Learning Intention: Understanding what it means to be "green".

In this activity you will be given a script of a story to read. Your part will be highlighted and you will need to read your part when the story gets up to your section. For this activity you will need to listen to the other parts as they are read so that you can follow along with the story and know when you need to read.

After the Reader’s Theatre, discuss and record your answers to the following questions:

• What you think the story “Green Eggs and Ham” is about?
• What does ‘green’ mean when talking about the environment? (eg. Green power, green energy, green cars)
• If you consider the story in the same way as ‘green’ when talking about the environment how does your interpretation of the story change?
• What do you think ‘green’ cooking might mean?

Comment: What are some things that you already do to help the environment? What are some things that you could be doing to help the environment? Comment on the comments of other students, building on their ideas and adding more ideas. When you comment on another student's comment, start with @Name, inserting the name of the student.

Green_Eggs_and_Ham_Lyrics.docx

Fig. 1: Green Eggs and Ham by Dr Seuss

Comment: Consider this statement:

“The more unprocessed, seasonal, organic foods you can consume, the better for the environment and for your own health.”

Where do you stand? Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Explain your point of view. Comment on the comments of other students, giving reasons for why you agree or disagree with them. 

Fig. 2: Unprocessed, seasonal, and organic fruits and vegetables.

Fig. 3: A refrigerator in 1955.

Learning Intention: To understand the changes in diets from the 1950s to the present.

With this activity you will be given information about the typical day in the life of a 1950’s family. Create a timeline of this day, listing the foods that were eaten, how they were prepared and who prepared it at the top of the timeline. Then you will be given information about the typical day in the life of a 2000’s family. Record the information about the food eaten, how it is prepared and who prepared it at the bottom of the timeline.

Comment: What things are similar or the same about the 1950’s and 2000’s families? What things are different between the 1950’s and 2000’s families? Why do you think these differences are now apparent? Comment on the comments of other students, building on their ideas and adding more ideas. 

Food - Then and Now.ppt

Learning Intention: To identify the similarities and differences between your diet and a 1950's diet.

List the food that your family would eat in a typical day.

Create a Venn diagram comparing your family’s diet to that of a typical 1950’s diet. You may have to research recipes for foods from the 1950s

Comment: Which diet do you prefer? Why? Comment on 2-3 links posted by other students.

Fig. 4: Venn Diagram

Learning Intention: To analyse the effects of changes in diet since 1950s.

You will be given a list of information about changes that happened in the western world in the 1950s and what the effect has been for our lives in 2000. For each statistic, consider who wins and who loses in each case and how they are affected.

OR

Watch an episode of Supersizers go . . . 1950s (BBC). Make comparisons between food you eat now compared to a typical diet of the 1950s.  Write 3 PEC paragraphs about food in the 1950s using a Positive, Negative and Interesting chart.

Comment: Which diet would you prefer. Give reasons for your opinion. Comment on the opinions of at least 3 other students, explaining why you agree or disagree with them.

Learning Intention: To start your Scholar Project of creating a recipe book.

During each of your demonstration and practical sessions you will be covering a method of cookery. Compile a recipe book with information about each method of cookery, the recipes used for each method, feedback information your teacher gives you during practical  lessons and your own reflections for each practical.

The methods of cookery you will be covering are:

Boiling and simmering.

Poaching.

Steaming

Stewing

Braising

Microwaving.

Deep frying

Shallow frying

Grilling

Roasting

Poeling

Baking

Use the Structure Tool to outline a section for each method. Then add to your work in Scholar, each week, as you learn about different cookery methods. 

Fig. 5: Chef cooking on a flat top grill

Comment: What is one method of cookery that interests you? Explain why. Then comment on other students' comments.

Learning Intention: To understand the effects of food choices on the environment.

“The world is getting hotter. It has warmed by 0.74°C over the last 100 years and over half the warming has taken place since the 1970s.” (The Green Food Bible, Wills, 2008, pg 17)

As a group, discuss your thoughts and reactions to this comment. Record them on the left of the placemat.

As a group, discuss what you consider the causes for the world getting hotter. Record your discussion on the right hand side of the placemat.

“While human food needs account for only around a quarter of total global-warming potential, what and how we eat is nevertheless a significant contributing factor to our worldly problems.” (The Green Food Bible, Wills, 2008, pg 68)

As a group, discuss how the production of food might contribute to the world getting hotter. Record your discussion on the bottom of the placemat.

Comment: Share some of the ideas from your discussion. Then comment on the comments of other students, noting similarities and differences in your points.

Fig. 6: Drought

Learning Intention: To consider the effects our food production and consumption has upon the earth.

Before watching “Home” draw up a 3 column table. At the top of the first column write ‘Before’, at the top of the second column write ‘During’ and at the top of the third column write ‘After’.

In the before column write down any information that you know about what effect humans have upon the earth – in particular consider what effects our food production and consumption has upon the earth.

While watching the documentary record any new facts that you find out about how our food production and consumption has upon the earth. If any of the information you recorded in the before column is confirmed during the documentary – put a tick next to your point.

Comment: At the end of the documentary share 1 - 3 questions that you can ask you other class mates to answer from the information revealed in the documentary about how human’s food consumption has an effect on earth. Try to answer at least three students' questions. Start with @Name.

Learning Intention:To understand our motivations to consume food.

As a group, brainstorm all the reasons people eat and list them.

Consider this information from a study by Tara Garnett at the Centre for Environmental Strategy:

“People’s basic motivations (for consumption) may be distilled into the following:

• Consumption to meet our needs – a means of surviving, reproducing and staying safe.
• Consumption to communicate with others the social, psychological and cultural dimensions of our lives.
• Consumption as routine: consuming is just something that we do because we always have and everyone else does too.” (The Green Food Bible, Wills, 2008, pg 68)

Take the brainstorm ideas and sort them into each of the 3 categories  listed.

Comment: Add any other reasons that you can think of that fit into the categories. Try to extend or build on the ideas of other students.

Fig. 7: Another reason we consume!

Learning Intention: To come to a shared understanding of what a carbon footprint is.

Write down your own definition of what you understand carbon footprints to mean.

Share your definition with the people in your group.

As a group consider all the definitions and write a group definition of what carbon footprints are.

Share your group definition with the rest of the class.

Then, look at this definition of Carbon Footprints:

“A carbon footprint is defined as: The total amount of greenhouse gases produced to directly and indirectly support human activities, usually expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide (CO2).

In other words: When you drive a car, the engine burns fuel which creates a certain amount of CO2, depending on its fuel consumption and the driving distance. (CO2 is the chemical symbol for carbon dioxide). When you heat your house with oil, gas or coal, then you also generate CO2.

Even if you heat your house with electricity, the generation of the electrical power may also have emitted a certain amount of CO2. When  you buy food and goods, the production of the food and goods also emitted some quantities of CO2.

Your carbon footprint is the sum of all emissions of CO2 (carbon dioxide), which were induced by your activities in a given time frame.

Usually a carbon footprint is calculated for the time period of a year.”

(Carbon Footprint Definition, 2009)

Comment: Comment on how close your definition and the definition of other groups is to this definition.

Fig. 8: Reduce your carbon footprints

Consider what the following statement tells you about how organic farming is perceived:

“Thirty years ago the words ‘organic food’ were hardly heard and people who sought it out – or grew/produced it – were usually thought of as hippies or ‘weirdoes’. Why would anyone, we thought, go to the trouble and expense of finding themselves dirty, misshapen carrots and pockmarked apples when it was now possible to buy low-cost, perfectly formed, pre-washed and packed versions from any supermarket?

Twenty years ago the organic movement had become a little more accepted and purchases were seen as less idiosyncratic and peculiar. The Organic King was Prince Charles. And thus hippies had morphed into middle-class professionals, buying organic because they perceived that it tasted better – and helped them to feel superior to the supermarket-loving masses.

Ten years ago the organic-food market had begun to become borderline mainstream with sales constantly rising – albeit organic still comprising only a tiny fraction of total food sales. Always first in line for a new opportunity to sell, around this time the supermarkets saw a main chance and began stocking organic lines in unprecedented quantity.

Now, in 2008, the average organic purchases is likely be – you and me.

According to the major UK organic ‘watchdog’, the Soil Association (SA), nearly one in three shoppers buys organic food, with four out of ten people buying organic food once a month.” (The Green Food Bible, Wills, 2008, pg 27)

Using a TAP chart list all the reasons you think people buy organic food.

Research organic food, organic logos/certification and organic farming in Australia and find facts about organic and the definition of organic to make into a poster about organic agriculture/food.

Learning Intention: To analyse traditional and organic farming methods.

In groups of two or three you will need to research one of the following:

Pesticides

Herbicides

Antibiotics

Hormones

Genetically modified organisms

Irradiation

In your research you will need to find out what your topic is (definition), how it is used in farming and on what products, what are the positives for using the product (produce and environment), what are the negatives for using the product (produce and environment), what organic farming uses instead of your product and why, your own thoughts and reactions to this product being used in farming.

You will need to present your findings as a PowerPoint presentation the rest of the class. You can post your PPT in an Update to the Community.

Comment: Look at other groups' PPT presentations. Give feedback on at least 3, noting interesting information as well as suggestions for improvement.

During this lesson you will be asked to examine photo/video of animals in their “natural state” and compare them to animals living on a “factory farm”. You will be asked to record your reactions on a PMI chart and discuss them with the rest of the class.

You will be involved in a simulation of how much personal space an organic chicken and broiler chickens experience.

Comment: Record your thoughts and reactions.

For this activity you will be taste testing a number of organic and regular products to determine if you think they taste better, the same or worse.

Comment: Write a personal statement about whether you consider organic food to taste better or not. Comment on the statements of 3 other students.

This activity an organic farmer will be present to talk to you about running an organic farm.

Learning Intention: To create a visual diary of growing some organic produce and reflect on the process.

You will be responsible for planting, maintaining and growing your own organic produce.

Take photographs of your produce through the planting, growing and harvesting stages. Include a reflection with each photograph.

To create an Update, go to the pull down menu for your class' Community and select Updates.

Comment: Create an Update in the Community. Include your photographs and reflections. then comment on at least three other students' Updates, noting anything interesting, and similarities and differences from your own experience.

Class discussion: what do you think “Food Miles” means?

Food miles is a term which refers to the distance food is transported from the time of its production until it reaches the consumer. It is one dimension used in assessing the environmental impact of food. The concept of food miles originated in 1990 in the United Kingdom. It was conceived by Andrea Paxton, who wrote a research paper that discussed the fact that food miles are the distance that food travels from the farm it is produced on to the kitchen in which it is being consumed (Iles, 2005, p.163). Engelhaupt (2008) states, that “food miles is the distance food travels from farm to plate, are a simple way to gauge food’s impact on climate change” (p. 3482). Food travels between 1,500 to 2,500 miles (4,000 km) every time that it is delivered to the consumer. The travel of products from the farms to the consumers is 25 percent farther now than it was in 1980 (“Counting our food miles,” 2007). Some scholars believe that the pollution is created due to the globalization of trade overseas; the focus of food supply bases into fewer, larger supplies; the drastic change in the delivery pattern; increase in processing and packaging foods; and making fewer trips to the supermarket. Others state that the GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emissions are created by the production phases which create 83 percent, 8.1 tons of CO2 foot printing. (Engelhaupt, E., 2008).

[1] The goal of the Environmental Protection Agencies is to make people aware of the environment impacts of food miles and show the pollution percentage and the energy used to transport food over long distances, at this time there are researchers that are working to provide the public with more information.

http://newlearningonline.com/learning-by-design/the-knowledge-processes/activities

Food Miles

• A reference to the environmental impact of the global food trade, especially when transported by air 
• The efficiency of food miles; the distance that food travels between the field and the grocery store. 

Compare your idea of what you think “food miles” means to the following definitions:

Recent studies in America and the UK indicate that about 80% of food emissions are produced before the food leaves the farm gate.

You will be given information that shows you how to determine food miles in:

• Ready made products in comparison to home made products.
• How to determine food miles of products.

Once you have an idea of how to work out food miles you will be given a number of products or recipes to order as to most efficient in terms of food miles to least efficient.

In this activity you will need to choose a food product to research. Your product might be an everyday/staple product that you consume every day or a popular product that you like to consume.

First part of the activity is to make an estimation of if this is a low, medium or high food mile product in terms of distance traveled by the product raw ingredients from the farm to consumption by you. Give reasons to support your estimation.

Secondly you will need to research the path of production of the product from the farm (raw materials needed for the product) to the processing of the product, to the path it follows to the time it is eaten by you. At each stage you will need to make an estimation of distances travelled and how they are transported. Discuss any interesting or unexpected parts of the process that you discover.t you discover.

Finally, you will need to review your original estimation and explanation and decide how accurate you were.

This activity involves you first examining information about biodiversity, sustainability and responsibility.

You will then work in discussion groups to reflect the influence that each of these topics has upon the environment.

“SLAVERY” what products, people, times and ideas do you think of when you hear this word?

Question                                        Before Answers            After Answers 

1. Chocolate is made from:

    a. flowers,

    b. fruits,

    c. beans.

2. The above source grows on:

    a. Bushes

    b. Vines

    c. Trees

3. Cocoa grows in ________________regions of the world.

    a. Tropical

    b. Very cold

    c. Any

4. Who were the first people to enjoy cocoa?

    a. Christopher Columbus

    b. Cave men

    c. Ancient Indians in South America

5. True or False: Cocoa Farmers receive about 1 cent for every typical chocolate bar sold.

6. True or False: Australians each consume on average 16kg of chocolate per year.

7. True or False: Cocoa is never harvested by children.

8. True of False: 10% of world’s cocoa is grown on small family farms

Read the pages from “Ethical Eating” about fair trade.

GLOBAL CAFÉ

You will be placed in different groups and required to work with your group to discuss and answer questions that are placed in the middle of each page.

Read the article “Is your chocolate slave trade or fair trade”  Record your thoughts, ideas and reaction in the margin area of the page

Have a second go at the Chocolate Quiz.

With a partner complete and “IDEAS” problem solving chart using the “Is your chocolate slave trade or fair trade”  or Chocolate: Slave Trade or Fair Trade to help you put points in each section.

Learning Intention:To understand the key elements of Fair trade.

Design a poster to make people aware of Fair Trade. 

To create an Update, go to the pull down menu for your class' Community and select Updates.

Comment: Create and Update and add your poster. Then comment on 2-3 other posters, giving your peers feedback on their posters.

In this activity you will need to first consider the contribution an animal product – such a beef or lamb – has upon the carbon contribution to the environment from the birth of the animal to when it is consumed by the consumer. List all the contributing factors you can think of.

Secondly list all the factors you can think of for a vegetable product – such as lettuce, carrot or tomatoes – that contribute to the carbon emissions.

What conclusions can you draw about the effect of a meat-eating diet on the environment when compared to the diet of a vegan or vegetarian?

Consider a list of facts and conclusions about meat products and their impact on the environment in the future.

Learning Intention: To start my “Carbon Footprint Challenge” project.

1. Identify what you feel are three factors that food production has on the contribution of carbon into the environment.

2. Research products that are local to the Canberra region. Explain how buying local products reduces carbon footprints.

2. Present a dietary analysis of the foods and drinks that you would typically consume in one day. In your analysis refer to how they address the specific nutrients that are important to adolescents.

3. Make a list of changes you could make to your diet that reflect both specific nutrients that are important for adolescents’ health and support your values related to sustainability.

4. Present a final list of food and drinks with a proposal for ensuring your food choices support your health, values and other influential factors.

Comment: Do you have any questions about how Scholar works? Make a comment in this update. If you think you have an answer to another student's question, please answer it - be sure to name the student you are replying to in your comment by starting with @Name.

Learning Intention: To give feedback on other students’ works and then revise my own.

Check your Notifications for Feedback Requests: You have received a Feedback Request. Click on this link to take you to the work you have been assigned to review. Go to Feedback => Reviews => Review Work. Rate the work on each criterion and explain why you gave the work that rating. Make in-text comments at Feedback => Annotations. Make an overall recommendation at Feedback => Recommendation.

Submit your feedback once it is finished at About This Work => Project => Status. You will not be able to submit your review until all requirements set by you teacher have been met. These may include a Review, Annotations, and/or a Publication Recommendation.

For more information, see Reviewing a Work and Submitting a Review and Annotations.

The next stage of the writing process is to revise your own work.

Check your Notifications for a Revision Request: You have received a Revision Request. Click on this link to take you to the most recent version of your work. Then go to Feedback => Reviews => Results to see the reviews and Feedback => Annotations to see in-text comments. Once you have incorporated all of the feedback (Reviews/Annotations) from your peers, click “Submit Revision” below the work.

You can also write a self-review, explaining how you have taken on board the feedback you received.

For more information, see The Revision Phase.

Comment: Do you have any more questions about Scholar at this stage? Make a comment in this update. If you think you have an answer to another student's question, please answer it - be sure to name the student you are replying to in your comment by starting with @Name.