Food Around the World

Project Overview

The Food Around the World project will introduce students to different aspects of food, such as what different types of food children eat around the world, where food comes from, the global food crisis, and how we can help end the global food crisis by growing our own food and giving to those in need. In Week 1, students will explore what types of food children eat around the world. They will learn about what kinds of food children from other countries eat for breakfast and what their school lunches look and taste like. They will compare and contrast these meals with our meals in the United States and video chat with a class in another country to hear first hand about the dishes that they eat. In Week 2, students will discover where their food comes from. They will learn about the process that food travels on to go from a tiny seed to their tables, hear from local farmers, and map which countries their produce comes from. This week will facilitate their global competence through learning about the long process that our food goes through and mapping on a world map where their produce originally comes from. In Week 3, students will learn about the global food crisis. The global food crisis is that one in seven people in the world are hungry, yet there is enough food to feed everyone. (www.fastcoexist.com) Students will discover that if we do not find more sustainable practices for growing and consuming food soon, that there will not be enough food for everyone in the world in 2050. (www.fastcoexist.com) Students will be taught about want and waste, brainstorm ideas of how we can end the global food crisis, and design posters explaining the problem and urging others to get involved in ending the global food crisis. In Week 4, students will plant their own food. Students will learn the value of planting their own food - that it reduces waste, is fresher, and cuts down on the energy and costs of processing and shipping produce from other countries. They will discover the materials needed to grow crops, plant seeds in a pot, and begin to watch their food grow. Students will share their classroom garden on the ANIA Children’s Land Project website and see other classroom gardens students have created throughout the world. In Week 5, students will participate in two projects to help those who are hungry. Students will make and fill bags to give to the local food bank and hold an Empty Bowls event at the school to raise money to give to the local food bank. They will learn how the small task of giving food to those in need can make a big impact in ending world hunger.

Targeted Grade Level(s)2nd Grade

Project Length5 Weeks

Project Learning Goals

Students will be able to:● know what kinds of foods children eat around the world.● discern where the food they eat comes from and understand the process it goes through to

get from a seed to their tables.● understand the global food crisis and how that impacts them and others.● plant a classroom garden.● give to those in need of food.

Essential Questions

● How are the foods that children around the world eat similar and different to what we eat in the United States? Why?

● How does knowing where our food comes from influence what we eat?● How will the global food crisis affect you and others in the future?● Why should we plant a classroom garden? How does a classroom garden positively

impact our lives and the globe?● How can we make a difference in the lives of those who are hungry?

Enduring Understandings

Students will understand:● that children around the world eat different types of food and foods cooked in different

ways than students in the United States.● the detailed process that food goes through from seed to table and that the produce they

buy in the grocery store may come from countries all over the world.● the global food crisis, how it impacts people now, and how it will impact people in the

future if more sustainable practices are not implemented.

● that planting a classroom garden positively impacts themselves and the globe by reducing waste and lowering energy costs that come from shipping and processing foods from other countries.

● that they can make a difference in the lives of those who are hungry in our community by making and filling bags to give to the local food bank and holding an Empty Bowls event.

National and State Standards

Culture:● 2.C.2.1 - Explain how artistic expressions of diverse cultures contribute to the community

(i.e. stories, art, music, food, etc.)● 2.C.2.3 - Exemplify respect and appropriate social skills needed for working with diverse

groups.

Speaking and Listening:● SL.2.1 - Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 2

topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.● SL.2.2 - Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information

presented orally or through other media.

Writing:● W.2.1 - Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or book they are writing

about, state an opinion, supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words (e.g., because, and, also) to connect opinion and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or section.

● W.2.2 - Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section.

ICT Integration

Technology will be used in several ways throughout the five week implementation of this project. First, the computer and the Smart Board will be used to display the charts, videos, and other information used throughout the lessons. Second, students will video chat online with a class from another country to discuss the different types of foods they eat. Lastly, students will post pictures from their garden on the ANIA Children’s Land Project website. Students will use iPads to take pictures and post them to the website.

Proposed Calendar of Activities and Exchanges

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Week 1: Food Around the World

Introduce food around the world by having students reflect on the different types of food they eat for lunch. Record this information.

Read the book What’s for Lunch by Andrea Curtis. Discuss similarities and differences between foods that US students eat and the foods that international students eat. Record on a graphic organizer.

Display and discuss the charts “School Lunch around the World” and “20 Breakfasts from around the World.” Have students choose a country they would like to visit during breakfast or lunch and write about their experiences.

With the help of parent volunteers, create several dishes that children typically eat for breakfast or lunch around the world. Have the students sample these dishes and write an opinion piece on their favorite dish.

Video chat with a classroom in another country about the types of foods they eat. What do they eat for lunch? How does the process of school lunch work in their country? (This video chat will need to be planned well in advance.)

Week 2: Where does our Food Come From?

Introduce where our food comes from by engaging students in a conversation about where they believe our food comes from. Record their ideas on a KWL chart. Instruct students to bring in produce labels by Thursday and send a note home to parents.

Watch the video “Where Does Our Food Come From? Tomatoes.” Explain to students that food comes from farms all around the world. Display the chart “Getting Food from the Farm to your Table.” Explain the process that food travels along to get from farms to our homes.

Have local farmers (my brother and brother-in-law) come into the classroom and share about their jobs as farmers. Have them explain what they do as farmers, how food goes from a tiny seed to a full grown crop, and the process that food goes through to get from the farm to our homes. Provide time for questions and answers.

Map students’ produce labels on a large map of the world. Have the students tell what fruits and vegetables the labels came from. Make a list on the board of different types of fruits and vegetables and where they came from. Ask students if they recognize any patterns. Remind students that it is important to buy food locally as it supports our local economy and the produce is fresher; however, at different times of the year, our produce may come from

Divide students into groups of 5 or 6. Instruct each group to pick a fruit or vegetable of their choice and illustrate the journey it goes on using drama. Have the students work together with their groups to develop a short skit that illustrates the journey that food takes. Allow the students to display their learning by performing their skits for their peers. Complete the L part of the KWL chart to record student learning.

different areas around the world because of the climate needed for growing them.

Week 3: The Global Food Crisis

Introduce students to the global food crisis by showing them the videos “Food and You” parts 1-3. Explain that the world has enough food to feed everyone, yet 1 in 7 people are hungry. Have students share why they think this is happening. Record their ideas on a chart.

Display the chart “Two Sides of the Food Crisis.” Discuss the first “side” of the food crisis - Want. Discuss the factors that are causing people around the world to be hungry.

Display the chart “Two Sides of the Food Crisis.” Discuss the second side - Waste. Ask the students to think about how much food their family wastes. Discuss how this will affect us and others in the future.

Discuss ways that we can end the global food crisis now. The “Two Sides of the Food Crisis” Chart lists three. Make a list. Share with students that in the coming weeks, they will address the global food crisis in two ways: planting their own food and giving food to those in need.

Divide students into small groups of 3 or 4. Instruct them to create a poster explaining the urgency of the global food crisis and what we can do now to help. Display the chart “Two Sides of the Food Crisis” and the list made on Thursday of ways we can end the global food crisis. Encourage creativity! Have the students present their posters. Display the posters throughout the school.

Week 4: Growing our own Food

Read The Gardener by Sarah Stewart and discuss. Inform students that we will be growing our own food. Discuss what types of food we can plant at this time of year based on our climate. Make a list. Discuss the value in growing and eating your own food and how this helps the globe.

Inform students that they will be planting their seeds in pots. So that we will know what type of crop is planted in the pots, they will need to decorate the outside of their pots with words or pictures indicating what type of seed will be planted in it. (It will be beneficial to have parent

Discuss with students what plants need in order to grow. Have the materials ready and explain to students how to use each tool. Explain the process of digging, planting the seed, watering it, and placing it in the right amount of sunlight. Make a list of these steps.

Tell students that they will be planting their seeds today! Have all tools and materials ready and have parent volunteers present and ready to help. Each student will have their pot, soil, seed, and water ready to go. Have them check off each step as they complete it.

Divide the pots into three sections (planting for yourself, the community, and the planet) and explain to students. Share our gardening project with the ANIA Children’s Land Project on the iEARN website. View school gardens from around the world and share our gardening

volunteers present to help.)

progress!

Week 5: Helping the Hungry

Show the video “Kids Respond to Child Hunger” from KidWorldCitizen.org. Share with students that there are people in our own community that are hungry. Have them brainstorm ways that we can help our community and record their ideas on sticky notes like the students in the video did. Inform students that one way we can help is by donating food to our local food bank. Encourage students to bring in non-perishable food items and send a note home to parents.

Share information with students about our local food bank, i.e. its name, location, and how it helps those in need. Explain to students that one way we can help end child hunger is by donating our time and resources to the local food bank.Decorate bags to be filled with food and donated to the local food bank. Explain that these bags will be given to children in our area. Encourage creativity!

Fill bags with canned foods to donate to the local food bank. Prepare for tomorrow’s Empty Bowls event. Explain to the students how this event can help those who are hungry. If possible, have the students create their own clay bowls in Art class. If not, students can always decorate paper bowls.

Host an Empty Bowls event at school to raise money for the local food bank. (This will take a good bit of planning in advance and help from several volunteers.) Ask for monetary donations and canned food donations from those attending the event.

Take a field trip to the local food bank to donate our collected money and bags filled with non-perishable food items. If possible, have a staff member or volunteer from the food bank explain how they help those in need.

Project Assessment with Scoring Rubric

Students will be assessed throughout the project through writing samples and group projects. I have created a rubric below for the group project created in Week 3. For this project, students will create a poster explaining the urgency of the food crisis and what we can do now to help.

Excellent(5 points)

Good(3-4 points)

Needs Improvement(1-2 points)

Not Evidenced(0 points)

Content Students present accurate information about the global food crisis. Want

Students present accurate information about the global food crisis. Want

Students present some accurate information about the global food

and waste are addressed. 5 facts are stated.

and waste are addressed. 3-4 facts are stated.

crisis. Want and waste are not addressed. 1-2 facts are stated.

Participation and Presentation

All group members actively participate in creating and presenting the project. Information is presented clearly and accurately.

Most group members actively participate in creating and presenting the project. Information is somewhat presented clearly and accurately.

1-2 group members actively participate in creating and presenting the project. Information is not presented clearly or accurately.

Creativity and Neatness

The poster is creative and neat. Correct capitalization and punctuation is used.

The poster is creative and neat. Some correct capitalization and punctuation is used.

The poster is somewhat creative and neat. Correct capitalization and punctuation is not used.

Resource Compilation

Books

Curtis, A. (2012). What’s for Lunch? How Schoolchildren Eat Around the World. Red DeerPress.

Stewart, S. (1997). The Gardener. New York: Square Fish.

Tavangar, H. S., & Mladic-Morales, B. (2014). The Global Education Toolkit for ElementaryLearners. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Charts

Ferlazzo, L. (2014, January 7). 20 Breakfasts from around the World. Retrieved from http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2014/01/07/infographics-about-the-worlds-different-cultures/.

LaBarbera, M. (2013, January 9). School Lunches from around the World. Retrieved from http://www.nourishinteractive.com/blog/854-school-lunches-from-around-the-world?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+NourishingThoughts+(N

ourishing+Thoughts)&utm_content=Google+Reader.

Wagner, K. (2014, November 13). The Two Sides of the Food Crisis. Retrieved from http://www.fastcoexist.com/1678651/people-are-starving-but-theres-enough-food

Washington’s Food: Getting Food from the Farm to your Table. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.wagrown.com/farm-to-table

Videos

Kid World Citizen. (2015, April 15). Kids Respond to Child Hunger. Retrieved from http://kidworldcitizen.org/2015/04/15/service-project-for-kids-working-to-eradicate-childhood-hunger/

Oxfam International. (2012, July 13). Food and You. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch/?v=sr_h62aW3R8

Where Does Our Food Come From? Tomatoes. (2008, July 28). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch/?v=RU5eR81aBQs

Lesson Ideas

Empty Bowls. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.emptybowls.net/

Geist, J. (n.d.). ANIA Children’s Land Project / Tierra de Niños. Retrieved from https://collaborate.iearn.org/space-2/group-87/about

Kid World Citizen. (2015, April 15). Service Project for Kids: Working to Eradicate ChildhoodHunger. Retrieved from http://kidworldcitizen.org/2015/04/15/service-project-for-kids-working-to-eradicate-childhood-hunger/

Where Does Our Food Come From? (2013, July 31). Retrieved from http://2flowerslearn.com/2013/07/31/where-does-our-food-come-from/