Image Credit: Markus Spiske, Unsplash

This lesson teaches students to use definition and comparison to support basic analysis. In small groups, students perform a pre-writing activity using a chart with definitions. Working individually, they will then write sentences structured by the comparison developed in the chart.

Students are meant to emerge with an understanding of the differences between organic food, conventional foods, and local foods. This is part of a larger unit in which students come to understand the environmental factors involved in the production of food. Students will already have worked with the definitions used in the chart below.  

Instructions

In small groups, evaluate the two foods pictured using the chart below:

Food 1
Food 2

Food (name the food)	Organic or conventional?	Is the food local or shipped from afar?	List negative environmental impacts in the production of this food.	List environmental positives in the production of this food, compared to other food types.

After you have discussed the hand outs and filled out the chart in your small group, individually write two to three sentences in response to the following question. (We will share your writing on the smartboard.)

In your view, which of these two foods is more environmentally friendly to produce and consume?

There is no perfect answer. Draw on evidence from each row of the chart. You may find one of the following sentence structures helpful:

• “On the one hand, the conventionally grown mushrooms…..  On the other hand, the organic mushrooms…. This tells us that…  
• “While the organic mushrooms are…., the conventional mushrooms…. In this case, the negatives of X outweigh the positives…”