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Lesson 1

We will begin the unit by addressing the following question: How is food made in the US and what does the process look like? We will hypothesize about what a food system looks like, using the US as a guiding framework. We will then look at a series of images that portray different points in the process of the system, including production, processing, distribution, and sale to consumers.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I express an accurate understanding of elements and visual examples that represent the processes of making, distributing, and selling food in the US?

  • Can I formulate and use questions to establish and deepen my understanding of the different elements in the process of making, distributing, and selling food in the US through group and class discussions?

Texts

Core

  • Digital Access
    • “The Dizzying Grandeur of 21st-Century Agriculture,” George Steinmetz, The New York Times, 2016

Materials

Tools

Reference Guides

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Discuss – Write

We will discuss what we know about how Food is grown and produced in the us and identify what about the Food system we would like to investigate further.

As a class, respond to the following questions:

  1. Where does food come from?

  2. Where do we buy our food?

  3. Who might be involved in the process of getting food to our tables?

    1. Who are the key players in growing food? Producing food? Distributing food? Selling food?

  4. What are some of the key steps food must take between seed and plate?

  5. How might different elements in a food system be connected to each other?

  6. What does a typical farm in the US look like?

    1. What is being grown? How big is it? Are there animals on it? People?

Contribute your answers to the whole class as your teacher writes your ideas on the board. Your teacher will keep these ideas in front of the class for a follow-up discussion at the end of the lesson. You are encouraged to take notes.

Activity 2: Discuss

We will discuss the concept of a system. We will then apply this concept to build initial understanding of the Food system.

Step 1

Follow along as your teacher introduces you to the concept of a system. Begin by thinking about and listing various systems that you are already aware of—for example, your body’s circulatory or digestive systems, or your home’s heating system.

Consider a working definition of the concept of a “system,” for example:

A system is a group of regularly interacting, interdependent, or interrelated items or elements that form a unified whole. [Merriam-Webster]

Record the definition in your Vocabulary Journal.

Considering the examples of systems you have identified, discuss the ways in which the elements of those systems do the following:

  • interact

  • are interdependent

  • are interrelated

  • form a unified whole

Step 2

Return to the brainstorm discussion you had in the previous activity and the list of ideas you generated in response to the questions about where food comes from.

Discuss the following questions:

  1. How does the production and distribution of food involve a system of “regularly interacting, interdependent, or interrelated items or elements that form a unified whole”?

  2. What are some specific elements or parts of the system that produces and distributes the food we eat?

  3. How might different elements in our food system be connected to each other?

Activity 3: Read – Discuss – Write

We will examine some of the places where Food is produced by looking at a series of photos that depict how Food is grown, harvested, and processed throughout the us.

Step 1

Access the New York Times photo essay “The Dizzying Grandeur of 21st-Century Agriculture,” produced in 2016 by photographer George Steinmetz. Read and annotate the two claims that introduce the series of photos:

Our industrialized food system nourishes more people, at lower cost, than any comparable system in history.

It also exerts a terrifyingly massive influence on our health and our environment.

Discuss the following question:

  1. What do these two statements suggest about our industrialized food system?

Considering that Steinmetz also titled the photo essay “Super Size,” make some predictions about what you expect to see in his photographs of various elements in the food system.

Step 2

Follow along as your teacher introduces or reviews a tool you can use to take notes when you are studying visual images: the Visual Analysis Tool. Note that the tool asks you to use the following process as you study a visual image:

  • Consider a guiding question that will focus your viewing of the image.

  • Attend to details that stand out to you and note where the details are located.

  • Think about the details you have noted, how they make you feel or relate to your question.

  • Make connections among the details and how they relate to each other.

  • Express your understanding by making observations about the image as a whole and its meaning to you.

You will use this tool to examine and analyze the “Super Size” photo essay.

Step 3

As a class, read the caption under the first image of a large cranberry farm in Wisconsin. Make a list of details that stand out to you or that you wonder about.

For the second image, from a Wisconsin cranberry receiving and processing yard, work as a class to study the image using the Visual Analysis Tool and considering this guiding question:

  1. In what ways does the image help you understand why the title of this photo essay is “Super Size” and why its subtitle mentions “Dizzying Grandeur”?

Record the question at the top of the tool, then note, think about, and make connections among three key details that stand out. Based on the details you note and analyze, express your understanding of the photo image by making observations about what you see and how it suggests “The Dizzying Grandeur of 21st Century Agriculture.”

Activity 4: Discuss

We will develop and share key observations, findings, and questions about the photo series.

Step 1

With a partner, closely examine another photo image from the “Super Size” sequence, as assigned to you by your teacher. Read the caption for your photo, then use the structure of the Visual Analysis Tool to guide your close examination of your image, considering the same guiding question:

  1. In what ways does the image help you understand why the title of this photo essay is “Super Size” and why its subtitle mentions “Dizzying Grandeur”?

Develop and express one or more observations about your photo and how it illustrates the idea of “The Dizzying Grandeur of 21st-Century Agriculture.”

Step 2

As the class moves through the sequence of photo images, share and compare the observations you made about 21st-century agriculture based on what you saw in your photos. Conclude your study of the photo essay by returning to the concept of a “food system” and discussing this question:

  1. What does the Steinmetz photo essay suggest about the industrialized food system in the United States?

Return to the lists you made earlier in the lesson, and discuss how the photo essay has made you think more deeply about the elements and nature of our food system. What questions does it raise for you? What do you want to know more about as we study the question “Where does our food come from?”

Activity 5: Read – Discuss

We will review and discuss the questions we will address in the Culminating Task.

Read the Central Question for the unit:

How do we feed a growing population in a viable way?

Access the Culminating Task Checklist and read through the Task Questions that frame the task you will be addressing in Sections 3-5 of this unit:

What are the critical challenges facing our food system locally, nationally, or globally? How should we address those challenges using food production practices that are viable (effective, safe, and sustainable)?

As a class, discuss these questions and what they expect you to learn and think about. Talk about what you know concerning the growing population of the world. Discuss the meaning of the following words and record them in your Vocabulary Journal:

  • viable

  • sustainable

Activity 6: Read

We will review the Unit Text List to familiarize ourselves with the texts we will analyze and discuss throughout the unit.

Step 1

Access and review the Unit Text List. Note the information that is included about each text. These texts are also listed in the activities in which they appear, under the Materials tab. You will notice that each text has an icon by it. These indicate where the text is located, which corresponds to the Location column in the Unit Text List.

Text locations:

  • Tradebook: These texts are full-length novels or nonfiction books you will most likely have copies of.

  • Digital Access: You can find these texts online. Use the information provided in the Unit Text List or on the Texts tab for the activity to conduct a web search for the resource. Digital Access resources include online articles, videos, podcasts, and other web sources.

  • PDF Texts: These are formatted PDFs of texts that are available for download on the Materials tab.

  • CD/DVD: These materials are available on CD or DVD and might also be available through online content providers.

Step 2

Review the Independent Reading Text Options. Here, you will find suggested options for independent reading related to the unit.