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Lesson 1

We will review some of the main concepts from the previous section, including the definition of a food system, as well as some of the key challenges it faces. We will read an article that provides additional context to a key historical moment that shaped what is now the modern, global food system: the Green Revolution. We will be introduced to a tool that will help us evaluate ideas as they are presented in a text and begin to think about how ideas and language represent a writer’s perspective.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I evaluate the relevance and credibility of information, ideas, evidence, and reasoning presented in “History and Overview of the Green Revolution: How Agricultural Practices Changed in the 20th Century”?
  • Can I analyze how Briney’s perspective influences the position, purpose, and ideas in the article “History and Overview of the Green Revolution: How Agricultural Practices Changed in the 20th Century”?

Texts

Core

  • Digital Access
    • “Introduction to Food Security,” Agriculture in Education, YouTube, 2015
  • Unit Reader
    • “10 Things You Need to Know about the Global Food System,” Evan Fraser and Elizabeth Fraser, Guardian News & Media Ltd., 2019
    • “History and Overview of the Green Revolution: How Agricultural Practices Changed in the 20th Century,” Amanda Briney, ThoughtCo., 2020
    • “Nourish Food System Map,” Nourish, WorldLink, 2014

Materials

Tools

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Read – Discuss

We will review key concepts from section 1, including the definition of a Food system and some of the key issues and challenges presented in the unit thus far, and how these key topics connect to the unit’s Central Question.

In pairs, read the unit’s Central Question, making notes about anything new you have learned about the topic so far in the unit:

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

Think about and discuss the growing societal, economic, and environmental concerns related to the concept of food scarcity. Brainstorm ideas about how a growing world might feed itself in the future.

In light of your discussion, develop a shared definition for the concept of a global food system. Make a list that identifies at least three examples of issues or challenges in the global food system that you have learned about in previous lessons. Be prepared to share your ideas with the class.

In developing your definition and list of challenges, consider the following discussion questions:

  1. What is a food system?

  2. How is the global food system similar to and different from a local food system?

  3. What are three key issues that affect the modern global food system?

  4. What might be some responses to those issues?

Activity 2: Read – Discuss

As a class, we will review the unit’s Central Question and then discuss our definitions and examples of challenges facing the global Food system. We will develop a class diagram that represents the concepts of a farming practice being effective, safe, sustainable, and, thus, viable.

Step 1

As a class, review and discuss the unit’s Central Question: How do we feed a growing population in a viable way?

Discuss the growing societal, economic, and environmental concerns related to food scarcity.

Share what you and your partner came up with as definitions for a global food system and some key issues you identified. Your teacher will note your ideas on the board.

As a class, review your definitions in light of the following questions:

  1. How do the definitions of a global food system relate to the concept of food scarcity?

  2. How do the definitions of a global food system address societal, economic, and environmental concerns? If they don’t, how can these areas and their challenges be incorporated?

Step 2

In light of the Central Question, and what you have learned so far, consider and study the following framing questions in this section of the unit:

  1. How can we best feed a growing population using methods that are effective, safe, and sustainable?

  2. Which agricultural practices are the most viable? Which practices are not viable?

Review the definitions of sustainable and viable you developed in the first lesson of the unit. Consider the three aspects of being viable that are mentioned in the framing questions:

  • Effective: What would it mean for a farming practice to be seen as effective?

  • Safe: What would it mean for a farming practice to be seen as safe?

  • Sustainable: What would it mean for a farming practice to be seen as sustainable?

As a class, develop a map or diagram that shows the relationship of the interrelated concepts of being effective, safe, and sustainable and how they all contribute to whether a practice is seen as viable. You might think about these relationships as a Venn diagram, with “viable” at the center and the three contributing concepts overlapping around that common center.

Step 3

With a partner, take the class’s map or diagram and add words or pictures that illustrate issues or challenges that are related to the concepts of a farming practice being effective, safe, sustainable, and, thus, viable.

You will refer to and use your maps or diagrams as you examine texts and arguments you read in the rest of the unit.

Activity 3: Listen – Read

As a class, we will learn how to read closely and deepen our understanding, as well as how to evaluate ideas presented in a material.

Follow along as your teacher introduces the Evaluating Ideas Tool and review the elements, questions, and steps as a class.

Note that the tool is organized similarly to the Attending to Details Tool and Analyzing Relationships Tools, but now includes a four-step sequence related to evaluating a text:

  1. Attend to the details.

  2. Analyze the perspective.

  3. Evaluate the information and ideas.

  4. Evaluate the text.

As you read through the tool, think about the following questions:

  1. How does information presented in a text connect to an author’s perspective?

  2. How does a text’s language reflect an author’s perspective?

  3. What does it mean to evaluate the accuracy, credibility, and relevance of an author’s claims and evidence?

  4. What kinds of key details and evidence might you look for when reading and evaluating a text?

  5. What might background information about an author or publication source tell you about a certain text, its perspective, and the claims that the author makes?

Activity 4: Read – Write

We will independently read and annotate the article “History And Overview Of The Green Revolution: How Agricultural Practices Changed In The 20th Century” to gain a deeper understanding of the historical significance of the event and its overall impact on modern agriculture.

Step 1

With a partner, read the first two sections of the article “History and Overview of the Green Revolution: How Agricultural Practices Changed in the 20th Century.” Annotate the text, looking for details that address the following questions:

  1. How did the Green Revolution happen? What were the steps in its development?

  2. How did the Green Revolution change agriculture and food production globally?

Step 2

As a class, briefly discuss the details you have found in relationship to these questions and summarize what you have learned about the Green Revolution.

For this section of the article, use the Evaluating Ideas Tool with the following question to guide your analysis:

  1. How do words, phrases, or other details in the opening of the article suggest the author's perspective on her topic?

Discuss how these details influence your sense of the tone or meaning of the article and its presentation of the Green Revolution.

Step 3

As a class, read the third section of the article “Plant Technologies of the Green Revolution.” Discuss the meaning and importance of the first sentence in the section:

The crops developed during the Green Revolution were high yield varieties - meaning they were domesticated plants bred specifically to respond to fertilizers and produce an increased amount of grain per acre planted.

Make a list of the technologies that are explained in this section of the article:

  • harvest index

  • photosynthate allocation

  • insensitivity to day length

Based on the context clues and information presented, develop simple definitions for these three terms and add them to your Vocabulary Journal.

Step 4

With your partner from the previous activities, consider what you have learned about the Green Revolution in terms of the diagram or map you developed showing relationships among the important characteristics of a practice: how viable, effective, safe, and sustainable it might be. Determine which of these issues have been addressed so far in the article.

List the details you find in the article that are related to how Green Revolution practices are effective and sustainable.

Look for any stated details that relate to whether Green Revolution practices are safe. Discuss ways in which the practices might or might not be considered safe for people and the environment.

As a class, briefly discuss what you have found regarding how Green Revolution practices might be seen as effective, safe, and sustainable, and thus, viable.

Activity 5: Read – Discuss – Write

We will determine the meaning of Unknown words. We will work with partners to cement our understanding of the new words in a variety of vocabulary exercises.

Step 1

Follow your teacher’s directions for using the Vocabulary List or the words you identified during your reading of “History and Overview of the Green Revolution: How Agricultural Practices Changed in the 20th Century.” You might use a Vocabulary in Context Tool for words you can decipher from the text; for others, you might use morphology to decipher the meaning, or you might use a reference resource to check if your meaning is accurate. For some words, your teacher might present you with definitions.

Record the words and definitions in your Vocabulary Journal. For each word, identify the vocabulary strategy (e.g., context, morphology, reference resource) you used to determine its meaning.

Step 2

Work with a partner or group to respond to the vocabulary exercises, as directed by your teacher.

Activity 6: Discuss

We will finish reading about the Green Revolution and use an Evaluating Ideas Tool to note, analyze, and evaluate some of the key ideas and details presented in the text.

In a small group, read the article’s final two sections, and annotate the text for details that indicate the author’s perspective. Use an Evaluating Ideas Tool to record and analyze key details you identify. At the bottom of the tool, develop a conclusion or claim about the effects of the details you note on your sense of the tone or meaning of the article.

Consider and discuss the following questions:

  1. What words and details does Briney use that indicate her perspective on the Green Revolution?

  2. What claims does Briney make about either the impacts or criticisms of the Green Revolution?

  3. What examples or evidence does she provide for each of her claims?

  4. What concluding claim does Briney make in the closing paragraph of each passage?

  5. Identify a sentence from your passage that your group thinks is particularly effective. How does Briney use language and the syntax of her sentence to make this sentence stand out?

Activity 7: Read – Write

We will discuss key ideas, information, and takeaways from “History Of The Green Revolution,” considering how someone with a different perspective might view the Green Revolution differently than Briney.

Step 1

As a class, discuss key takeaways from your reading and analysis of Amanda Briney’s “History of the Green Revolution.”

Compare the conclusions you have drawn about the effects of key details on the article’s tone and meaning, how textual evidence indicates the author’s perspective on the Green Revolution, and the central claims she made in the last two sections.

Step 2

Discuss the final sentence and claim from Briney’s article, how it represents her perspective and what it says about her view of the positive impact of the Green Revolution:

Despite these criticisms though, the Green Revolution has forever changed the way agriculture is conducted worldwide, benefiting the people of many nations in need of increased food production.

Discuss ways in which an author with a different perspective on the Green Revolution, such as someone concerned about how safe the practices are and their impact on human health and the environment, might view the Green Revolution differently. How might such a person complete this claim:

  • “The Green Revolution has forever changed the way agriculture is conducted worldwide, presenting new challenges and problems related to _____.”

Record ideas from the class discussion in your Learning Log.

Activity 8: Read – Write

For homework, we will identify key sentences and claims from Briney’s article, study how they are expressed, and then emulate her writing as we write our own claims about Green Revolution farming practices.

For homework, identify several sentences in the article you have found to be particularly important or strong in presenting claims and making the case that the practices developed during the Green Revolution are effective.

Write the sentences in your Mentor Sentence Journal. Study the syntax and language of the sentences, so you understand how each statement or claim has been expressed.

Write a sentence about the Green Revolution: either one like Briney’s, which presents a positive perspective, or one that takes a different perspective, using and emulating the pattern of the sentence you have identified. You might address other issues about the practice, for example whether it is safe or sustainable.