Activities/Lesson Plans

Activities/lesson plans 

Food literacy, nutrition education, and cooking can be linked with nearly any curricular focus. Food is science! Food is art! Food is language arts! Food is social studies! (And the list goes on…)

If one of your classroom cooking goals is to reinforce curricular concepts:  

• • 1. 1. • NEW IN 2023: Maryland Farm to School Curriculum: Exploring Maryland Food, created by UMD Extension SNAP-Ed team, includes 5 lessons linked to science, environmental literacy, and agricultural education standards.  

          • This Growing Minds Farm to School resource guide (page 12) includes ideas to link cooking to all disciplines, across grade bands – including for language arts, wellness, math, science and social studies. *(PRINT READY RESOURCE)*

          • The Growing Minds website also includes curriculum-linked activity plans. *(PRINT READY RESOURCE)*

          • The Partnership for Food Safety Education includes curricula and activities for kids K-12th grade including videos, teacher guides, and connecting food safety to math, language arts, art, and science. *(PRINT READY RESOURCE)*

Below is a variety of free lesson plans and activities that might be right for your classroom. All activities can be tailored to your specific needs, comfort, and limitations. Be sure to check out the Food Safety page and the Heritage Foodways page for more lesson plans. 

• • 1. 1. • TasteWise Kids: resources from Baltimore-based non-profit, including TWKatHome, with many activities that can be done at home or in the classroom, and a resource page with activity sheets. *(PRINT READY RESOURCE)*

          • FoodSpan by the Center for a Livable Future, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: a downloadable curriculum for high school students focused not on cooking but on food systems more broadly. *(PRINT READY RESOURCE)*

          • University of Maryland Extension: Variety of curricula that can be applicable for classroom cooking, including “Dig In” (grades 5-6), “Edible ABCs” (pre-K), “Growing Healthy Habits,” and “Grow It, Try It, Like It!” *(PRINT READY RESOURCE)*

          • Foodhero.org through Oregon State University has examples of activities that show how bacteria can grow and spread. Check out the “Kids & Teens” section for these activities. *(PRINT READY RESOURCE)*

          • Food Corps: 96 lesson plans (K-5) organized into six themes and by grade level: living up to our full potential, making healthy food choices, exploring the ecology of food, growing and accessing healthy food, preparing healthy food, connecting to food culture and community. *(PRINT READY RESOURCE)*

          • Food Literacy Center: List of free plans on food literacy, skills, and hands-on cooking. Videos and recipe sheets in English and Spanish are available. *(PRINT READY RESOURCE)*

          • USDA has many activity sheets and games about the five food groups and MyPlate. *(PRINT READY RESOURCE)*

          • The book "Garden Gastronomy" by City Blossoms DC includes recipes in English and Spanish. This would need to be purchased. 

          • SFUSD Cooking in the Classroom: Connects skills with appropriate recipes and lists the necessary equipment needed for the activities. *(PRINT READY RESOURCE)*

          • Team NutritionCooks!: Guides with specific activities including supplies needed, points to cover when teaching activity and step-by-step guide for the activity. Click on the “Activity Guide” for a comprehensive list of activities and steps for guiding the students. *(PRINT READY RESOURCE)*

          • Cooking with Kids: Variety of free resources to engage kids with hands-on learning about fresh foods. Includes tasting, recipes, and cooking guide with connections with science lessons. The “cooking lessons” cost $5-15 but the “tasting lessons” are free. *(PRINT READY RESOURCE)*

          • Shelburne Farms has a collections of resources for Farm to Early Childhood including classroom curriculum resources including book recommendations, lesson plans, and connections to other activities. 

          • Still having trouble finding what you’re looking for? The Edible Schoolyard Project has a resource library of free lesson plans and materials. You can search by grade level, curricular area, food topic, etc. 

A permission slip from parent/guardian may be a good idea to include, depending on your specific lesson plan. Here is one that you can utilize. *(PRINT READY RESOURCE)*

A Note on Inclusivity: 

• Keep in mind that students will relate to food very differently, so it is important not to presume a single frame of reference for a group of students. Some students may have never seen or used basic kitchen appliances and ingredients, whereas others may be the sole meal providers for siblings, and still others may have more substantial cooking experience with family and friends. Differences in culture and country of origin also influence students’ experiences with cooking. Additionally, learning differences among students may also influence the ways you engage them. Adjusting tasks (e.g., level of difficulty, timeframe), setting (e.g., level of surface), and group size can allow you to engage students with a variety of learning styles. It is important to consider these differences both when planning lessons – and when connecting them to at-home learning or practices. Do not, for example, assume a student will be able to replicate a classroom recipe with equipment at home.