Scientific Literacy and Community Awareness: A Farm-to-Table PBL

Farm-to-Table: Consider the larger perspective

https://www.curriculumpathways.com/portal/Launch?id=186

Teach across the curriculum

PBL and service learning activities are interdisciplinary.

●  Strengthen student learning by making connections across disciplines.

●  Collaborate with colleagues while meeting academic standards.

●  Think science, social studies, math, language arts, foreign language, health, consumer science, music, theater, and art.

●  Compare the needs of autotrophs to heterotrophs.

●  Create food budgets.

●  Calculate expected yields and compare to actual yields.

●  Learn the vocabulary of gardens and foods.

●  Research the health advantages of home grown foods.

●  Learn about the history of food trade.

●  Learn how to prepare a meal.

●  Draw, photograph, sing, and dance in your garden.

Provide a virtual space for collaboration

Tools for online classroom collaboration:

Wikispaces

Google for Education

Buncee

TES with blendspace

Welcome Agenda Team Project Pages Resources Learning Standards Cool Tools Evaluation Rubric

Day 1 Blast-Off! Day 2 Compelling Question Day 3 Planning Map Day 4 Gather & Analyzing Day 5 Search Smart Day 6 Storyboarding Day 7 Synthesizing Day 8 Credits Day 9 Share Work

Help student develop a compelling question Driving question or compelling question?

Student generate the question that drives learning, making it an authentic experience.

Students are motivated to find answers to support their claim.

Sample questions:

1.  How can do we grow food without harming environment?

2.  Do GMOs provide more food from less land?

3.  Are organic farms really better for the environment?

Provide credible and reliable sources

Discuss domain names: gov, edu, com, mil, org, net, and int.

Make a claim and use data to support your claim.

Curriculum Pathways ●  science, math, social studies,

language arts, and Spanish ●  standards-aligned lessons ●  interactive tools ●  no cost ●  lesson guides and more

Energy Flow in Ecosystems Photosynthesis

Hook students with high-interest nonfiction Introduce the Farm-to-Table theme with Nonfiction Text

1.  The Omnivore’s Dilemma: Young Reader's Edition by Michael Pollan

2.  We're Going to the Farmers Market by Stefan Page

3.  Curious George: Farm to Table by H.A. Rey

Book recommendation for teachers: The Complete Guide to Service Learning by Cathryn Berger Kaye.

Curriculum Pathways blogs provide links to activities that help generate class discussions and activities.

Explore field trip opportunities

1.  University Agriculture Programs

2.  Private or family owned farms

3.  Commercial or industrial farms

4.  Farmers Market

5.  Farm-to-Table restaurants

6.  Centers for Environmental Education

7.  High schools with garden program

Connect to the community: Service Learning

1.  Grow and prepare food for the hungry.

2.  Host a butterfly garden party for a good cause.

3.  Host a garden fundraising party for school.

4.  Create garden art or photography for a good cause.

5.  Organize a can food drive.

6.  Volunteer at a local food bank or soup kitchen.

7.  Work with Heifer International to bring sustainable agriculture to other regions of the world.

Possible questions for PBL writing assignments:

●  Write a letter to Michael Pollan describing your own farm to table experiences. Include a list of questions or suggestions about food topics you would like Pollan to address in his next book.

●  Select a food that you enjoy. Write a narrative that chronicles the journey that food takes from the farm where it was produced to your table. Consider personifying the food item (Sara Spinach, Dale Kale) and letting the food tell its own story.

●  Write a school newspaper editorial about the importance of nutrition and the role that the farm to table movement has played or should play on school lunch offerings.

●  Start a blog series on the farm to table movement. For your first blog, write a position statement outlining your general views on the farm to table movement and identifying topics you will cover in future blogs.

●  Select one food that was part of the Columbian Exchange (potato, tomato, etc.). Research the history of that food and write a short research paper presenting your findings.

Writing Navigator

Provide choices for student product

Other options for student choices

Create an annotated map! Identifying the origin of foods eaten during a typical day. (Remind students that grocery meats and produce have stickers identifying the country/state of origin, processed food has a factory address on the packaging, and farmers market produce is local.)

Increase quality: Publish and share publicly

Final products could be videos, magazines, brochures, infographics, annotated maps, an essay, a journal, or another form that achieves the objective.

Encourage students to share their learning beyond the classroom.

Possible audience: ●  Classmates ●  Special guest ●  Business partnerships

●  Online collaboration