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Description
Walk into any large Canadian supermarket and you will find a huge variety of foods from all over the world. However, the further food travels, the higher the carbon footprint, and when we throw away a food item like an avocado from Mexico we are compounding the environmental impact of this product. This lesson teaches students about the connections between food transportation, food waste and greenhouse gas emissions with a thought provoking approach that encourages introspection about individual food decisions from the perspective of climate change. Two engaging activities deliver a complete learning experience in whcih pupils achieve the following learning goals:
- Describe the links between transportation, carbon dioxide emissions and climate change
- Map where several imported foods originate
- Calculate food miles and total carbon emissions from an assigned picnic meal
- Explain how food waste contributes to higher carbon emissions in the food supply chain
- Identify the environmental benefits of a diet that features higher quantities of local, seasonal foods
General Assessment
What skills does this resource explicitly teach?
- Calculating food miles and corresponding carbon dioxide emissions
- Examining and comparing numerical information
- Defining and describing sustainability terms
- Mapping
Strengths
- Incorporates Math and Science content about global warming in a way that demonstrates the applicability of concepts in the real world
- Includes Next Generation Science Standards
- Builds awareness of the emission rates and relative environmental impacts of a variety of transportation options
- Encourages reducing food waste as a citizen-based approach to climate change mitigation
- Well organized
Weaknesses
- The "Pre/Post Test" worksheet is only available as a link to the document answer key
- The mathematical calculations are quite complex so it is suggested that for younger students the teacher completes this aspect of the "Calculating Food Miles" activity, which might reduce student engagement
- Limited student background information
Recommendation of how and where to use it
This lesson reinforces Grade 3-5 Mathematics concepts related to describing and understanding large numbers, multiplication and obtaining information from charts. The activities also support Science content related to the links between the burning of fossil fuels, atmospheric carbon dioxide and climate change. The environmental consequences of food waste are an integral component of the lesson and build connections to human contributions to climate change, pollution and habitat degradation.
The optional extension activity of student food journaling provides an opportunity for a classroom action project focused on food waste from school lunches. Students could identify personal waste reduction strategies and teach peers with events such as creating a "Share Table" in the cafeteria where pupils can place unwanted food items that are intact, or creating a school social media post about the benefits of selecting local foods.
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.
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- Alberta
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- Grade 3
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- Math
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- Statistics: The science of collecting, analyzing, visualizing, and interpreting data can inform understanding and decision making.
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- Number: Quantity is measured with numbers that enable counting, labelling, comparing, and operating.
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- Earth Systems: Understandings of the living world, Earth, and space are deepened through investigating natural systems and their interactions.
- Matter and Energy Understandings of the physical world are deepened by investigating matter and energy.
- Scientific Methods: Investigation of the physical world is enhanced through the use of scientific methods that attempt to remove human biases and increase objectivity.
- Grade 5
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- Math
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Number: Quantity is measured with numbers that enable counting, labelling, comparing, and operating.
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- Earth Systems: Understandings of the living world, Earth, and space are deepened by investigating natural systems and their interactions.
- British Columbia
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- Development of computational fluency in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of whole numbers requires flexible decomposing and composing
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- Development of computational fluency and multiplicative thinking requires analysis of patterns and relations in multiplication and division
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- Earth Science
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- Human Ecology: food and Nutrition - Citizenship and Sustainability
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- Newfoundland & Labrador
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- Grade 3
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- Life Systems: Growth & Changes in Plants
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- Number
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- Earth and Space Systems: Conservation of Energy & Resources
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- Arithmetic
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- Arithmetic
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- Earth and Space
- Saskatchewan
- Yukon Territory
- Step 2Select a grade level
- Grade 3
- Step 3Select a subject
- Math
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Development of computational fluency in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of whole numbers requires flexible decomposing and composing
- Grade 4
- Step 3Select a subject
- Math
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Development of computational fluency and multiplicative thinking requires analysis of patterns and relations in multiplication and division
- Grade 5
Themes Addressed
Air, Atmosphere & Climate (1)
- Climate Change
Citizenship (1)
- Sustainable Consumption
Food & Agriculture (1)
- Local Food
Waste Management (1)
- Source Reduction
Sustainability Education Principles
| Principle | Rating | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Consideration of Alternative Perspectives | Good | Students are able to relate new learning to lived experience and think critically about the relationships between transportation, carbon emissions and food waste at a local level which helps young learners understand the global challenge of food sustainability. |
Consideration of Alternative Perspectives:
| ||
| Multiple Dimensions of Problems & Solutions | Good | As they explore the concept of food miles, pupils will understand the environmental consequences of high volumes of carbon emissions from various types of transport, while gaining a sense of the connection between food costs and distance travelled. Mapping food origins supports discussions surrounding affluence, food choices and proportionately high carbon footprints. |
| Multiple Dimensions of Problems & Solutions: Effectively addresses the environmental, economic and social dimensions of the issue(s) being explored.
| ||
| Respects Complexity | Good | Content about food waste emphasizes how loss occurs along the entire food supply chain from production, processing, packing, storage and shipping. This builds an understanding of how the “buy local” philosophy can significantly reduce the carbon footprint associated with transporting food over long distances by lowering fuel consumption and spoilage. |
| Respects Complexity: The complexity of the problems/issues being discussed is respected. | ||
| Acting on Learning | Satisfactory | This resource does not contain specific action project ideas, but students will understand that by choosing to consume more locally-produced food they can reduce their own carbon footprint and reduce food waste. |
| 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 | Satisfactory | The lesson supports introspection about personal food decisions and encourages a conservation ethic. |
| Values Education: Students are explicitly provided with opportunities to identify, clarify and express their own beliefs/values. | ||
| Empathy & Respect for Humans | Poor/Not considered | Although not included as part of the lesson, as students explore the sources of foods like chocolate a teacher could expand the learning with information about poverty and human rights issues in regions that are supplying developed countries with luxury food items. |
| 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 | The lesson is classroom based, but learners will develop a deeper awareness of how climate change is impacting natural systems and will understand how individual stewardship can help protect the environment. |
| Personal Affinity with Earth: Encourages a personal affinity with -the natural world.
| ||
| Locally-Focused Learning | Satisfactory | The lesson develops student understanding of the connection between local food and community sustainability and emphasizes the impact of their own food choices. |
| Locally-Focused Learning: Includes learning experiences that take advantage of issues/elements within the local community.
| ||
| Past, Present & Future | Satisfactory | Pupils will recognize how the globalization of food supply chains has provided much more variety in food options, but has also significantly contributed to the current climate change crisis. The issue of food waste is approached from the perspective of encouraging positive change in consumer habits to build a more sustainable food system 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 | Good | Students are engaged in purposeful problem-solving as they calculate food miles, explore average carbon emission rates of various types of transportation and apply this information in an analysis of how they could become effective environmental citizens by reducing food waste. |
| 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 “Calculating Food Miles” activity combines Science and Mathematics as pupils complete multiplication problems and obtain numeric information from charts to determine the carbon emission rates. The “Mapping Food” activity engages students in exploring the locations of countries around the world to understand travel distances. |
| Integrated Learning: Learning brings together content and skills from more than one subject area
| ||
| Inquiry Learning | Good | The activities uses a scaffolding process, during which students build on previous learning to query and develop answers regarding the connections between food transportation and climate change. |
| Inquiry Learning: Learning is directed by questions, problems, or challenges that students work to address.
| ||
| Differentiated Instruction | Poor/Not considered | The lesson does not provide specific differentiation strategies, but it is suggested that assigned student groups consider the skills of students so that each group contains a mix of pupils with particular strengths related to numeracy, communication and comprehension. |
| Differentiated Instruction: Activities address a range of student learning styles, abilities and readiness.
| ||
| Experiential Learning | Good | The mathematical problem solving demonstrates the application of numeracy skills in an authentic task in which students are able to analyze and make inferences about climate change and food waste based on legitimate information |
| Experiential Learning: Authentic learning experiences are provided
| ||
| Cooperative Learning | Satisfactory | Students work in groups to complete tasks and present information. |
| Cooperative Learning: Group and cooperative learning strategies are a priority.
| ||
| Assessment & Evaluation | Good | The lesson resources include a "Pre/Post Test" to be used before and after the activities to establish the level of student understanding in relation to the learning objectives. Guided discussions support formative assessment. |
| 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 | Student groups present their information to the class. |
| Peer Teaching: Provides opportunities for students to actively present their knowledge and skills to peers and/or act as teachers and mentors.
| ||
| Case Studies | Good | The interconnections between global food supply systems and climate are a very current and relevant topic, particularly in relation to food waste. Throwing away food has become a concern of governments, organizations and businesses who are recognizing the link between food insecurity and inequitable distribution. Students will understand how personal action to reduce waste benefits global efforts to create a sustainable food system. Students are presented with real numbers related to real foods transported from real places. |
| 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 lesson provides an optional idea to extend the learning with student food journals that document individual diet and waste. This suggestion offers an opportunity for pupils to explore their food decisions in more detail and describe their own thoughts about their consumption patterns and environmental impacts. |
| 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. | ||
