AlgonquinCollege

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Food, Nutrition and Hunger: A Lesson for Grade One

Provided by OttawaCarletonCatholicSchool Board

Last updated: July 4, 2007

All pictures, maps and graphics associated with lesson plans are the property of Algonquin College, unless otherwise noted or linked. Statistical data and background information has been collected from the CIA World Factbook, public domain reference materials, and (where identified) external resources.

Curriculum and Lesson Plans have been created by partner School Boards [as identified]. These lesson plans and associated resources (photo, video, audio, etc.) are free for use to all teachers within the partner Boards in the delivery of the Ontario K-12 Curriculum. While every effort has been made to maintain the accuracy of the information provided, Algonquin College is not responsible for unintentional data entry errors or omissions.

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Table of Contents

Summary of Lesson Plan

Relation to Ministry Guidelines & Expected Outcomes

OBJECTIVES AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Main Objective

Learning Outcomes

ACTIVITIES

ASSESSMENT

RESOURCES

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Feedback Page

Summary of Lesson Plan

In this lesson, children will have the opportunity to learn generally about: where food comes from; why people are hungry, and begin to explore what Canada as a rich country do and what they as children can do to help.

This lesson plan may identify specific resources to support certain activities. While the expedition team will attempt to gather all the required resources, we cannot guarantee that all photo, audio, video will be captured as listed.

Small World Big Picture, Expedition Africa 2006

Relation to Ministry Guidelines & Expected Outcomes

Grade 1: Science and Technology:

  • (specific) compare the basic needs of humans with the needs of other living things (e.g., the need for food, air, water, light)
  • (specific) describe a balanced diet using the four basic food groups outlined in Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating, and demonstrate awareness of the natural sources of items in the food groups (e.g., bread is made from plant products; meat and milk come from animals)

Grade 1 Language Arts:

  • (specific) listen in order to understand and respond appropriately in a variety of situations for a variety of purposes
  • (specific) demonstrate an understanding of a variety of media texts.

OBJECTIVES AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Main Objective

In this lesson, children will have the opportunity to learn generally about: where food comes from; why people are hungry, and begin to explore what Canada as a rich country do and what they as children can do to help.

Learning Outcomes

  • children will better understand the importance of food to life;
  • children will be more aware of where their food comes from;
  • children will begin to understand the global diversity of the origins of the food on supermarket shelves;
  • children will have a better understanding that many of the poorer countries of the world are contributing towards feeding wealthy countries.

ACTIVITIES

Teacher Activity / Student Activity
Introduction
Benefits of Food /
  • NOTE: This lesson ideally follows lessons on Canada’s Food Guide and healthy lifestyles.
  • Teacher displays posters of Canada’s Food Guide and different examples of the 4 food groups in the class, and a world map. Teacher also posts photos of people eating (from Cool Planet web site, as listed in Resources other relevant photos, as well as chart paper below each photo.
  • Begin discussion with reviewing the 4 major food groups and the general benefits of each food group. Children will want to participate and speak about what they like to eat. Option: start a chart list of what students eat, within the categories of the Food Guide.
  • Draw children’s attention to the five daily life photos and other relevant photos displayed around the classroom. Move from one photo to the next and ask the children to tell you why we need food and the other benefits that foods give us. Also ask the children where in the world they think the foods come from.
  • NOTE: How you organize the rest of this lesson will depend on the skills and abilities of the class: for a class in which most children can write simple answers, you can use a group activity; for a class in which most children are just starting to write, an all-class, teacher-led activity will be used. For small group activities, use the worksheets included or for the class adapt the worksheet for a chart paper or board presentation.
/ With teacher guidance and scribing, children look at and think about each photo and then tell the teacher why we need these types of food and where they think this food comes from.
Teacher Activity / Student Activity
How do we get food and where does food come from – a class or group activity
Where in the world does our food come from?
Follow-up /
  • Direct and facilitate children in groups or class as a whole to work on where we get food from. Answers are recorded.
  • Many of the children will probably say that their families drive to a supermarket to shop and that someone in the family works to earn money to pay for shopping. DISCUSS. Why is it cheaper to go to a supermarket than to a restaurant? What about people who are unable to afford cars and cannot get to a supermarket? Why do few people grow their own food these days, even though it is a very cheap way of getting food?
  • Using the “Cool Planet” and other photos as prompts, ask the small groups or class as a whole to fill in the other side of the worksheet with ideas of other ways in which people may get food. Suggestions might include: they grow food to eat; they shop in markets; they catch fish to eat; they keep hens; they buy fast food. Discuss these suggestions as a whole class. Points for discussion and teaching include: if you don’t have money for food, what do you need in order to feed yourself? Suggestions might include: land to grow your own food or to keep animals on and/or access to the sea and a boat to fish.
  • To conclude the lesson, you can assemble a paper grocery bag with items from all over the world. Working as a class, brainstorm on where these foods come from and, how they are different from each country, on the world map, perhaps with itemized marker, clearly show the children from where these foods come. How many of the countries are in the South? Why are many of our foods grown or produced in the South? (e.g., climate allows production of fruit and vegetables for most of year). Which continents are in the South? (Africa, Asia, Latin America.) Which foods in the bags come from which continents? (You may have rice from India, tinned fish from Indonesia, and fruit from Malaysia.)
  • When talking about the countries of the South try to convey the idea that they tend to be poorer economically than the countries of the North but that there are poor and rich people in both North and South.
  • Have a class discussion on how Canada helps less developed countries create opportunities to grow their own foods and how these countries learn to harvest their own food crops. Give examples and/or taste test these different crops.
  • Have a class feast with foods from all over the world. Use the world map to document from where the food comes.
/ Children work in small groups or as a class to brainstorm on where we get food from.
Children discuss other ways that you can get food – relying on Cool Planet and other photos.

ASSESSMENT

  • Assess student discussion and understanding of nutrition as a human need and right
  • Monitor and assess students’ understanding of the four food groups
  • Assess students’ overall understanding of where foods come from originally

RESOURCES

  • Photos of food and families can be found at:
  • Canada’s Food Guide to Health Eating can be found on the Health Canada website:
  • Copies of Canada’s Food Guide to Health Eating
  • World map
  • Worksheet (included)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Worksheet: Where does our food come from?

We get food by ... / You can also get food by ...

Oxfam 1998 Making a Meal of It! (worksheet may be photocopied)

Lesson plan: Where does our food come from?

From the Making a Meal of It! online resource

From Cool Planet - Oxfam's website for teachers and young people:

Feedback Page

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Food, Nutrition, and Hunger: A Lesson for Grade OnePage 1 of 8