From action.RAN.org

This lesson plan was created by Greta Pittenger, with the help of Andrew, Charlotte, Danielle, Victor at Powershift '08 during the ecopedagogy workshop.

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Purpose: Students will understand where their food comes from.

Age or Grade level: Grade 2-5

Time: homework should be assigned on Monday, food brought to class and shared on the following Monday to allow time for students to research, and gather ingredients.

Overview: This lesson plan incorporates lessons about cultural identity with human-environment relations and stewardship (farming). It uses food, research, songs and discussion to teach and reinforce these lessons. a special emphasis should be put on the significance of food in the home. They could cook the meal with their parents and bring home the information they learn from the discussion.

Procedure: The students will find a recipe from their family or guardian, make it and bring the food to class.

They will research the culture of the food they have made; why is this dish important to the culture it comes from? What is the significance of its ingredients? Would this dish be served at a specific event? Does the meal have a significance to the student and his or her family?

The class will have a potluck with all the foods and present what they have learned about food and culture.

There will then be a discussion about how the food got from the ground to the plate;

• Where are the ingredients grown?
• How are they cultivated?
• Who cultivates them?
• How are they transported?

Extensions: Songs about growing food (Charlotte suggested the song "Inch by Inch") could be sung during the meal as well.

For older students, their research of the meal could go all the way into how much oil, water and other energy went into the growth, cultivation, and transport of the ingredients. An actual carbon footprint of the meal (including energy put into the plates and utensils used) is one possibility for older students.