Climate Change Education Across the Curricula, Across the GlobeLesson Plan: Teaching “Climate Change and Food Security” and “Climate Change and Agriculture”

As a high school or undergraduate Social Sciences or Environmental Sciences teacher, you can use this set of computer-based tools to help you in teaching topics such as Food Security, Agriculture, Climate Change and Food Security, and Climate Change and Agriculture.

This lesson plan helps students understand the various aspects of food security, and the challenges faced in food security and agriculture at different locations across the world. The activities explore the two-way relationship between agriculture and climate: the impact of food production on the climate, and the possible effects of climate change on agricultural production through location-specific examples.

Thus, the use of this lesson plan allows you to integrate the teaching of a climate science topic with a core topic in Social Sciences or Environmental Sciences.

About Lesson Plan

Grade Level	High School, Undergraduate
Discipline	• Social Sciences • Environmental Sciences
Topic(s) in Discipline	• Food Security • Agriculture • Climate Change and Food Security • Climate and the Food System • Climate Change and Agriculture
Climate Topic	• Climate and Food • Climate Change and Food Security • Climate Change and Agriculture
Location	• Global • Africa
Languages	English
Access	Online, Offline
Approximate Time Required	90 – 130 min

Contents

Micro-lectures (video)

(~26 min)

Two micro-lectures that introduce the concept of food security, explain the factors that impact food security globally, and provide examples to explain the link between food production and climate change.

Video Part 1

Video Part 2

Teaching Module

(high school)

(~55 min)

For high-school level:

A teaching module to explain the relationship between the food system and climate change, and to determine actions that can reduce the impact of the food system on climate change.

Go to the Lesson

Go to the Lesson Slides

Go to the Hand-out

Classroom/ Laboratory activity

(undergraduate)

(~90 min)

For undergraduate level:

A classroom/laboratory activity that uses the example of cocoa production in Africa to help students explore suitable climatic conditions for a crop and to determine how climate change may affect food production.

Go to the Activity

Step-by-Step User Guide

Questions/Assignments

Learning Outcomes

Additional Resources

Credits

Here is a step-by-step guide to using this lesson plan in the classroom/laboratory. We have suggested these steps as a possible plan of action. You may customize the lesson plan according to your preferences and requirements.

1.Introduce the topic by playing two micro-lectures (videos)

• Introduce the topic of food security and discuss the relationship between food production and the climate by playing the micro-lecture (video), “Climate Change and Food Security Part 1”, from the course “Our Energy Future” by University of California San Diego.
• Available at https://www.coursera.org/lecture/future-of-energy/climate-change-and-food-security-part-1-5nlWc
• Initiate further discussion on the climate-related factors that impact crop yield by playing the micro-lecture (video), “Climate Change and Food Security Part 2”, from the course “Our Energy Future” by University of California San Diego.
• The micro-lecture is accessible at https://www.coursera.org/learn/future-of-energy/lecture/cdxIG/climate-change-and-food-security-part-2

2. Conduct the activities in a teaching module

(high- school level)

• For high-school level:
• Next, explore the two-way relationship between agriculture/food production and climate change through activities in the teaching module, “Our Changing Climate”, developed by the Foodspan initiative of the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future.
• Download the Lesson Plan, Slides, and Handouts from
• http://www.foodspanlearning.org/_pdf/lesson-plan/unit2/lesson5-climate-lessonplan.pdf
• http://www.foodspanlearning.org/_pdf/lesson-plan/unit2/lesson5-climate-slides.pdf
• http://www.foodspanlearning.org/_pdf/lesson-plan/unit2/lesson5-climate-handoutsandguides.pdf
• Conduct the activities described in the Lesson Plan.

2. Conduct a classroom/laboratory activity

(undergraduate level)

• For undergraduate level:
• Next, explore the topic further though a hands-on activity, “Climate Change and Food Security”, compiled by Russanne Low (Institute for Global Environmental Strategies), Rebecca Boger (Brooklyn College), and Amy E. Potter (Armstrong State University).
• In this activity, students will learn about the relationship between climate change and food production through the case study of cocoa production in Africa. They will create maps by using the ArcGIS Online tool.
• Go to https://serc.carleton.edu/integrate/teaching_materials/food_security/unit3.html
• Download the teaching materials available.
• Conduct the activities described in the Study Unit.

Use the tools and the concepts learned so far to discuss and determine answers to the following questions:

• Define food security.
• What are the climate-related factors that influence crop yield?
• How might agricultural practices and livestock farming contribute to climate change?
• How could climate change affect global food security?
• Identify actions that could reduce the impact of food production on climate change

1. Micro-lectures, “Climate Change and Food Security Part 1” and “Climate Change and Food Security Part 2”	Jennifer Burney, “Our Energy Future”, a course by University of California San Diego, hosted on Coursera
2. Teaching module, “Our Changing Climate”	Foodspan initiative of the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future
3. Classroom/Laboratory activity, “Climate Change and Food Security”	Russanne Low (Institute for Global Environmental Strategies), Rebecca Boger (Brooklyn College), and Amy E. Potter (Armstrong State University); available on the InTeGrate portal of SERC Carleton
4. Additional Resources	Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations
5. Images	http://newz.ug/climate-change-prolonged-drought-to-dim-east-africas-growth/ https://foodsecurityindex.eiu.com/

All the teaching tools and images in our collated list are owned by the corresponding creators/authors/organizations as listed on their websites. Please view the individual copyright and ownership details for each tool by following the individual links provided. We have selected and analyzed the tools that align with the overall objective of our project and have provided the corresponding links. We do not claim ownership of or responsibility/liability for any of the listed tools.