Facilitating Discussion

As teachers, we have a number of discussion approaches at our disposal. It is up to us to choose which one is most effective for our students. We facilitate discussion by responding to each of the following:

a problem: “How can a government that claims to care about its nation’s health provide such unhealthy options?”

a narrative: Read or watch firsthand accounts from factory farm workers.

classroom activity:  Students will research the food they eat, then generate discussion on their findings.

an observation: Display one of the following photographs in the classroom for discussion. (I'd be careful not to post anything too disturbing.)

Since I am a hands-on learner myself, I’d like to use the last approach. The activity could be impromptu—have them investigate whatever is in their lunch bag at that moment, then discuss their findings after a bit of research.

The question I’d ask is a big one—How much does your lunch really cost?

Students would probably rush to the easiest answer, but I want them to really think about everything that goes into it, which would naturally prompt the next set of questions:

Were animals harmed in the process? (This includes humans!)

How far did it travel to reach you? What sort of natural resources were wasted in the process?

How does each of these things affect our environment?

How do they affect our own health?

The best practices I would use are:

-Use combination of group and whole class discussion. (I would have students meet in groups beforehand to compare and contrast their findings.)

-Ask students to relate their comments to content they’ve read, viewed, or heard in a lecture. (One thing I’ve noticed in my practicum classroom is that children often make up their own research. Since our topic is a serious one, I’d like prevent that as much as possible.)

-Use silence, my own! (I don’t want to push my opinions on the students, but teach them to think twice about what they put in their bodies.)

Also...

Here is an interesting PDF about the true cost of food by Greenpeace, in case you're interested.

I tried to find a kid-friendly article on the subject, and found this on Oprah's website. (It isn't for kids, but it's easy for anyone with a casual interest in the subject to understand.)

Michael Pollan adapted The Omnivore's Dilemma for younger readers. Check it out!

Sidenote: I know someone at Green Meadows who I plan on contacting soon. I'm open to other ideas for service learning if anyone has a suggestion!