FOOD SYSTEM Curriculum Resources
SMCOE DESIGNED TEACHING TOOLS FOR on-Site (At School) and Remote (Distance) Learning
Full Unit Resources Developed by SMCOE
Exemplar unit plan for a Solutionary PBL Unit on Food Systems. This unit covers fundamentals, production, processing and distribution, unjust labor practices, and food waste. All of these topics can be covered for a comprehensive look at food systems, or sections can be taught for a shorter version. This knowledge culminates in solutionary action!
Supplemental Resources Developed by SMCOE
Field Research Activities for Grades K-12
Overview to Field Research: Field Research is the collection of data and observations outside of a traditional laboratory, classroom, and workplace setting. These Field Research Activities provides the structure for students to learn more about what is going on in their local context (at home, at school, or in the community) for a specific environmental issue. To Complete a Field Research Activity, Select Your Grade Level Below:
Online Research Activities for Grades 6-12
Overview to WebQuests: WebQuests are a self-directed learning tool that helps learners construct their own learning by determining which sources are most useful. In a WebQuest the learner can:
Choose the Order: Learners can explore resources in any order that they want!
Choose the Length of Time for Learning: Learners might glance quickly through the content on one link and linger longer on another.
To learn more about food related issues and topics utilize the Sustainable Food Webquests:
sustainable food system resources: Curriculum & Instruction
What curriculum and instruction resources are available for teaching about food systems?
Elementary: K - 5th Grade Resources
K - 1 : Eat a Rainbow! Coloring activity to learn about fruits and vegetables
K - 5 : National Agriculture in the Classroom has many lesson plans engaging students on the growth and production of food
K - 5 : Enrichment taste testing activities for students to explore California foods
K - 5 : Edible Social Studies connects food with community, local Bay Area history, nutrition, and food justice. Contact The Breakfast Project to learn more.
K - 5 : Food Waste Curriculum for students to learn about why food waste is an issue and possible solution steps they can take
K - 5 : Edible Education for the Home Classroom. New lessons released weekly for students to do independently or with adult support at home to bring edible education to the home. Sign up for their newsletter for weekly updates.
K - 5 The FoodCorps Lessons include hands-on experiential activities to engage kids in learning about healthy food. These 96 lessons are for grades K-5, and are organized through this learning progression by grade, season and theme. The lessons are tied to national academic standards and were developed following Culturally Responsive Teaching, Place Based Learning, and Social and Emotional Learning best practices and frameworks.
The Nature Conservancy Nature Lab engages learners with the natural world through lesson plans, videos and even virtual field trips.
2nd grade: Food production depends on the availability of limited natural resources.
3rd grade: A healthy natural system is essential to help plants and animals survive the process of growth and reproduction.
3rd-11th grade: Food Waste Audit. Explore your impact on the food system.
3rd-12th grade : lesson on water embodied in food, how to eat healthy.
4th-12th grade : Sustainable grazing, land use, and food industry
4th-12th grade : Sustainable fishing lesson
4th-9th grade: Lesson on food waste.
4th-9th grade: Lesson on the people behind the different food industries.
Teachers Pay Teachers contains free and paid original lesson plans and resources made by educators. Sustainability for Young Learners Courses has free lessons incorporating sustainability themes with NGSS.
5th grade: Climate Change – Food Waste & Composting
Secondary: 6 - 12th Grade Resources
The Nature Conservancy Nature Lab engages learners with the natural world through lesson plans, videos and even virtual field trips.
4th-9th grade: Lesson on food waste.
4th-9th grade:Lesson on the people behind the different food industries.
7th-12th grade: A lesson on plastic packaging of food.
6th grade: Learn about the importance of nature and natural cycles in the early civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Kush.
6th - 9th grade: Play the online fish game to understand sustainability in fishing
6th - 9th grade: Lesson and activity on ecological footprint
6th-10th grade: Rapid Brainstorming: How Can We Improve Our Global Food System?
6th-10th grade: Exploring the Impacts of Feeding the World. 2 day lesson exploring the issues related to our food system.
6th-10th grade: Sustainable Food Solutions: Weighing the Pros and Cons.
6th-10th grade: Our Hungry Planet: Design Thinking Challenge.
6th - 12th grade : Understanding Food and Climate Change, an interactive guide
6th - 12th grade : National Agriculture in the Classroom has many lesson plans engaging students on the growth and production of food
6th - 12th grade : Your Plan Your Planet is an interactive tool allowing students to see the environmental impact of their food waste
8th grade: Students learn about food access and hold a debate.
8th grade: Students understand issues of labor and justice to formulate arguments.
9th - 12th grade: Food Span offers 17 lessons on the food system that can be taught separately
10th grade: Examine the economic boom that followed World War II in agriculture and energy industries.