Where does our food come from?
Exploring global trade and food production by mapping the world's biomes and tracing where food imports come from.
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- Geography >
- Key stage 2 >
- Year 4 >
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Where does our food come from?
Unit outcomes
Pupils who are secure will be able to:
- Identify that different foods grow in different biomes and say why.
- Explain which food has the most significant negative impact on the environment.
- Consider a change people can make to reduce the negative impact of food production.
- Describe the intentions around trading responsibly.
- Explain that food imports can be both helpful and harmful.
- Describe the journey of a cocoa bean.
- Locate countries on a blank world map using an atlas.
- Use a scale bar correctly to measure approximate distances.
- Collect data through an interview process.
- Analyse interview responses to answer an enquiry question.
- Discuss any trends in data collected.
Lesson 5 involves fieldwork on the school grounds. It is important to risk-assess the proposed route taking into account any relevant school risk assessment policies and procedures. Refer to the Before the lesson section in Lesson 5 to prepare for this lesson. Please be aware this lesson may take longer than 1 hour.
Lesson 2 requires a device (one each).
Suggested prior learning
Why are rainforests important to us?
Get startedLessons
Lesson 1: How can our food choices impact the environment?
Lesson 2: What does it mean to trade responsibly?
Lesson 3: How do we get our chocolate?
Lesson 4: Where does our food come from?
Lesson 5: Are our school dinners locally sourced?
Lesson 6: Is it better to buy local or imported food?
Equipment list
Equipment needed across all lessons in this unit.
This list does not include equipment which is usually readily available in the classroom (e.g pencils, A4 paper etc)
Full equipment list for the subject
Quantities marked × will update. Items without quantities are unaffected
- IPads ×15
- Laptops, computers, tablets ×30
- Colouring pencils
-
Recycled food packaging (with labels, collected by children in L4)
×8 - Calculators ×30
- Atlases ×30
-
Member of staff with knowledge on where food from school dinners comes from
×1
for interview. - Glue sticks ×30
- Scissors right- and left-handed options recommended. ×30
The equipment below is optional
-
A1 card or foam boards
×5
Equipment list
Quantities marked × will update. Items without quantities are unaffected
- IPads ×15
- Laptops, computers, tablets ×30
- Colouring pencils
-
Recycled food packaging (with labels, collected by children in L4)
×8 - Calculators ×30
- Atlases ×30
-
Member of staff with knowledge on where food from school dinners comes from
×1
for interview. - Glue sticks ×30
- Scissors right- and left-handed options recommended. ×30
The equipment below is optional
-
A1 card or foam boards
×5
Related content
Unit resources
Knowledge organiser: Geography – Y4 Where does our food come from?
Aimed at pupils, two pages providing key facts and definitions from the unit 'Where does our food come from?'.
Vocabulary display – Geography Y4: Where does our food come from?
A display version of the vocabulary from the unit ‘Where does our food come from?’.
Cross-curricular opportunities
English: Spoken language, reading, writing – composition
Science: Living things and their habitats, properties and changes of materials
Mathematics: Measurement, statistics
British values: Individual liberty, democracy
Design and technology
Computing
RSE/PSHE