UNIT PLAN -THE IRONY OF MODERN NUTRITION: Hundreds of millions of people do not have enough to eat and hundreds of millions of people are eating too much

 

GRADE 7-10 - OPEN

 

 

INTRODUCTION:

This unit is based on the book Hungry Planet by Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluisio. It is a photographic study of families and food from around the world. Each family’s profile includes a detailed description of the weekly food purchases; photographs of the family at home, at the market, and in the community; and a portrait of the entire family surrounded by a week’s worth of groceries (Menzel and D’Aluisio, 2004). The book highlights thirty families, in 24 countries, around the globe from a refugee camp in Chad to an urban family in Australia. This unit of study will look at the families portrayed in Chad, China and Mexico. There is a significant difference in the type of food eaten and the access each family has to food between these continents. The number of undernourished people in the world remains essentially unchanged since the 1999. The effects of this type of countrywide hunger have not been felt in North America since perhaps The Great Depression on the 1930’s. North American youth need to make a connection to this disparity by identifying in some way with the families portrayed in these biographies.

 

GOALS: This unit is an introduction to one of may food related social issues that this course will deal with in an attempt to educate students on the significant factors that affect their lives daily. Food is an important component of everyone’s daily routine, and the choices we make daily affect us throughout our lives. An understanding of the disparities between countries is essential in making informed choices about one’s own eating habits. Provoking thought and discussion around issues of access that students take for granted will broaden their frame of reference. Students will prepare and taste a number of dishes from different countries, they will observe videos and slide shows of food from Mexico and China, and they will perform at least four food labs. The unit should create awareness of the types of food that families in other countries are eating, encourage students to sample food they have not tasted before, develop an understanding of the importance of nutritional education by reflecting on the nutritional values of familiar food, and share their own research with their peers.

PRE ASSESSMENT

ONTARIO STANDARDS

 Global Food Issues

• Identify the various reasons for the choices people make about food;
• Categorize the reasons why people eat the foods they eat (e.g., cultural, emotional, environmental, nutritional, religious, social)

 

• Explain how families, peers, and the media influence an individual’s food choices and habits.

 

• Analyze the responsibilities involved in maintaining nutritional health and well-being.

 

• Identify consumer responsibility in the investigation of current food issues

 

• Summarize the practical factors and demonstrate the skills involved in producing appetizing and healthy foods for themselves and others.

 

• Determine how food-production methods can contribute to satisfying global food needs

 

• Differentiate between the food-production methods of developed and developing countries and the impact of those methods on food security

 

• Prepare a global food product or meal (e.g., something made from grains such as bulgur, buckwheat, spelt, quinoa, couscous; from legumes such as dried beans, peas, lentils; or from vegetables and fruits that are new to them).

 

Practical Skills

·        Plan meals that address factors such as nutritional needs, age, likes and dislikes, activity levels, special diets, and considerations related to time, money, and effort;

 

• Identify, select, and effectively use appropriate kitchen tools to plan and prepare interesting and appealing meals in cooperation with others;

 

• Safely use, maintain, clean, and store tools and equipment used in food preparation;

 

• Identify and demonstrate safe food-handling practices, including kitchen safety, sanitary methods, and proper food storage;

 

• Demonstrate accurate measuring skills and appropriate food-preparation techniques (e.g., stirring, beating, whipping, chopping, broiling, frying)

 

• Plan and budget for a family’s meals forgone week and prepare a list of all ingredients;

 

• Use mathematical skills accurately in meal planning and recipe changes, employing both SI metric units and imperial measures;

 

• Demonstrate an ability to schedule cooking times so all meal components are ready simultaneously;

 

• Demonstrate the ability to follow a recipe, make substitutions, and alter portions as necessary;

 

• Describe the useful information available in cookbooks (e.g., storage and preparation tips, conversion charts, food terms);

 

• Demonstrate basic cooking and baking skills.

 

Social Science Research

• Correctly use food and nutrition terminology (e.g., nutrients, food security, vegetarian, food additives)

 

• Identify the process involved in social science research

 

• Distinguish between key and supporting issues in formulating questions to be researched.

 

 

• Use research derived from a variety of primary sources (e.g., interviews, observations, statistics, demographic research, and original documents) and secondary sources (e.g., print materials, Internet articles, CD-ROMs, and videos

 

• Present a report analyzing a food issue, such as food security, by reading, summarizing, and interpreting articles on food and nutrition in newspapers, magazines, and selected research literature

 

• Distinguish between research evidence and opinion

 

 

• Demonstrate appropriate use of social science research methods in the investigation of food related issues.

 

 

 

INTEGRATION POSSIBILITIES:  This unit is easily integrated with social studies and family studies. It would be beneficial to work with the social science teacher to develop parallel units of study in order for the students to have an in-depth understanding of the political, social, economic and geographical issues relating to the countries studied in this unit.

 

RATIONALE/OVERVIEW This unit will provide an awareness of how food consumption in various countries affects the lifestyles of people. This unit is important in identifying issues central to all student’s lives and providing students with awareness of life outside their country. It lays the foundation for understanding the issue of global obesity while providing with practical food preparation skills through hands on learning. The experiential learning occurring in this unit will provide students with a connection to the material that will enable them to make directly compare events in around the globe to their own lives.

 

Students will view a variety of media related to food, they will understand the different levels of food consumption around the world and the relating consequences, they will prepare and sample a number of food dishes from all over the globe, they will learn nutrition information regarding health and diet, and they will work independently and in groups to perform activities.

Students will complete an investigation of a current global issues related to food using current social science research methods. The culminating activity will be a final assignment in three forms. Using information from all previous activities, students will research a country’s food choices, prepare an oral report, a visual display, and prepare an authentic food dish.

 

 

LEARNING EXPERIENCES: Students will continue to develop listening, reading, writing, and presentation skills. They will build on previous development of organizational skills, through repetitive kitchen procedures and incorporating new skills from preparing new recipes. The will continue to develop their research skills by investigating new recipes and food choices and by using a number of different media in research. Students will also expand their palates by tasting a variety of new dishes.

 

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES: The emphasis of this course is in experiential learning. Students will have the opportunity to work in lab groups to produce a variety of food dishes that connect to the academic topics covered in the various lessons. In addition the following strategies will be used:

• Seminars and discussions

• Unit folders to save all the student’s work for use as reference

• Videos, DVDs, books, pod casts, research and interactive internet sites
• Overheads with handouts for the students to fill in their own information
• Co-operative learning to initiate discussion when completing group work

 

ORGANIZE THE LEARNING: Lessons will follow a similar sequence in order to check for understanding and ensure all students are up to date with the text. Lab procedures developed in the first week of the course will be strictly adhered to, to ensure safety and establish competence in the kitchen.

 

• Anticipatory set – create a “hook” whenever possible
• Class discussion, respect for instructor and peers imperative
• Overheads, visual media
• Handouts for students to complete
• Class folders to store completed work
• Lab. Assessments for each group on an ongoing basis
• In class time for working on major projects
• Completion of assignments for next class if necessary

 

 

ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION:

 

FORMATIVE: All students will be encouraged to speak at least once during class activities to check for understanding. A unit folder will be added to throughout the unit and checked for completion of tasks.

 

SUMMATIVE:  This unit concludes with a detailed group presentation that includes:

 

• Students will prepare an oral presentation AND a poster board that describes your country’s food choices.
• Each group member describes at least one aspect of the poster board.
• Prepare one dish from your chosen country

 

In addition, students will compete a number of in class and independent activities to be filed in their class folders and to be marked for homework completion, listening and understanding, and application of skills.

 

Lab reviews will be completed throughout this unit. (Rubric attached)

 

ACCOMMODATIONS: Students with special needs or IEP will have alternative writing assignments.

 

1. Group work and Labs will allow students with special needs to fully participate in classroom activities.
2. Group members will rotate on a regular basis to ensure that all students interact with as may different personalities as possible.
3. Vegetarian and special diet options will be available as often as is feasible.