A Sustainable Food Future

This lesson is designed to build students’ competencies in the following skills:

• collaboration
• communication
• critical thinking
• digital literacy

Australian curriculum content descriptions: 

Year 9 Geography:

• Environmental, economic and technological factors that influence crop yields in Australia and across the world (ACHGK062).
• Challenges to food production, including land and water degradation, shortage of fresh water, competing land uses, and climate change, for Australia and other areas of the world (ACHGK063).
• The capacity of the world’s environments to sustainably feed the projected future global population (ACHGK064).

Year 10 Geography: 

• Human-induced environmental changes that challenge sustainability (ACHGK070).
• Environmental world views of people and their implications for environmental management (ACHGK071).
• The application of geographical concepts and methods to the management of the environmental change being investigated (ACHGK074).

Syllabus outcomes: GE5-2, GE5-3, GE5-4, GE5-5

General capabilities: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Capability, Literacy, Critical and Creative Thinking

Cross-curriculum priority: Sustainability 

Relevant parts of Year 9 achievement standards: Students evaluate a range of primary and secondary sources to select and collect relevant and reliable geographical information and data. They record and represent multi-variable data in a range of appropriate digital and non-digital forms, including a range of maps that comply with cartographic conventions. Students synthesise data and information to draw reasoned conclusions. They present findings, arguments and explanations using relevant geographical terminology and digital representations in a range of appropriate communication forms.

Relevant parts of Year 10 achievement standards: Students explain how interactions between geographical processes at different scales change the characteristics of places. Students identify, analyse and explain significant interconnections between people, places and environments and explain changes that result from these interconnections and their consequences.

Unit of work: Love Food? Love Bees! – Food Security and Sustainability – Year 9 & 10.

Time required: 120 mins.

Level of teacher scaffolding: Medium – the teacher will hold class discussions and facilitate small group work.

Goal 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

• Target 15.5: Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species.

• Student Worksheets – one copy per student
• A class set of internet-enabled devices
• Set of cards for Diamond Ranking Activity (see Teacher Preparation section)
• Student Enquiry Resource (optional) – digital access or one copy per student

This lesson has been created in partnership with ACT for Bees. ACT for Bees is a not-for-profit organisation taking action to preserve these essential pollinators, ensuring a food-secure future.

How To Teach Sustainability With Hope

Quick summary: This course is for both primary and secondary teachers of all subjects, but especially for English, Science, Humanities and Geography teachers who are covering climate change and the cross-curriculum priority of sustainability.