Edible Oasis (Geometry)

Use the attached lesson slides to guide the lesson.

Move through slides 2-4 to introduce the lesson, essential question, and objectives to the class. Before playing the video on slide 5, ask the class if they have ever heard of the term “food desert.” Spend a few minutes allowing students in the class to give their definitions of the term or hypothesize what the term means. Once the class has discussed, play the clip on the slide to give a formal definition.

Transition to slide 6, and ask every student to get out a piece of paper and a writing utensil.

Remind students that the United States classifies food deserts as areas where people are a mile or more away from affordable and nutritious food. This most often occurs in low-income urban and rural areas where there are not as many grocery stores and farmers markets available. Food deserts are not, however, an indication of poverty. Some individuals may be surprised to know they live more than a mile away from a grocery store because they are easily able to travel to one.

Ask students to think of the struggles people who do not have access to fresh and affordable food would have. Tell the students to independently list as many things they can think of on their paper in the 1 minute 30 seconds provided. Then start the timer.

When the time ends, bring the whole class back together and introduce the Stand Up, Sit Down strategy on slide 7. Explain to the class that they will be sharing their list of struggles. Each student will take turns voicing one struggle out loud. If something is said that is on a student’s list, they will mark it off. Students will only say something that has not been said out loud. Once all of the items on a student’s list have been said, they will sit down. This will continue until every student in the classroom is sitting.

After all students have shared their list, hold a whole class discussion about the challenges people in food deserts might face. Consider using the following guiding questions:

• How many challenges could you think of?

• What items did you have in common with other students?

• What do you consider affordable and nutritious food?

• Where can you buy affordable and nutritious food?

• What item (your own or someone else’s) do you think is the most severe implication of living in a food desert?

Move to slide 8, and play the clip to show the perspective of the documentary on the challenges those in food deserts face.

After the video clip, show slide 9 and introduce the Magnetic Statements strategy. Ask students to predict if their school is in a food desert. They will move to the side of the classroom that indicates their prediction. Ask a couple of students from each group to share why they chose ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ Use the following reflection questions when students share their reasoning.

Reflection questions:

• What store are you considering as a grocery store?

• Do they sell fresh fruits, vegetables, and meat?

• Are they frequently out of any of these foods?

• Is the food affordable for people in our town?

After discussing, have students return to their seats, move to slide 10, and hand students the map of their town (see teacher note at the beginning of this lesson for instructions), ruler, and compass. Using the steps on the slide, students will determine if their school is in a food desert.

After everyone in the class has determined if they live in a food desert, ask the class if anyone was surprised by the answer. Explain to students that circles and their properties can be used by people like city planners and food banks to determine where grocery stores and food resource centers need to be placed, just as the class used a circle to discover if they live in a food desert.