employability Science: Environmental Chemistry (Social and Environmental Contexts Emphasis)
- Ontario
- Step 2Select a grade level
- Grade 6
- Step 3Select a subject
- Science & Technology
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Life Systems: Biodiversity
- Grade 7
- Step 3Select a subject
- Science & Technology
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Earth and Space Systems: Heat in the Environment
- Life Systems: Interactions in the Environment
- Grade 9
- Prince Edward Island
- Quebec
- Saskatchewan
- Yukon Territory
Themes Addressed
Air, Atmosphere & Climate (1)
- Climate Change
Citizenship (1)
- Sustainable Consumption
Ecosystems (1)
- Biodiversity
Food & Agriculture (1)
- Conventional Farming
Sustainability Education Principles
| Principle | Rating | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Consideration of Alternative Perspectives | Good | Credible sources of information and opportunities for open dialogue and reflection provides a supportive framework for discussions surrounding agricultural systems and food sustainability. Students will understand that decisions related to dietary shifts should be based on personal analysis of individual needs and values while making responsible and environmentally-conscious choices.
|
Consideration of Alternative Perspectives:
| ||
| Multiple Dimensions of Problems & Solutions | Very Good | Pupils learn that a reduced consumer demand for meat products can lower carbon emissions, protect ecosystems and conserve water and land resources. They also identify the human health merits of plant-based eating in reducing non-communicable illnesses like heart disease. While defining benefits, students consider how barriers like affordability, accessibility and traditions may affect diet, which supports critical thinking about how interactions between socioeconomic, cultural and environmental factors must all be considered when promoting food sustainability. |
| Multiple Dimensions of Problems & Solutions: Effectively addresses the environmental, economic and social dimensions of the issue(s) being explored.
| ||
| Respects Complexity | Good | The lesson presents animal agriculture as more than just raising animals for food. Large-scale meat production involves a network of components from growing crops for feed, raising and breeding animals, processing and transportation. Learners will recognize that sustainable food production requires a systems-thinking approach where multi-faceted solutions like reducing food waste, developing new agricultural technologies and nutrient recycling can create positive change. |
| Respects Complexity: The complexity of the problems/issues being discussed is respected. | ||
| Acting on Learning | Very Good | Students brainstorm and plan action items for integrating plant-based eating into their own lives and raising public awareness of the positive health and environmental benefits of a sustainable diet. Individuals are able to record measurable results on the Commit2Act app and track the cumulative impacts of their class while sharing success with other young people. |
| 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
| ||
| Values Education | Good | Pupils participate in solution-based activities that provide many opportunities for personal reflection and thoughtful discussions about how their actions affect the environment. |
| Values Education: Students are explicitly provided with opportunities to identify, clarify and express their own beliefs/values. | ||
| Empathy & Respect for Humans | Satisfactory | Due to the potential sensitive nature of creating a personal meal log for some students, research-based food information can be used to complete this activity which provides an opportunity to explore cultural diets, lifestyle choices such as veganism and economic disparities in food availability. |
| 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 | Although students are not involved in any type of outdoor experience, they will develop an understanding of how personal changes can help protect the environment. |
| Personal Affinity with Earth: Encourages a personal affinity with -the natural world.
| ||
| Locally-Focused Learning | Satisfactory | Canada's agricultural industry is significant and many students will be able to relate to and share information about the economic and social significance of farming and employment in the agri-food sector. |
| Locally-Focused Learning: Includes learning experiences that take advantage of issues/elements within the local community.
| ||
| Past, Present & Future | Satisfactory | The lesson presents information about the environmental issues connected to animal agriculture with a positive approach that fosters an understanding of how consumer demand can drive change and support global efforts to build environmentally sound food systems for the future. |
| Past, Present & Future: Promotes an understanding of the past, a sense of the present, and a positive vision for the future. | ||
Pedagogical Approaches
| Principle | Rating | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Open-Ended Instruction | Very Good | Students become an active part of the learning process as they analyze personal meal choices, use evidence-based reasoning to identify personal action goals and problem-solve to create public awareness strategies. |
| Open-Ended Instruction
: Lessons are structured so that multiple/complex answers are possible; students are not steered toward one 'right' answer. | ||
| Integrated Learning | Good | The lesson supports Science, Health and Geography curriculum outcomes related to the agriculture industry, human impacts on the environment and sustainable food. The “Teacher Guide” offers additional ideas for integrating other subjects into the learning experience, such as using math skills to analyze and describe data or including an English Language Arts task such as writing an article about plant-based eating. |
| Integrated Learning: Learning brings together content and skills from more than one subject area
| ||
| Inquiry Learning | Good | The lesson provides a problem-based learning experience in which students explore, think, ask and answer questions to build content knowledge and develop ideas. |
| Inquiry Learning: Learning is directed by questions, problems, or challenges that students work to address.
| ||
| Differentiated Instruction | Satisfactory | Definitive differentiation tools are not included but the teacher guide contains an assortment of ideas and additional resources that can be used to modify content to suit various grade levels and student capacities. |
| Differentiated Instruction: Activities address a range of student learning styles, abilities and readiness.
| ||
| Experiential Learning | Good | The lesson provides a participatory, student-centered experience in which learners build understanding by exploring a current, high priority environmental issue and implement authentic action strategies to promote plant-based eating in their community. |
| Experiential Learning: Authentic learning experiences are provided
| ||
| Cooperative Learning | Satisfactory | Pupils work collaboratively to develop group organizational charts that identify key thoughts and questions about plant-based diets. These group discussions are shared with peers to facilitate brainstorming sessions regarding action plans. |
| Cooperative Learning: Group and cooperative learning strategies are a priority.
| ||
| Assessment & Evaluation | Satisfactory | A series of open-ended discussion questions can be used to determine student understanding as the lesson progresses and teachers are also encouraged to use student reflection journals as a formative assessment tool. An exit ticket is also included that can be used to measure the success of the learning experience. |
| 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 | Teachers establish a class group page on the Commit2Act app and students are challenged to log daily actions they have taken to inform peers and the public about climate-conscious diets. This forum enables the class to track their impacts while sharing ideas, action strategies and results with peers from many other locales. |
| Peer Teaching: Provides opportunities for students to actively present their knowledge and skills to peers and/or act as teachers and mentors.
| ||
| Case Studies | Satisfactory | Intensive animal agriculture is partially driven by consumer demand for easily accessible, affordable meat products. As pupils examine this issue from an environmental perspective they will understand why recent trends towards building sustainable food supply systems have become a priority in addressing climate change. |
| 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 are able to objectively analyze information about the environmental and health benefits of plant-forward nutrition and reflect on their learning to formulate personal sustainability goals. |
| 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. | ||
