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Making a Meal of It

Elementary, Middle

Description

The activities within this resource are designed to teach students about food, hunger, and what we can do to prevent hunger in local communities and around the world.

Students will:

  • explore the origins of various types of food
  • become aware of what defines free trade food items.
  • understand the difference between hunger, malnutrition, and starvation.
  • explore what they can do to make a difference for people who do not have enough food.

General Assessment

What skills does this resource explicitly teach?

This resource explicitly teaches:

  • the difference between hunger, starvation, and malnutrition.
  • the definition of fair trade.
  • students to analyze where their food comes from.

Strengths

  • The resource is well organized and easy to use.
  • Photos provided depict a variety of cultures and people with different socio-economic living conditions.
  • Definitions and outcomes are clearly defined.
  • Resource is available online, and includes all necessary black line masters.
  • Resource addresses the need for action projects relating to the issues presented.
  • Activities encourage students to ask questions and provides opportunities for students to discuss and reflect.

Weaknesses

  • Students do not have the opportunity to take part in activities out of doors for some or all of activities.
  • Activities could focus more on locally-focused food production and trade.
  • Assessment strategies are not provided for students and teachers.
  • Authentic Action experiences should be a major part of the learning process.
  • Activities do not address environmental and ecological issues relating to food production and shipping

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          • Physical and Health Education: Personal choices and social and environmental factors influence our health and well-being
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          • Physical and Health Education: Healthy choices influence our physical, emotional, and mental well-being
        • Social Studies
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          • Global Issues and Governance: Complex global problems require international cooperation to make difficult choices for the future.
          • Global Issues and Governance: Economic self-interest can be a significant cause of conflict among peoples and governments.

    Themes Addressed

    • Economics (2)

      • Poverty Reduction
      • Trade

    • Food & Agriculture (1)

      • Local Food

    • Human Health & Environment (1)

      • Hunger and Malnutrition

    • Human Rights (1)

      • Poverty

    Sustainability Education Principles

    Principle Rating Explanation
    Consideration of Alternative Perspectives Good
    Consideration of Alternative Perspectives:
    • Satisfactory: absence of bias towards any one point of view
    • Good: students consider different points of view regarding issues, problems discussed
    • Very good: based on the consideration of different views, students form opinions and  take an informed position
    Multiple Dimensions of Problems & Solutions Satisfactory
    • This resource effectively addresses many dimensions of problems and solutions, although the resource does not adequately address the ecological dimensions associated with poverty, farming or fair trade.
    Multiple Dimensions of Problems & Solutions:

    Effectively addresses the environmental, economic and social dimensions of the issue(s) being explored.

    • Satisfactory: resource supports the examination of  these dimensions
    • Good:  resource explicitly examines the interplay of these dimensions
    • Very Good:  a systems-thinking approach is encouraged to examine these three dimensions
    Respects Complexity Good
    Respects Complexity:

    The complexity of the problems/issues being discussed is respected.

    Acting on Learning Satisfactory
    • Students are encouraged to think about what things they can do to impact change in their own communities, but the resource does not fully outline the steps necessary to take action.
    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

    • Satisfactory: action opportunities are included as extensions 
    • Good: action opportunities are core components of the resource
    • Very Good: action opportunities for students are well supported and intended to result in observable, positive change
    Values Education Satisfactory
    • Students do have the opportunity to reflect and discuss how they feel about the issues addressed within the resource, however they are not necessarily locally-focused and pertinent to students' lives.
    Values Education:

    Students are explicitly provided with opportunities to identify, clarify and express their own beliefs/values.

    Empathy & Respect for Humans Good
    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 Poor/Not considered
    • Students do not participate in any outdoor activities, and do not address the environmental impact of the issues addressed within this resource.
    Personal Affinity with Earth:

    Encourages a personal affinity with -the natural world.  

    • Satisfactory: connection is made to the natural world
    • Good: fosters appreciation/concern for the natural world
    • Very Good: fosters stewardship though practical and respectful experiences out-of-doors 
    Locally-Focused Learning Satisfactory
    • Students do address the issues of where their own food comes from, but do not fully explore farming and food production in their own communities.
    Locally-Focused Learning:

    Includes learning experiences that take advantage of issues/elements within the local community. 

    • Satisfactory: learning is made relevant to the lives of the learners
    • Good: learning is made relevant and has a local focus
    • Very Good: learning is made relevant, local and takes place ‘outside’ , in the community 
    Past, Present & Future Satisfactory
    • Students are given the opportunity to discuss how food production, as well as where we buy our food, has changed over the years, but do not fully address the past, or 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 Satisfactory
    • The majority of lessons are largely teacher directed and students will end up discovering the specific learning outcomes designed by the teacher.
    Open-Ended Instruction :

    Lessons are structured so that multiple/complex answers are possible; students are not steered toward one 'right' answer.

    Integrated Learning Satisfactory
    • There are multiple opportunities for interdisciplinary teaching within this resource, however many of these opportunities are not fully explored.
    Integrated Learning:

    Learning brings together content and skills  from more than one  subject area

    • Satisfactory: content from a number of different  subject areas is readily identifiable
    • Good:  resource is appropriate for use in more than one subject area
    • Very Good:  the lines between subjects are blurred 
    Inquiry Learning Satisfactory
    • Many of the activities within this resource are quite teacher-directed, and structured. Students do however have the opportunity to develop and discuss their own questions relating to the assignments.
    Inquiry Learning:

    Learning is directed by questions, problems, or challenges that students work to address.   

    • Satisfactory: Students are provided with questions/problems to solve and some direction on how to arrive at solutions.
    • Good: students, assisted by the teacher clarify the question(s) to ask and the process to follow to arrive at solutions.  Sometimes referred to as Guided Inquiry
    • Very Good:  students generate the questions and assume much of the responsibility for how to solve them.  . Sometimes referred to as self-directed learning.

     

    Differentiated Instruction Satisfactory
    • Students complete a variety of worksheets, and complete activities as groups. Students are not given the opportunity to complete many hands on activities that will engage students with diverse learning needs.
    Differentiated Instruction:

    Activities address a range of student learning styles, abilities and readiness.

    • Satisfactory:  includes a variety of instructional approaches
    • Good: addresses  the needs of visual, auditory &  kinesthetic learners
    • Very Good: also includes strategies for learners with difficulties
    Experiential Learning Satisfactory
    • Many simulation activities are used to teach about the issues addressed within this resource.
    Experiential Learning:

    Authentic learning experiences are provided

    • Satisfactory: learning takes place through ‘hands-on’ experience or simulation
    • Good: learning involves direct experience in a ‘real world context’
    • Very good: learning involves ‘real world experiences’ taking place’ beyond the school walls.
    Cooperative Learning Satisfactory
    • Students participate in groups, but are not explicitly taught cooperative learning skills.
    Cooperative Learning:

    Group and cooperative learning strategies are a priority.

    • Satisfactory:  students work in groups
    • Good: cooperative learning skills are explicitly taught and practiced
    • Very Good: cooperative learning skills are explicitly taught, practiced and assessed
    Assessment & Evaluation Satisfactory
    • Students have the opportunity to discuss and reflect on the activities that they are involved in, but no specific assessment strategies are provided for students or teachers.
    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
    • Incidental teaching arises from cooperative learning, and the potential for peer teaching is present within action projects that students may complete, but this is not explicitly presented to educators.
    Peer Teaching:

    Provides opportunities for students to actively present their knowledge and skills to peers and/or act as teachers and mentors.

    • Satisfactory: incidental teaching that arises from cooperative learning, presentations, etc.
    • Good or Very Good: an opportunity is intentionally created to empower students to teach other students/community members. The audience is somehow reliant on the students' teaching (students are not simply ‘presenting')
    Case Studies Good
    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 majority of activities are teacher-directed and students do not have the opportunity to choose elements of their programming for the medium in which they will work. The potential for students choosing parts of their program may come to exist in the final lesson.
    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.