Farm to Fork

Unit Outline and Backwards Design Process

Jenna Vine
C & I 371
Farm to Fork
Grade 4-5

 

Farm to Fork: A Unit A Backwards Design Curriculum  

1. Essential Questions: big questions which this unit will answer:

How do our food choices effect the environment, people, and animals?
How does the food we are eating get to our plate?  More specifically, how are foods grown/raised/modified?
How can our food choices help us live more sustainable?
 

2. Assessment:

Formative: like a coach.  Helping along the way
Summative: Referee: determines the score at the end.
End of unit: Give students two different fruits—one organic and another non-organic. Have students compare and contrast these two foods using a Venn diagram or T-chart.  Can touch on pesticides, travel of both foods, cost, how do these two foods taste.  (I'm thinking something like an organic apple vs. a non organic apple. Or Strawberries.
End of unit/lesson: have a debate. One group of students can argue PRO modified meat and the other group of students can argue the AGAINST modified meat.  There can be a couple students who are serving as the judges, lawyers, grocery store owners trying to decide which meat to include…etc.
Have students write a letter to the school board/superintendent/principal trying to persuade them to change their lunch program to include more locally grown produce, meats…etc.  
Have students create a brochure to give to their parents and or school board members sharing all of what they learned throughout the unit.


What do students need to know? (content)
Farming/labor
Production and distribution of goods
Organic versus non-organic
Concentrated animal feeding operations
Seasonality of foods/different regions


How can we learn this? (process)
Tasting different foods
Researching about different foods (focusing on location of origin as well as seasonal food).
Interacting with a local farmer
Fieldtrip to a local grocery store
Have a debate about concentrated animal feeding operations/treatment of animals.
How can I assess this? (product)
See 2 (above) as final assessments.
Other assessments: assess group discussions, letter writing format, change of perspective?, questioning skills, researching skills, debate skills.


Lessons: activities always tie back to essential questions!
See the following detailed lesson plans and general unit outline.


 

Unit Outline: Farm to Fork

1. Strawberries
        Child Labor
        Organic versus non-organic products
2.Potluck
       Trip to grocery store or bring food from home
       Research origin of food item
      Calculate miles traveled
3.Beef Hormone Controversy
       Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO's)
       Meat/Poultry Industry
       Consumer and Producer
       Treatment of animals
4. Use of Pesticides
       Pro's and cons of pesticides
5. Pumpkins in October
       Seasonality of foods
       Pro's and con's of eating local and in season
6. Local Farms
        Farmer comes in to talk to class
        Eating and supporting local
       Pro's and con's of eating locally
        Farmer's markets
7. Making a difference
       Exploring ways 4th and 5th graders can eat and live more sustainably
8. Class/School Garden
       How to plant flowers/vegetables/fruits/trees…etc.
       Science of gardening
      Soils
      Maintaining garden
      Contributing to school lunch program