Teacher Preparation

Students will...

… understand some of the big issues around food
… understand that solutions to the big issues around food already exist

Students can...

… undertake research online and from prescribed texts
… create a montage
… create a presentation
… write a script
… work independently and collaboratively
… participate in class and group discussion

Make the learning intentions and success criteria visible to students throughout this lesson.

Teacher content information: A 2018 study by The University of Melbourne on the thoughts and concerns of young people from Generations X and Y found the number one concern across both groups was lack of action around climate change. In particular, "Generation X worries what climate change will mean for their own children, while Generation Y is concerned about the impact on future generations" (The Educator). The report indicates that young people have a serious mistrust in the Government's ability or willingness to tackle climate change.

Tackling climate change requires large-scale, systemic changes across all aspects of society. Simply aiming to reduce our C0₂ emissions is not enough: we need to rapidly decarbonise our planet. While this might sound challenging, the good news is we already have the knowledge and tools to do it.

2040 is an innovative feature documentary that looks to the future while focusing on what is happening now. Award-winning director Damon Gameau (director of That Sugar Film) embarks on a journey to explore what the future would look like by the year 2040 if we simply embraced the best solutions already available to us to improve our planet and shifted them into the mainstream.

The film will demonstrate to your students that we already have the solutions to climate change; we just need to take action to bring them rapidly into the mainstream. The 2040 documentary and curriculum package will support your students in turning this knowledge into positive action for a better future.

Find out how to see the film here. The film is the entry point to a global impact campaign that seeks to mobilise audiences to learn about, contribute to, advocate for and invest in regenerative solutions that improve the wellbeing of the planet, all people and all living systems.

To join the Regeneration and share your vision for 2040, see the website.

Watch the 2040 trailer:

2040 - Official Trailer Password: 2040_EDU

Cool.org, GoodThing Productions and Regen Pictures would like to acknowledge the generous contributions of Good Pitch Australia, Shark Island Institute, Documentary Australia Foundation, The Caledonia Foundation and our philanthropic partners in the development of these teaching resources.

Hot tip: This lesson requires basic knowledge of the principle of sustainability. If students are unfamiliar with this term or need clarity, consider sharing the following definition:

This factsheet can also help to provide background information about the principles of sustainability: Sustainability Factsheet.

Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes	Part A: Activating Prior Knowledge
40 minutes	Part B: Big Issues About Food
30 minutes	Part C: Big Solutions

Part A: Activating Prior Knowledge

Step 1.

Begin this lesson by giving each student a copy of the Student Worksheet.

Project the following image on the board (also available on the Student Worksheet or at this link).

Break the class into pairs and invite pairs to work together to look at the image and discuss and record their responses (in note form) to the following questions (questions also available on the Student Worksheet):

What foods can you see in this image?
Which foods come from an animal and which come from a plant?
Suggested answers: Plants – fruit, bread, muesli/cereal, jam, coffee, juice, sugar. Animals – milk, yoghurt, butter.
Which foods do you think came from a farm?
Suggested answers: They all did! However, some foods have been processed in factories before they come to us. For example, wheat is ground into flour and made into bread, some fruits are cooked and made into jam, coffee beans are roasted etc.
How do these foods get from the farm to us?
Suggested answer: Most of the foods in this picture are packaged in some way – sometimes in boxes or bags – and then shipped to us. The shipping can happen on an actual ship, or a plane or in a truck. Most won’t come straight from the farm to us; instead, they’ll stop on the way at a factory or a storage facility before heading to a shop where we can buy it.
What kind of packaging do these foods have?
Suggested answer: Most of the foods in this picture come to us in some packaging like plastic bags, glass jars or boxes.
Could you eat all this food for breakfast? What would you do with the bits you couldn’t eat or don’t like?
Suggested discussion points: Australians throw out nearly 20% of the food we buy. About 40% of the waste in our bins is food waste. If you add up all the food Australians waste each year you would fill 450,000 rubbish trucks! - Foodwise.
Do you think these foods are healthy? Why or why not?
Suggested discussion points: Fresh fruits and vegetables are healthy, a bit of bread and cereal is good for filling hungry tummies, milk and yoghurt are good for bones, and a bit of sugar very occasionally is ok.

Once complete, invite students to share their responses to these questions with the class. Suggested answers and discussion points included above.

Explain to students that in the next part of the lesson they will explore some of the big issues around food in more detail.

Part B: Big Issues About Food

Step 1.

Break the class into groups of three to five students (you will need at least five groups for this activity). Assign each group with one of the following ‘big issues factsheets’, ensuring that each issue has been assigned at least once:

Step 2.

Invite each group to read through the information relating to the big issue they have been assigned.

Once complete, ask groups to focus on the questions listed at the end of their big issues section. Each group needs to research and discuss their answers to these questions. If conducting research online, remind students of the Search Strategies for Googling.

Allow students time to answer their questions. Students should record their thoughts in the space provided on the Student Worksheet.

Step 3.

Once complete, invite students to work as a class to create a montage that shares key points about their big issue and the answers to their big issue question. The montage could be titled: Big Issues About Food. The montage could be created either online (through a program like Padlet) or physically on the board, wall or large piece of paper with students creating drawings and written pieces that can be added to the class montage.

The class will need to work collaboratively to create their montage. It may be easier for groups to divide up roles with some students working on written content, some producing imagery and some responsible for compiling written and visual content into the montage.

Step 4.

When the montage is complete, invite each group to lead the class in a discussion around their big issue, using the information on the montage to prompt them.

Once complete, consider checking in with students on their understanding of these big issues. You could use the following: "Please put thumbs up, thumbs down, or sideways to let me know if this is clear, and it's perfectly fine if you don't understand or are unsure - I just need to know." Take a moment to clarify any issues, concerns or misunderstandings students may have.

Part C: Big Solutions

Step 1.

Now that students have an understanding of some of the big issues relating to food, explain that they will now look at some solutions.

Share the following clip with students, explaining that this clip comes from the 2040 documentary.

NOTE: This clip makes reference to climate change. If students are unfamiliar with this concept, explain that climate change is a change in the pattern of weather, and related changes in oceans, land surfaces and ice sheets, occurring over time scales of decades or longer. For more information about climate change, access the Climate Change Factsheet.

2040 - Land Use & Agriculture Password: 2040_EDU (https://vimeo.com/showcase/6167669/video/336506893)

You could also screen the following short clip from 2040, Exploring the Themes Password: 2040EDU

Once complete, engage students in a class discussion around their thoughts in response to this clip. Consider using the following questions to guide your discussion:

What is this clip about? What happens in this clip?
Suggested answer: This clip is about a farmer who is helping and inspiring other farmers to take action for climate change by improving soil quality. This increases the amount of CO2 that can be absorbed by the soil, the amount of water retained by the soil and the quality of crops produced by the soil, all of which help farmers to meet the challenges of climate change.
What big issue is this clip addressing?
Suggested answers: Traditional agriculture is unsustainable.
How will this solution help people?
Suggested answers: This type of agriculture will reduce climate change and lead to healthier diets.
How will this solution help our environment?
Suggested answers: Healthier soil holds more carbon. Less carbon in the atmosphere will reduce climate change into the future.
What did you find interesting, surprising or inspiring about this clip?

Through your discussion explain to students that there are solutions to all the big issues they looked at. Students will now work in groups to research some solutions to the big issue they explored.

Step 2.

Invite students to return to the groups they were in earlier (when researching their big issue). Just like Damon did in the film, each group needs to undertake research to find out what solutions exist to help solve the problems they looked at in the montage. They can undertake research online. Groups will need to:

Briefly describe this solution
Share how it will address the problem
Suggest the positives and negatives of this solution

Each group should create a three-slide presentation to share their solutions with the class. Consider sharing this presentation assessment rubric with students to let them know what is expected of them.

Step 3.

Consider inviting students to share their presentations with the class. You can use the presentation assessment rubric to assess student work.

Reflection

Step 1.

Explain to students that they will now watch another clip from the 2040 documentary, explaining that this clip includes young people talking about what they see as the future of food.

Share the following clip:

What's Your 2040 - For Food? Password: 2040_EDU

Step 2.

Once complete, invite students to work independently to answer the following question:

What is your food 2040 (i.e. what would you like to see happening with food in the future)?

Step 3.

Once students have had the time to answer this question, invite the class to collaborate on their own 2040 scene describing their food 2040.

The scene could be similar to the clip you watched from 2040 with children talking about food, or you could develop something new of the students choosing. Students should create a script for their scene. Consider using these Script Writing Tips.

If you have time, you could work with students to film, edit and share their clips.

Differentiated Learning

Extension: Students could undertake research into how climate change might affect food production. The class could also explore solutions to challenges in food and agriculture in more detail using the 2040 website.

Provisional Learning Support: Students who require extra support can work in smaller groups or pairs for group activities.

Take It Further

To expand on student's learning in this lesson, consider following up with this lesson; Taking Action For Your 2040 – Years 5 & 6.

The 2040 team have created a range of clips specifically for use in Primary classrooms. Access the whole package of 2040 Primary clips at the following link, 2040 EDU: PRIMARY - INTEGRATED Password: 2040INT

Teacher Reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:

What did you learn about your teaching today?
What worked well?
What didn't work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

What's Your 2040?

Record your students' work in their communities with the hashtag #whatsyour2040 and share their visions in the '2040: The Regeneration' Facebook Group.

The 2040 crew would love to see your class's work.

2040 - Finding out about Food

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Summary

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