Farm to Table

Overview

In this lesson, students explore how food moves from farms to homes and school tables. They practise identifying simple “farm to table” steps and represent them in a visual map using drawings, labels, and arrows.

Learning intentions

• Students will describe (in simple terms) how food travels from farm to table.
• Students will identify key stages in a food journey (for example: farm, transport, shop, home/school).
• Students will create a simple visual map showing each stage and what happens.
• Students will explain their drawing choices to a partner and share one idea with the class.

Success criteria

• I can name at least 3 stages in a food journey and put them in order.
• I can add labels to my drawings using words I know (or sentence starters).
• I can use arrows or lines to show “goes to” between stages.
• I can tell my partner one thing about how people help food reach tables.

Curriculum links

• Creative Arts — Students make artworks using materials and techniques to represent subject matter and ideas, and describe ways artists convey ideas in artworks.
• Creative Arts — Making and communicating ideas through drawings, labels, and layout choices that audiences can understand.
• English — Students create and revise texts written for different purposes, using vocabulary and sentence structure.
• History (focus through cross-curriculum understanding) — Students build knowledge about everyday life and how familiar services/people help communities (links to the unit’s farm-to-table concept, taught through inquiry and representation).

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Welcome and hook. Teacher shows 3 quick images (or drawings) of a fruit/vegetable: farm field, a truck/van, a kitchen/school plate. Students give one guess: “Where do you think it came from?”

2. 5–15 min · Shared discussion (think–pair–share). Teacher guides a short class conversation using prompt questions: “What is a farm for?”, “Who helps move food?”, “How does it get to shops/schools?” Students in pairs share one idea and then contribute one sentence to the class.

3. 15–25 min · Direct teach: building a food journey map. Teacher models a simple four-step example on the board:

• Farm (growing)
• Transport (moving)
• Shop (selling)
• Home/School (eating) Teacher demonstrates using arrows and chooses a few simple labels (e.g. “farm”, “truck”, “shop”, “table”). Students repeat the steps by pointing to the stages.

4. 25–40 min · Planning time: “My farm to table” order. Teacher hands out a blank “map” page with 4 circles/boxes in a line (or 4 spots). Students choose their food item (fruit, vegetable, milk, bread—teacher can offer options) and lightly draw each stage in order. Teacher circulates and checks that students can identify at least 3 stages.

5. 40–52 min · Making: Visual map artwork. Students complete their drawings neatly, adding:

• Arrows/lines to show direction
• Labels (using word banks on the board)
• Colouring/texture details (simple techniques: crayons, coloured pencils, markers, collage paper if available) Teacher encourages describing ideas through artwork: “What detail in your drawing tells me what happens there?”

6. 52–57 min · Gallery share (audience focus). Students pair up to do a “see and say”: one student explains their map in order while the partner checks: “Did you use arrows and labels?” Then roles swap once.

7. 57–60 min · Exit ticket (quick check). Each student completes a mini prompt on a small card: “My food journey starts at ____ and ends at ____.” Teacher collects cards to assess ordering and vocabulary.

Resources

• Prepared image cards/drawings of farm, transport, shop, table
• “Farm to Table” map worksheet (4 boxes/circles) with arrow space
• Coloured pencils/crayons/markers
• Word bank (farm, grow, truck/van, shop, deliver, home, school, table, eat)
• Sentence starters on the board (e.g. “It starts at… Then… Then…”)
• Student notebooks (optional) for teacher quick notes
• Timer and classroom display area for a mini gallery

Assessment

• Teacher observation during discussion: can students name stages and use simple sequence language (“first, next, then, last”)?
• Check artwork-in-progress: at least 3 stages included, labelled, and connected with arrows/lines.
• Exit ticket: identifies starting and ending stages; uses at least two correct journey terms.

Differentiation

• Support:
• Provide an individual word bank strip and sentence starters for labelling and explaining.
• Offer pre-drawn icons (truck, shop, plate) for students who need lower-demand drawing supports.
• Use verbal prompting and gesture cues (pointing to the stages on the class model).
• Extension:
• Invite students to add a 5th stage if ready (for example: “packing/warehouse” or “farm animals” depending on chosen food).
• Add one extra detail label: “Who helps?” (for example: farmers, workers, drivers, shop staff).
• EAL/SEN considerations:
• Accept approximations in spelling; focus on label meaning and correct sequence.
• Allow students to dictate one sentence to the teacher/partner while the student draws the map (then student repeats the sentence).
• Use consistent visual cues and the same map structure for every student to reduce cognitive load.