A. Engage the Learner - RI.8.4 (5 minutes)

• Repeated routine: As students arrive, invite them to complete Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 3. As students complete the task, prompt them to Turn and Talk about their responses, and use a total participation technique to share responses with the class.

• Repeated routine: Follow the same routine as the previous lessons to review learning targets and the purpose of the lesson, reminding students of any learning targets that are similar or the same as previous lessons.

A. Consider the Evidence: Healthy and Sustainable Food Choices - RI.8.1 (10 minutes)

• Review the learning target relevant to the work to be completed in this section of the lesson:

"I can cite evidence to support how various food choices are healthy and/or sustainable."

• Explain to students that in Lessons 11-12 of this unit, they will write an argument essay that will address the following prompt:

  • "What is one informed action people in your community can take to make healthy and sustainable food choices?"

• Explain to students that they will argue one action that people in their community can take to make healthy and sustainable food choices, based on information they have about the topic. Remind students that they explored food choices in Units 1 and 2, and tell them that they will make a recommendation of the best food choice for people in their community.

• Think-Pair-Share:

"What might be the purpose of answering this question? How can your essay influence readers?" (Responses will vary, but may include: explains the importance of healthy eating, informs the public about thoughtful food choices, reveals the complications of access to healthy food, influences people to make healthy food choices.)

• Use a total participation technique to have students share out the research topics they had in Unit 2 (organic food, pesticides, high-fructose corn syrup, food deserts, and the models that discussed GMOs and CSAs) and their initial thoughts on how their topic is connected to healthy and/or sustainable food.

• Explain to students that they will practice argument writing skills and use their independent research case-study findings to begin to develop their recommendation for a healthy food choice.

• Display the Healthy and Sustainable Food Choices anchor chart. Remind students that the subject of food choices is complicated, and there are many facts and concerns to consider. Explain to students that this chart lists the research topics and informative essay topics and that each research topic will have some connection to being healthy and sustainable. Remind students that some of their research case studies may not be healthy or sustainable, in which case they will identify why their case study is unhealthy or unsustainable.

• Point to the information captured for GMOS on the anchor chart. Model capturing this information on two sticky notes, one for how GMOs are healthy, and one for how GMOs are sustainable. Explain how the topic of GMOs may be considered by some to be healthy and sustainable.

• Explain that some people may have a different opinion of GMOs, and they might feel that GMOs are not healthy, and/or do not promote sustainability. Ask students to Think-Pair-Share:

"Why might people feel that GMOs are unhealthy?" (Responses will vary, but may include: GMOs can cause a type of cancer, GMO corn can make cows sick.)

"Why might people feel that GMOs are not sustainable?" (Responses will vary, but may include: GMOs increase the use of pesticides, which can harm plants that aren't pests.)

• Distribute two sticky notes to each student, and prompt them to think about how their own research topic may (or may not) be healthy and sustainable. Ask students to review their Access to Healthy Food: Independent Research note-catcher, circling any evidence they collected previously that relates to the health or sustainability of their topic. Explain that they will have more time to collect evidence later in the lesson, but they should capture their initial ideas on how their topic promotes, or does not promote, healthy and sustainable food choices on their sticky notes. Remind students that one sticky note is for how their research is healthy (or not healthy), and one is for how their research is sustainable (or not sustainable). Refer to the Access to Healthy Food: Independent Research note-catcher (example for teacher reference).

• Repeated routine: Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning target.

B. Four Corners: Determine a Food Choice - RI.8.1 (20 minutes)

• Review the learning target relevant to the work to be completed in this section of the lesson:

"I can take a stance on a topic and engage in collaborative discussions with my peers about healthy and sustainable foods."

• Explain to students that they will use the Healthy and Sustainable Food Choices anchor chart for a Four Corners activity to take a stance on healthy and sustainable food choices.

• Focus students on the signs at each of the four corners of the room: Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree.

• Explain to students that the purpose of this activity is to discuss their ideas that they generated in Work Time A, analyze their importance, and take a stance on the importance of each food choice and an informed action that citizens can take to promote healthy and sustainable food choices.

• Explain that as each statement is read aloud, students will decide whether they agree with the statement or disagree, and how strongly. They will show how they feel by standing near the sign that best describes their opinion. For example, if they strongly agree, they will walk to the "Strongly Agree" corner. They must choose one of the four corners and may not stand in between corners or in the center of the room. Answer any clarifying questions.

• Instruct students to stand. Stand at the side of the room to monitor all students.

• Use the following steps to guide students through the Four Corners activity:

1. Read aloud the statement:

"The best-informed action citizens can take to eat healthy and sustainable food is to support the production of GMOs."

2. Give students at least 10 seconds to think about the statement.

3. Instruct students to choose the corner with the response that best represents their point of view.

4. Turn and Talk:

"Why did you choose this corner? Why do you feel this way about the statement?" (Responses will vary.)

5. Circulate as students discuss their stances to ensure students are on task and are using the evidence on their sticky notes to support their claims. Answer any clarifying questions, and prompt students to help them form their opinion.

6. Refocus the whole class.

7. Give students the opportunity to move to other corners of the room if students' responses have persuaded them to change their stance.

8. Ask a volunteer from one of the populated corners to explain his/her stance, or the stance of someone he/she spoke to in the same corner.

9. Display the Healthy and Sustainable Food Choices anchor chart, and, with student support, fill in valid evidence about whether the choice discussed in this round is healthy and sustainable. Use the Healthy and Sustainable Food Choices anchor chart (example for teacher reference) to ensure there is adequate evidence added for each category.

10. Cue students to expand the conversation using Goal 4 Conversation Cues, as appropriate:

"How is what _____ said the same as/different from what _____ said?"

"Do you agree or disagree with what your classmate said? Why?"

"Who can add on to what your classmate said?"

"Who can explain why your classmate came up with that response?"

11. Repeat steps 1-10 three more times (four rounds total), choosing from the below prompts related to the remaining research case studies:

• • • "We should avoid pesticides and only eat organic food because it's healthier."

    • "Asking public officials to bring fresh fruits and vegetables to food deserts is the most healthy and sustainable choice citizens can make."

    • "Everyone should avoid high-fructose corn syrup and only use cane sugar."

    • "The best-informed action citizens can take to eat healthy and sustainable food is to eat organic food."

    • "The best-informed action citizens can take to eat healthy and sustainable food is to avoid food with high-fructose corn syrup."

    • "The best-informed action citizens can take to eat healthy and sustainable food is to support CSAs."

    • "The best-informed action citizens can take to eat healthy and sustainable food is to avoid foods made with pesticides."

    • "The best-informed action citizens can take to eat healthy and sustainable food is to recommend that communities pass laws that help avoid food deserts by promoting healthy grocery stores in neighborhoods."

• Refocus the whole class. Explain that now that students have had time to remind themselves of how each topic is related to healthy and sustainable food, they need to take a stance on which topic, in their judgment, is the best action to take. Explain that while most students will likely continue to work with their topic from unit 2, they may choose to take a stance on another topic, if that is more compelling.

• Think-Pair-Share:

"Which food-related action, from those discussed in the Four Corners activity, is the best that citizens can take? Why?" (Responses will vary.)

• As they are discussing their stance, distribute one sticky note to each student. Invite students to write their name on the sticky note as well as the food choice they decided on. Call each food-choice topic one at a time, inviting the students from that topic to place their sticky note next to the appropriate topic on the anchor chart to give a class visual display of the support for each food choice. Students can refer to The Omnivore's Dilemma, as needed, to review information related to food choices.

• Repeated routine: Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning target.

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS 

During the Four Corners activity in Work Time B, encourage students to write down the statements as they are read. Some students may process information more easily if they can both hear and see the statements being made, allowing them to participate fully in the analysis required of the task.

In Work Time B, invite students to generate sentence frames to help guide discussion during the Four Corners activity. This will not only help ELLs to navigate the discussion but will also draw attention to language structure, which can benefit ELLs in their overall language development beyond this activity. By having students take ownership of creating their own frames, they will think critically about the objectives of the pair-share and the practical and linguistic demands they will encounter during the activity.

During the Four Corners activity in Work Time B, provide a list of the statements that will be read for visual support. Some students may process information more easily if they can both hear and see the statements being made, allowing them to participate fully in the analysis required of the task.

In Work Time B, provide sentence frames to help guide discussion during the Four Corners activity:

"The most important informed action consumers can take is ____________ because ____________."

"This informed action is important for consumers because ____________."

This not only helps ELLs to navigate the discussion but also draws attention to language structure, which can benefit ELLs in their overall language development beyond this activity.

A. Support Your Food Choice: Gather Evidence – RI.8.1 (10 minutes)

• Review the learning target relevant to the work to be completed in this section of the lesson:

“I can cite evidence to support how various food choices are healthy and/or sustainable.”

• Remind students that future lessons will prepare them to write an argument essay in which they make a recommendation about a healthy and sustainable food choice. Today, they will begin gathering evidence to support their argument.

• Ask students to find a new partner who has chosen the same topic for their argument essay, and then to Think-Pair-Share:

“When citing textual evidence, how do you know the evidence strongly supports an idea? How do you choose the best evidence?” (Responses will vary, but may include: find information in the text that proves the idea is correct, look for information that is similar to the idea or agrees with the idea.)

• Display and distribute the Food Choices and Evidence note-catcher, showing students how it is organized. For ELLs and students who require additional support, the Food Choices and Evidence note-catcher ▲ can be used to help guide students’ thinking with matching and sentence starters. Explain that students will use this note-catcher to gather evidence about the topic they have selected.

• Point to the row for GMOs, and show how the research on the chart comes directly from research gathered for their informative essay. Remind students that they have already gathered evidence on their Access to Healthy Food: Independent Research note-catcher that may apply to their topic. Explain to students that for homework, they will go back through their Access to Healthy Food: Independent Research note-catcher to look for evidence that relates to their topic being sustainable and healthy and transfer this information to their Food Choices and Evidence note-catcher, but that in this lesson, they will focus on finding new evidence related to their topic.

• Prompt students to begin working with their partner to find new evidence that supports their food choice as a sustainable and healthy choice, and to record their findings on their Food Choices and Evidence note-catcher.

• As students work, circulate and check in on their progress. Refer to the Food Choices and Evidence note-catcher (example for teacher reference). If students are struggling to find new evidence to support their food choice, prompt them by asking questions such as:

“What search terms will help you determine how your topic is sustainable?”

“What search terms will help you determine how your topic is healthy?”

• Repeated routine: Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning target.

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS 

During Closing and Assessment A, invite students who need heavier support to use the Food Choices and Evidence note-catcher ▲. This resource features matching and sentence starters to help students fill in the required information.