Great Resources for Teaching
from the March 2009 YES! Education Connection Newsletter
Read the newsletter: Meal Plan: Resources for Teaching and Learning about Food
Here’s an array of colorful, practical, and compelling materials that you can use not only in your classroom but also in your professional and everyday life.
Eat Fresh, Buy Local
SEE WEBSITE :: Farmers Union
"Eat Fresh, Buy Local" is a slogan or phrase that is becoming more commonplace among consumers. But what is the true meaning behind these words? The National Farmers Union, dedicated to the economic and social well-being of farming and ranching families in rural communities, has created grade-appropriate, stand-alone lesson plans that give students scientific and practical knowledge on sustainable food.
Topics include: the difference between fresh, preserved, and processed foods, how to read food labels, principles of co-ops, and the slow food movement.
Center for Ecoliteracy
SEE WEBSITE :: Center for Ecoliteracy
The Center for Ecoliteracy is dedicated to education for sustainable living. It offers K-12 educators, parents, and members of the school community both academic frameworks and hands-on teaching tools to help young people acquire "the knowledge, skills, and values that are required to sustainable living." Its website hosts a tasty menu of teaching guides, publications and essays, seminars, and programs and initiatives, including Smart By Nature, School Gardens, and the popular Rethinking School Lunches.
The Center operates on the philosophy that each school knows best what it can do, and provides a wide spectrum of education approaches and opportunities on sustainable living. You can't get more supportive than that!
|A different way to show the seasonal availability of vegetables is this chart. Create a similar chart for your area with your students.|
What's Fresh Near You?
SEE WEBSITE :: National Resources Defense Council
It has become commonplace to see the fruits of a summer harvest at your neighborhood supermarket while winter storms blow by outside. The Natural Resource Defense Council asks us to pay attention to where our food comes from—for our own health and for the health of the planet.
What’s Fresh Near You? is an easy-to-use guide about what produce is in season near you. You (or your students) can simply enter your state and the season and get a list of fresh, local fruits and vegetables, as well as links to recipes that make use of your local edible riches.
Ask your students to compare the foods they eat for lunch to this list. Which of those foods currently grow in your area? Instead of out-of-season foods that have traveled great distances, what local foods could they eat?
See the seasonal charts for each state here.