LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE

Your Name: Emily Kidwell

Title of Lesson: What if we ran out of ways to transport food to you?
Grade: 5

STANDARDS

(5-ESS3-1.) Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to
protect the Earths resources and environment.
(5.RI.7) Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate
an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.
(5.W.2) Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information
clearly.
LESSON SUMMARY/OVERVIEW

Students will use information from previous lessons to develop a hypothesis to the question: What would
happen if we ran out of ways to transport food or if farmland disappeared? Using Futures Thinking students
will be able to identify how monoculture farming was once a solution is now todays problem. Knowing this
information they will brainstorm their own solution to the problem. Students will take this information and
develop a 5-paragraph informational essay.
OBJECTIVES

Students will be able to construct a hypothesis about what would happen if we ran out of ways to
transport food or ran out of usable farmland using the information theyve learned throughout the week.
Students will develop a solution to the problem at hand.
Students will be able to create an informative text to convey their knowledge and deliver their
hypothesis and solution by using information they have learned throughout the week.
ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION

The students will complete a 5-paragraph text that develops their hypothesis about what would happen if we ran
out of ways to transport food or if farmland disappeared as well as one solution to the problem. Each paragraph
must have 4-5 sentences to get full credit.

Paragraph 1: Introduction
Paragraph 2: What is something that would happen if we ran out of ways to transport food to you?
Paragraph 3: Another thing that would if we ran out of ways to transport food
Paragraph 4: One solution
Paragraph 5: Conclusion
PREREQUISITE KNOWLEDGE

Before starting students need to know information about current food production, the environmental damages
that monoculture farming produces, and ideas of solutions that could be used. Students will need to know what
is expected in an essay.

MATERIALS

Graphic organizer
Paper
Pencil
VOCABULARY/KEY WORDS

Monoculture farming: one crop grown over a large area

Pesticides: A substance used for destroying insects or other organisms harmful to cultivated plants or to
animals
Fossil fuels: a natural fuel such as coal or gas, formed in the geological past from the remains of living
organisms (non-renewable)
Hypothesis: proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further
investigation

TEACHING PROCEDURES

1. The teacher will spark students interest by proposing the question, What would happen if we ran out of
ways to transport food or if farmland disappeared?
2. Students will have a few minutes to discuss potential outcomes that could happen if we ran out of ways
to transport food or if farmland disappeared with a partner.
3. Students will come together to present their ideas to the class. Some ideas that they may come up with
are:

We would have to travel great distances to get our food.

Going to the farms to buy food instead of grocery stores.
We wouldnt be able to eat vegetables or fruits anymore.
We will have to grow our own food.
We will have to come up with other ways to produce food.

4. Teacher will record students ideas on the whiteboard so that students have a reference to refer to when
writing their paper.
5. Explain that our agricultural practices are affecting the Earths soil as well as using valuable fossil fuels.
Mono-cultural farming is causing the soil to deteriorate and erode. Remind students that fossil fuels are
a non-renewable resource and could eventually run out, if this happens we wont be able to transport
food.
6. Introduce the assignment and explain that students will be formulating their own hypothesis of what
could happen and brainstorming a solution.
7. Clarify that a hypothesis is an idea of what they think might happen that promotes further investigation.
8. Tell students to think about what theyve learned so far throughout the week to help guide their
hypothesis and solution.
9. Students should use Futures Thinking to guide their ideas. They will have to think about how the present
food production affects future production. In addition to they will have to come up with a solution they
believe would work both in the present and future.
10. Teacher will pass out graphic organizer that lays out introduction, three body paragraphs (two possible
outcomes and one solution), and conclusion.
11. Teacher will answer any questions the students might need clarified.
12. Continue to walk around and help as needed.
13. Once students have finished, teacher will call on a few students to share their hypothesis and solution
with the class as a wrap up of the lesson.

RESOURCES
http://world.time.com/2012/12/14/what-if-the-worlds-soil-runs-out/
Anderson, K. (n.d.). A World Without Bees Lesson Plan. Retrieved November 8, 2014,
from http://ssfthoneybees.weebly.com/day-4.html

WAYS OF THINKING CONNECTION

Futures Thinking is connecting how the past and present influence the future. The choices we make today affect
what our future looks like. We have to consider that the solutions of today, could become the problems of
tomorrow. In this lesson, students have the opportunity to think about our current food production system and
how it might affect our future. They must think critically about the presented question to produce solutions that
they feel would be best for our future. Discuss with students that in previous years we found that monoculture
farming was the best way to produce food quickly and at an affordable rate. Have them think about how our
solution is now turning into a problem.

Five-Paragraph Essay Graphic Organizer

*EXAMPLE*
Introduction
This will become the first paragraph in your essay; fill this box out with at least three sentences
introducing your three main ideas.
Monoculture farming is our most used method of agricultural farming. There are some benefits
to using this method such as growing crops quickly and in large amounts.
Monoculture farming also has many negative effects on the Earth.

Body
Each of these main ideas will become a paragraph in your paper. Express these ideas in complete
sentences. What if we run out of farmland? What if we run out of ways to transport food? What is a
solution?

Hypothesis #1

Hypothesis #2

Solution

We will have to travel really far to get

our food.

Farms could shut down

We could grow our own food in

gardens at home

Details that support Main Idea

#1

Details that support Main Idea

#2

Details that support Main Idea

#3

Conclusion
Repeat, using new wording, the most important ideas: the ideas that you really want your reader to
remember.

The negative impacts that our current food production has on the environment can cause some pretty
big problems. It is important that we address these problems now. If we create solutions and act on
them then we wont have to worry about things like running out of food.

Five-Paragraph Essay Graphic Organizer

Introduction
This will become the first paragraph in your essay; fill this box out with at least three sentences
introducing your three main ideas.

Body
Each of these main ideas will become a paragraph in your paper. Express these ideas in complete
sentences. What if we run out of farmland? What if we run out of ways to transport food? What is a
solution?

Hypothesis #1

Details that support Main Idea

#1

Hypothesis #2

Details that support Main Idea

#2

Solution

Details that support Main Idea

#3

Conclusion
Repeat, using new wording, the most important ideas: the ideas that you really want your reader to
remember.