Curriculum Design Board by Rebecca Hoskins

Driving Question

rah4369 — 2024-03-22 19:13:54 UTC

How can the food we eat have an impact on our health, our local economy, and our environment?

Macro Concepts

rah4369 — 2024-03-22 19:14:07 UTC

community, systems, cause and effect, patterns, stability and change

Micro Concepts

rah4369 — 2024-03-22 19:14:39 UTC

ecological function, conservation, weather, climate, carbon footprint, ecosystem, sustainability, food production, climate change, well-being, resources

Factual Questions

rah4369 — 2024-03-22 19:14:49 UTC

How are we affected by our environment?
How is our environment affected by us?

Conceptual Understandings

rah4369 — 2024-03-22 19:15:27 UTC

Eating foods that are available to us seasonally and regionally is a sustainable practice.
Sustainable practices are beneficial for the health and well-being of our bodies and our environment.
Environmental conditions directly impact the availability of food and resources in a community.
Sustainable farming ensures that the production of the food we eat will not have a negative impact on our environment.
Unsustainable food production practices directly contribute to climate change.

Conceptual Questions

rah4369 — 2024-03-22 19:16:59 UTC

What are sustainable practices?
Why are sustainable farming practices so important for the well-being of an ecosystem?
What are the consequences of unsustainable food production?

Debatable Questions

rah4369 — 2024-03-22 19:17:07 UTC

Do our choices about the food we eat have an impact on the environment?
What can we do in our communities to help reverse the effects of climate change?

Economics

rah4369 — 2024-03-23 17:49:08 UTC

3.E.1.2 Explain how the natural resources of a region impact the production and consumption

of goods in local communities.

Geography

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3.G.1.2 Explain how climate and physical characteristics affect the ways in which people live

in a place or region.

Social Studies (Inquiry)

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Compelling Questions

I.1.1 Identify content required to provide an answer to compelling questions.

I.1.2 Construct compelling questions that promote inquiry with peers.

NASA ClimateKids

rah4369 — 2024-03-23 18:19:34 UTC

This website, created by NASA.gov, provides easy-to-understand interactive lessons for kids to learn about climate change.

Infographic - ClimateKids: A Guide to Climate Change for Kids

rah4369 — 2024-03-23 18:24:55 UTC

This is a printable guide to climate change for kids made by ClimateKids.NASA.gov that could be hung in the classroom as a visual aid.

NCDEQ Climate Education Network

rah4369 — 2024-03-23 18:31:30 UTC

The NC Department of Environmental Quality Climate Education Network is a resource for K-12 and nonformal educators that provides materials and support to "enhance scientific aspects of the curriculum, with an emphasis on climate issues and awareness."

Video - Weather v. Climate: Crash Course Kids #28.1

rah4369 — 2024-03-23 18:38:03 UTC

This is a video from Crash Course Kids explaining the difference between weather and climate. Knowing the difference between these two terms can help kids understand the concept of climate change, and debunk the argument that Earth's climate "naturally changes with the seasons" that is frequently used to undermine the immediacy of the climate crisis.

30 Weather and Climate Activities for Third Graders

rah4369 — 2024-03-23 18:42:46 UTC

This Blog Post from "Around the Kampfire" by Linda Kamp provides 30 sample learning experiences to teah younger students about the concepts of weather and climate.

The Old Farmer's Almanac for Kids

rah4369 — 2024-03-23 20:39:29 UTC

This is a collection from the Old Farmer's Almanac of simple garden projects for kids to get students interested in learning more about caring for their environment.

Nature Lab Gardens Lesson Plan - Living Systems

rah4369 — 2024-03-23 20:42:55 UTC

In this lesson plan (geared for grades 6-8, but able to be modified for younger audience), students will design and model a virtual garden to explore the ecological functions of a garden ecosystem. This lesson, unlike many traditional gardening lessons, can be done inside the classroom using technology and visual art to create a garden design that models a natural living system.

The Nature Conservancy - Food and Carbon: The Industrial Tomato

rah4369 — 2024-03-24 15:52:20 UTC

This the first video in a two-part series from The Nature Conservancy explaining how food is produced, transported, and consumed in a manner that is appropriate for US grades K - 5. This is a valuable resource to help kids understand the geographic and economic factors that go into what we eat.

The Nature Conservancy - Food and Carbon: The Local Tomato

rah4369 — 2024-03-24 15:59:52 UTC

This is the second video in a two-part series produced by the Nature Conservancy for an audience in US grades K - 5 on the benefits of eating foods that are grown locally and seasonally for the area where you live. It is a wonderful resource for transitioning into lessons on local climate, agriculture, and reducing your carbon footprint.

The Nature Conservancy: Nature Lesson Plans for Grades K - 5

rah4369 — 2024-03-24 16:12:49 UTC

The Nature Conservancy offers a wealth of resources to teach students positive environmental stewardship practices and the impact of sustainability. This list of lesson plans offers guides for topics such as dirt, pollinators, and water filtration, just to name a few.

Sustainable Earth - Getting Their Hands in the Dirt: A Case for Elementary School Gardens

rah4369 — 2024-03-24 16:17:20 UTC

This is a case study from Manzo Elementary in Tuscon, AZ exhibiting the impact of gardening on student's developmental health, education, and outlook on life.

Sustainable Earth: Classroom Activities for Sustainability

rah4369 — 2024-03-24 16:21:30 UTC

This is a list of resources for classrooms K - 12 that help teach students sustainability, conservancy, and global responsibility.

Field Trip - Simon's Community Garden

rah4369 — 2024-03-24 17:13:20 UTC

Simon's Community Garden here in Winston-Salem, NC is a project of St. Atkins Community Development Corporation that aims to empower Winston-Salem residents with resources and skills to grow healthy food, provide education opportunities for members of the community from all walks of life, and create a safe space for the development of mental and physical wellbeing. Simon's Community Garden has many learning opportunities, such as "Cooking in the Garden," an opportunity for the whole family to cultivate culinary creativity while learning to incorporate fresh, local fruits and vegetables into delicious and easy meals, and "Kids Gardening Club," where kids of all ages can learn what it takes to grow their own food.

Planet Bee Foundation

rah4369 — 2024-03-24 23:34:44 UTC

These are Environmental Stem Education Program lessons on sustainable gardening, the importance of pollinators, the processes of decomposition, and more. They are available upon application.

Health Education (Healthful Living)

rah4369 — 2024-03-25 00:16:10 UTC

3.PCH.1.2 Classify behaviors in terms of whether they do or do not contribute to healthy living.

Health Education (Nutrition)

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3.NPA.2.1 Identify the sources of a variety of foods.

Science (Ecosystems)

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3.L.2.2 Explain how environmental conditions determine how well plants survive and grow.

Actions for Healthy Kids - School Gardens: Here We Grow

rah4369 — 2024-03-25 01:02:48 UTC

This blog post from "Action for Healthy Kids" outlines the benefits of creating school gardens. As the article argues, school gardens are easy to start, they provide hands-on experience in health and nutrition, they offer integration opportunities with a variety of subjects, they teach environmental stewardship, promote community togetherness, and encourage students to try new, healthful foods that they may not have otherwise had access to.

The Guardian - "'Food is Finally on the Table': Cop28 Addressed Agriculture in a Real Way"

rah4369 — 2024-03-25 01:27:42 UTC

This article from The Guardian, a UK-based independent news outlet, reports on the Cop28 UN climate summit in November of 2023. This past year, it reports, the climate summit acknowledged the impact that food systems have on our climate. The report states that food systems are responsible for roughly one third of global greenhouse gas emissions, making sustainable agriculture a necessary addition to an appropriate and effective response to climate change.

Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SARE) - Resources and Programs for K - 12 Youth

rah4369 — 2024-03-25 01:35:25 UTC

This is a 39-page document that lists a variety of adaptable programs, resources, and curricula for educators wishing to teach students of all ages about sustainable agriculture.

Growing Minds, Farm to School: An ASAP Program - Eating in Season Lesson Plan

rah4369 — 2024-03-25 01:50:04 UTC

This lesson plan for US grades 3 - 5 guides students through the process of scientific inquiry to investigate the quality of and factors in flavor on produce grown locally. This lesson provides students with the opportunity to practice seasonal meal planning, discuss the benefits of eating locally, and get to know what produce is grown in their local environment.

Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project - Meet Your Farmer: Kituwah Farm

rah4369 — 2024-03-25 02:08:30 UTC

This video from Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project follows Ty Boyd, David Anderson, and Mike Crowe of Kituwah Farm as they demonstrate and explain ancestral agriculture processes in the Mother Town of the Cherokee people. They tell the history of their people, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, while showcasing how they grow crops like potatoes and curly mustard greens.

Brent Loken for Ted-Ed - "Can we create the 'perfect' farm?"

rah4369 — 2024-03-25 02:31:40 UTC

This video from Ted-Ed gives examples of sustainable agriculture practices used across the globe to revolutionize farming. This exploration of innovation seeks the solution to feeding humanity within the environmental limits of the Earth.

Lesson Plan - Food Map

rah4369 — 2024-03-25 02:51:49 UTC

In a post on her blog, dietitian and nutritionist Ellie Krieger suggests having kids create a food map to investigate where food comes from. In this activity, students would research the origin of different foods available in their local supermarket, map out the locations, and calculate how far the food would have traveled to get to them. Students could then participate in a classroom discussion, theorizing how the foods may have been transported to them. This lesson could get kids thinking about the local and practical application of calculating the carbon footprint of their food.

Lesson Plan - Exploring Our Food System

rah4369 — 2024-03-25 03:10:30 UTC

In this lesson plan by foodspan.org, students will explore the question "Where does my food come from, and why does it matter?" After reviewing a list of terms and resources in a food system (using provided connection cards), students will form a circle and make connections through each step of the food system using a ball of string. Stress events can be introduced to the system by tugging on parts of the string web and explaining how each piece of the system may be affected. This lesson helps to explore the complex food production network that carries food to the dinner table and to demonstrate the impact that climate change can have on these systems.