The menu is set. The donations are slowly flowing in. Besides actually teaching the material, the third step is planning the curriculum. For those of you who don’t know, curriculum refers to the group of lessons and their content, ostensibly provided in one “package.” In this case, the food curriculum has 2 parts: one, the menu and two, the content. Since the class is four weeks long I have to compile four lessons.

This post is a preview or sketch of the first lesson.

Here’s how it will work:

The first 5 minutes are a brief introduction on my part. I hope to summarize the following:

• Who I am
• Why this class – what it means to me – what I want participants to learn
• What is the class – class structure, 4-week layout, and expectations/behavior/rules

Aside from general info on me as a person, this intro will give me the chance to explain why I think food literacy is important. In fact, it will give me the chance to explain that this is a ‘food literacy class’ even though such terms are absent from the course title. Ultimately I want the participants to think more critically about their food – where it comes from, how its made, who produces it and even the health, economic and environmental impacts of our food choices. This might seem like a lot to swallow (pun intended) but it’s critical for everyone to ask these basic questions.

I’d like to also note that the participants will be families, so I assume classroom behavior will not be a huge concern. The main point here is to remind everyone that we must cleanup the room once we are done cooking and eating.

The next 5-10 minutes will be devoted to everyone sharing with the class who they are. Each participant will be asked to share the following:

1. What is your name?
2. Why are you excited to be here?
3. What is your favorite food?

Unlike a typical class there will not be enough time to build a “classroom community.” I think it’s important for everyone to familiarize themselves with others because there will be interactions among participants, but at the same time, not much time will be devoted to “get to know me” activities.

The next 20 minutes are an activity. Each family will sit together at a table and receive a document with a list of ingredients. Families will have 3 minutes to read over the ingredients and guess the food item. Thereafter, one member from each family will share their guess on the food item. After each guess, I will share the answer – both the name of the item and a tangible version of it. With 7 families I assume this will take some time. There will be surprise and laughter and debate even. The exercise is perfect because it really emphasizes the importance of knowing what’s in your food. Then I will lead a discussion on these issues.

Each family will receive another document with the following questions:

1. Is it important to know what is in our food? Why or why not?
2. How could our understanding of the ingredients affect our health or our wallet or the environment?
3. What can we do to improve our knowledge of these ingredients?

I’m thinking that each family will have 3-5 minutes to discuss the questions amongst themselves. I will read the questions aloud once they are distributed. I hope to facilitate a large group discussion on some of these questions. I do not expect us to cover all of the issues, but I still want the participants to be exposed to this way of thinking.

If everything goes as planned there will be another 10 minutes left. For the remainder of the lesson I will provide a brief “lecture” on the following topics:

• The difference between “whole food” and “processed food”
• Explaining the ‘hidden cost of convenience’ in processed food
• The concept of meal planning and how these issues partake in the process

This outline for the roughly 60 minute period is great. Realistically we may not finish it. Like any lesson, this outline is an outline. As much as I want to think we will cover all of this we probably will not. That said, no matter what we cover from this sketch, I am excited to engage these issues and questions with the families. I hope it to be a real breakthrough for some members of the class.

Now back to the drawing board. Three more lessons to go.

Related posts:

1. The Food Curriculum Project (part IV) “Lesson Plan 2″
2. The Food Curriculum Project (part VI) “Lesson Plan 4″
3. The Food Curriculum Project (part V) “Lesson Plan 3″
4. Food Curriculum Project
5. The Food Curriculum Project (part I)

Tags: food literacy, Food Politics