Choices, Choices: Frontloading Food

Summary

This activity will help students access their prior knowledge about what food is made of, how food is produced and which foods are healthy. It also provides some reading materials to begin the process of research in to meet the indicator from the Biology Core Curriculum that states: Standard1, objective 1e. Research food production in various parts of the world (e.g., industrialized societies' greater use of fossil fuel in food production, human health related to food product).

Materials

• student sheet (attached) 15-20 empty containers of foods commonly eaten by students
• article: Fossil Fuels and Agriculture (attached)
• article: Building a Better Pyramid (attached)

Student Prior Knowledge

None, this is an introductory activity.

Instructional Procedures

1. Copy enough of the articles attached for students each to have one and a student sheet for each student.
2. Show students a food item container and ask them what the ingredients are. Discuss where the ingredients may have come from (usually far from where you are)
3. Read the introduction on the student sheet with students.
4. Have students pair to read "Fossil Fuels and Agriculture" and "Building a Better Pyramid" to fill out the remainder of the table. Each student can read one article.
5. Instruct students to share their information with their partner and decide which food choices are more ecologically sensitive and which are better for their health.
6. Ask students to write a paragraph on the topic of how they choose the foods they eat now and how they might choose differently now that they have learned a little about the "ecology" of food production and the food pyramid.

Assessment Plan

Scoring Guide:

1. Students accurately and completely fill in table………………………….4
2. Student read article for content…………………………….4
3. Student display understanding of article in paragraph written about foods they currently eat ……..……………………………4

Bibliography

Lesson Design by Jordan School District Teachers and Staff.