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Lesson 3

We will watch the video “Introduction to Food Security,” followed by a discussion about the definition of food security and the role it plays in our food systems. We will practice forming claims using examples found in the video.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I understand the meaning of, and relationships among, key concepts of argumentation, such as perspective, position, claim, evidence, and reasoning, as they apply to a text introducing the concept of food security?

  • Can I identify claims and supporting evidence, and explain the reasoning presented in the video “Introduction to Food Security?”

Texts

Core

  • Digital Access
    • “Introduction to Food Security,” Agriculture in Education, YouTube, 2015

Materials

Tools

Reference Guides

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: View – Write

We will begin the lesson by watching the entire short video, “Introduction To Food Security.”

Step 1

In this activity, you will be using a Video Note-Taking Tool as you watch a video about food security.

The Video Note-Taking Tool will help you organize and think through the details introduced in a video and how these details are used as evidence for an author’s claim. In the key for the Type of Detail column, you will be introduced to several kinds of details, including the following:

  • detail (D) - specific ideas or positions articulated

  • visual detail (VD) - an image, graphic, or video clip

  • textual detail (TD) - a title, quotation, or other text that appears on the screen

  • narrative detail (ND) - a comment, explanation, quotation, or other detail presented by the narrator

  • interviewee detail (ID) - a comment, explanation, quotation, or other detail presented by someone interviewed in the video

  • aural detail (AD) - music, sound, or other aural detail presented in the video

Step 2

Watch the video “Introduction to Food Security,” taking notes of any key ideas you see and hear, using the Video Note-Taking Tool as a guide. As you take notes, consider this guiding question:

  1. In what ways is food security a social, environmental, economic, and farming issue?

Note that all of the types of details listed on the Video Note-Taking Tool might not be present in "Introduction to Food Security." See which ones you notice as you watch.

Activity 2: Discuss

In pairs, we will discuss what we learned from watching the video and how it might connect to previous lessons.

Turn to a neighbor and discuss the following questions:

  1. The video suggests that by the end of this century, we will welcome the 11 billionth person to our planet. Why do you think the global population has grown so much in the past 120 years?

  2. According to the video, is there enough food on the planet to feed our global population? What are some of the main concerns about feeding a growing global population?

  3. What is food security and what are the four dimensions of food security the video references? Why is food security important?

  4. What are some of the solutions the video mentions for tackling food security?

  5. What do the two Chinese characters that make up the word population (a person and an open mouth) have to do with food security?

Activity 3: Listen – Write

We will discuss the idea of a claim and how claims are used to form arguments and support positions.

Working as a class, put together a definition for the term claim and discuss the contexts in which it might be employed. Use the Claims Reference Guide to help you understand this concept and how it is a fundamental element of any argument.

Consider where you have made a claim and used it to your benefit, either in an academic or personal setting. Write down the definition in your Vocabulary Journal.

Follow along as your teacher introduces the Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool, which you will use later in this lesson.

Note how the Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool is related to the Attending to Details Tool and Analyzing Relationships Tools you have used previously. It helps you move from thinking about a guiding question to identifying and analyzing key textual details to finally reaching an observation or conclusion. In this case, however, the conclusion is stated as a claim that is supported by evidence from the text.

Activity 4: Read – Discuss – Write

We will learn more about the concept of a claim by thinking about an example claim and its supporting evidence from the video “Introduction To Food Security.”

Using the Argument Reference Guide, review the section that outlines the elements and terminology used in an argument. Pay special attention to the terms perspective, position, supporting claim, and evidence.

With a partner, read through each definition and identify details or examples related to each element that are communicated in the video. Summarize what you think its perspective and position are, and discuss examples of claims it makes and evidence it presents to support those claims.

Once you have discussed some of the elements with your partner, consider the following claim made at the end of "Introduction to Food Security":

Ultimately, we must balance people and resources. This is a challenge for agribusiness and consumers alike, but we think we're up for it.

After discussing this claim with your partner, use your Video Note-Taking Tool to identify and list evidence that was presented in the video that supports this claim.

Remember that evidence can be information, facts, examples, or quotations from which the position and supporting claims arise and are cited to support the argument.

Activity 5: View – Discuss – Write

We will rewatch the video and make a list of the details we find are most relevant to the main concerns with feeding a growing global population. From these details, we will use a tool to practice writing our own claims connected to this concern.

Follow along as your teacher introduces or reviews the Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool. Note that the tool organizes a reading and thinking process similar to the processes you have used with the Visual Analysis, Attending to Details, and Analyzing Relationships Tools. With this tool, however, you will be using key details and relationships you notice to help you form your own claim about a topic or text.

Use the tool as you rewatch the video, this time taking note of examples and details that respond to the following question (previously discussed in Activity 2):

  1. What do the two Chinese characters that make up the word population (a person and an open mouth) have to do with food security?

Review the details that you identify and select the ones that you think are most important or relevant in responding to this question.

Then use the Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool to individually draft your own claim, based on these details and how they connect to the initial question and a conclusion you have drawn based on your analysis of the details.

Activity 6: Discuss

We will review and discuss our claims and the examples of argumentation terms we found in the video.

Step 1

In pairs or small groups, share and compare the claims you formed based on evidence from the video. Review the examples of argumentation elements you found in the video. Share with the class examples of claims and supporting evidence, as well as places where the perspective and position of the video are communicated.

Step 2

As a class, discuss what you have learned about the concept of food security and why it is an important factor within our food system—especially on a national or global level.

Discuss the concept of a “local food system,” as presented in the video. Think about examples of local food systems that might be similar to the Australian example mentioned in the video.

Record the terms food security and local food system in your Vocabulary Journal and write a few sentences explaining what they mean and why they are important in responding to the unit’s Central Question.

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

Activity 7: Discuss – Write

We will discuss the unit’s Central Question and reflect on its significance by completing a quick-write in our Learning Logs.

Step 1

Review the Central Question of the unit:

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

In your Learning Log, write a response to the following question: If you were to provide an answer to the Central Question today, what would it be?

You will return to this initial response in later lessons to examine how your understanding of the Central Question has evolved.

Step 2

Locate the Culminating Task Checklist and read the prompt.

Now find the Culminating Task Progress Tracker and reflect on the following:

  1. What do you need to know to succeed on the Culminating Task?

  2. What do you need to know how to do to succeed on the Culminating Task?

Write your responses on the checklist and share them with your partner or the whole class.