LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE

Your Name: Brittani Roth

Title of Lesson: Food Systems
Grade: Fourth
STANDARDS
NOTE: Please list at least two complete standards your lesson plan covers. [Common Core State Standards
(math and language arts), Next Generation Science Standards (science), Arizona State Social Studies
Standards (social studies)].
AZ. CC. 4.RL.9 Integrate information from two texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject
knowledgeably.
NGSS: 3-5 ET S1-1 Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for
success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.
LESSON SUMMARY/OVERVIEW
Provide an overview/synopsis of the lesson and the topics that it will cover. Make sure to provide a reason
why you selected this to be relevant for a unit on sustainability?
The lesson is about Food and food systems. We will discuss where food comes from, and the production of our food.
The students will do a hands-on activity breaking down the complex system that makes up the hamburger.
Food connects to sustainability through Systems Thinking. Also, the choices we make about food that will sustain
our health and the production of food for future generations. The students will read two articles about past and
present food production techniques and use facts from the text to explain the change of food production to keep up
with population growth.
OBJECTIVES
Describe what you want students to know/be able to do as a result of the lesson.
For example, Students will be able to
Students will be able to illustrate the complex food system of a hamburger by mapping out the detailed system in a
visual format that will be explained to peers.
Students will be able to read two articles and uses facts from those articles to explain how food production has
changed to support the growing population.
Students will be able to create a futuristic food systems for the production of a hamburger that can help sustain
resources for future generations.
ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION
What measures will you use to know if you students met the objectives?
Students will be required to present, as a group, their mapping of the hamburger system. The science notebooks will
also be collected. Students should have brainstorming notes it there, along with their futuristic production system of
the hamburgers. The articles will also be printed for students and they must highlight the facts they use to support
their discussion. The students will write a paragraph about their findings as well as deliver their findings to a peer.
PREREQUISITE KNOWLEDGE
What will students need to know prior to completing this lesson and how will you access their prior
knowledge?
Students will need to know what a hamburger is, sources that make our food (cows, chickens, wheat, seeds). I will
introduce these concepts through videos and class discussions. The videos will give visuals for the students to see
how the systems work. Also, the students will participate and engage in conversation about food allowing me to take
anecdotal notes on their levels of understanding.
MATERIALS
List of required materials.
Science notebooks
Pencil
Chart paper
Markers/ highlighters
Articles
Video (computer/ smart board/ projector)
VOCABULARY/KEY WORDS

List of key vocabulary terms.

Production
Systems
Food Systems
Support Details
Healthy
transportation
Unhealthy
Food Groups
TEACHING PROCEDURES
Procedural Steps (Step by step instructions for teaching the lesson):
Before:
To introduce the lesson we will have done many days of food exploration. The students will have a brainstorming
page in their science notebooks that will help them deconstruct the making of a hamburger all the way down to what
goes into ketchup and pickles. We will have a brief class discussion about any details we learned the previous day
and the important things to include in their map. We will also determine groups and the explicit directions of the
assignment will be given.
During:
Students will work in a group of four to map out the system of production a Hamburgers. The students will use chart
paper and markers to illustrate their map. They will use notes from previous discussion and their brainstorming
notes from the day before. All of the students must be prepared to explain part of the map.
After:
After they have made their maps and given brief explanations of each, we will discuss the production it takes to
harvest seeds and tomatoes for ketchup, and the feeding and caring for cattle and transporting of goods. We will
discuss the effects of these processes on local and global levels. We will discuss long term and short term effects
each part and process has on our environment and future societies.
Extension activity:
The students will then read two articles about food production and how it has changed to support our growing
population. They will highlight key details they want to use to support their findings. They will be required to write
a paragraph about what they have learned using facts from the articles. After completing their paragraphs the
students will share with a partner in their group and discuss what they have learned about the change in food
production.
RESOURCES
List any references you used to create this lesson. If you borrowed ideas from any lesson plans please note
them here. Use APA format.
***These are the TWO articles I will print and use for the students to read about food production
Capper,, J. (n.d.). Comparing agriculture of the past with today. Retrieved December 8, 2014, from
http://animalsmart.org/animals-and-the-environment/comparing-agriculture-of-the-past-with-today
Larson, C. (2014, July 23). Scientists' Cheat Sheet for Improving Global Food Production. Retrieved December 8,
2014, from http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-07-23/scientists-cheat-sheet-for-improving-globalfood-production
WAYS OF THINKING CONNECTION
Provide a complete explanation of how your lesson plan connects to futures, system, strategic, or values
thinking. Define the way of thinking you selected and used in this lesson plan. Remember, this should be
included meaningfully in the lesson plan.
Systems thinking is represented in this lesson plan. The students have to map out the production system of
a Hamburgers. This gets the students thinking and breaking down what goes into each item they put on a hamburger.
This also stems into discussion about how these systems effect our environment and availability of resources. The
students utilize Systems thinking throughout this entire lesson. They are drawing and discussing the production
system of a Hamburger, they are discussing how food production systems have changed, and how they can develop
a food production system that will benefit their future. Therefore, this way of thinking is integrated throughout the
entire lesson.