Appendix

Sample Lesson Plans: Chapter Three

Activity 3.10: The World in a Supermarket

TIME FRAME

2 days

OBJECTIVES

Students will:
  • understand the global significance of the things Canadians commonly consume;
  • locate the sources of the components of food items found in a local market;
  • display where food items originate on a large wall map;
  • display the different places from which different components of the food item originated; and
  • investigate and discuss the environmental implications of the production, packaging, transportation, and marketing of the common food items.

MATERIALS REQUIRED
  • a common food item from a local market
  • interview material (paper, pens, tape recorder, etc.)
  • large wall map of the world
  • display material (paper, colored string, pins, colored card stock, scissors, tape, etc.)
  • Global Change and Canadians

PROCEDURES

1. Day 1: Present the topic. Read Global Change and Canadians Chapter 3. Read the background material for this activity in Global Change and Canadians: A Teacher's Guide. Discuss the origins of common food items with your class. Students can pick a common food item and make a web, outlining where the product originated. Be sure to include where the product was grown or manufactured, where the packaging material was produced, where the product was stored for distribution, how the product was transported, and how the product was distributed to the local market. This discussion will not involve precise information, but will provide the students with an opportunity to think about where food or consumer goods come from. Do they come directly to the local market from one source, or from many sources? Is the product wholly Canadian or does it involve a world economic structure to bring it to your local market?

2. Assignment: Students should choose a food item or consumer product that is commonly purchased from the local market. They can interview the store manager to discover where the product came from. They should investigate the label on the product to see where the product was packaged, and any other information that can give clues to its origins and route to the local market. Students can bring a picture (drawn, magazine ad, label from the item, etc. [note: students should not be required to purchase the item, nor should they be permitted to remove the label from the store] or graphic representation of the food item to class. They will make a list of the places the food item has come from and how it got to Canada and the local store.

3. Day 2: On a large wall map of the world, students will post their food picture (or label from the food item) on the edge of the map and with colored string, indicate where the item came from. Their item could be linked to many places on the map, or just a few. With a class of students, the map could become crowded with colored string. Students should be able to see clearly that our common foods come from a global marketplace.

4. Discussion: What are the environmental consequences of consuming the food items? Are there common food items in your display that are currently the subject of environmental discussion? What are the consequences to the countries of origin of Canadian boycotts of controversial food items?

ASSESSMENT

Assessment for this activity must focus on how well the students participated in the activities presented by the teacher:
  • Did students participate actively in the brainstorming session?
  • Did they choose an item of food which was commonly purchased?
  • Did they discover where the food item originated, and how it got to the local market?
  • Did they prepare a list of steps that got the food item to the local market?
  • Did they add their information to the class map?
  • Did they investigate the environmental implications of the production, packaging, transportation, and marketing of the common food item, or of some of the controversial food items on the map display?
  • How well did they do these things?

EXTENSION

 Discuss -What if you could only consume food and other consumer goods that were produced locally? In Canada? How would your lifestyle change?

TABLE OF CONTENTS | CHAPTER ONE: WHAT IS GLOBAL CHANGE? | CHAPTER TWO: WHY IS GLOBAL CHANGE IMPORTANT TO CANADA | CHAPTER THREE: THE CAUSES OF GLOBAL CHANGE | CHAPTER FOUR: THE CONSEQUENCES OF GLOBAL CHANGE | CHAPTER FIVE: HOW WILL GLOBAL CHANGE AFFECT SOCIETY? | CHAPTER SIX: CANADIAN RESPONSES TO GLOBAL CHANGE | APPENDIX | TABLE OF CONTENTS | CREDITS

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