Nourish offers a bounty of media and education tools to support K-12 teachers, farm-to-school and garden coordinators, and health and nutrition educators.

• Nourish: Food + Community DVD: This award-winning PBS special traces our relationship to food from a global perspective to personal action steps. Includes Spanish subtitles.
• Nourish Short Films DVD: A collection of 54 short films about the story of our food. Provides multiple entry points for opening a conversation about food, health, and sustainability. View a selection of short films online. Download the Short Films Guide.
• Nourish Curriculum Guide: A free standards-aligned curriculum unit appropriate for upper elementary, middle, and early high school. Offers a viewing guide, seven learning activities, a bibliography, and a glossary.
• Nourish Website: An online hub for teaching and learning about our food system. Features online short films, free curriculum materials, Q&A articles, Nourish in Action success stories, and Be the Difference action tips.
• Nourish Teacher Resource Binder: The 134-page binder brings together a wealth of materials for teaching and learning about food, health, and sustainability. Includes the Nourish Curriculum Guide, Food + Community DVD, and the Short Films DVD.

Creating a Lesson Plan

Depending on your time and objectives, consider the following ways to engage your students.

One Class Period or Less

• Watch one or more of the Nourish Short Films, such as Food Is Like Music, Wake Up!, or Nourish Means… (1 to 3 minutes each). Lead a class discussion about the meaning of nourishment and good, healthy food.
• Watch the Nourish PBS special (26 minutes) and lead a class discussion using questions from the Nourish Viewing Guide.

Two Class Periods

• On day 1, watch the Nourish PBS special and lead a class discussion using questions from the Nourish Viewing Guide.
• On day 2, create a seasonal food wheel based on the Seasonal, Local Foods activity from the Nourish Curriculum Guide.

One Week

• On day 1, watch the Nourish PBS special and lead a class discussion using questions from the Nourish Viewing Guide.
• For the rest of the week, choose one of the Nourish Short Films to show each class period. Pose a question about the issue, and have a 10- to 15-minute class conversation or free-write.
• Choose two or three activities from the Nourish Curriculum Guide, such as The Story of Food, Seasonal, Local Foods, and Food Traditions.

Multi-Week Curriculum

• Watch the Nourish PBS special and lead a class discussion using questions from the Nourish Viewing Guide.
• Choose one of the Nourish Short Films to show each class period. Pose a question related to the topic of the film, and have a 10- to 15-minute class conversation or free-write.
• Utilize all seven activities from the Nourish Curriculum Guide (approximately twelve to fifteen 50-minute class periods, plus additional time for research).
• Plan a class field trip to a local farm, farmers market, or urban garden.
• Invite students to choose and plan a Nourish Action Project based on the Nourish Ideas for Action (PDF).
• Assign readings from Nourish Perspectives.
• Ask students to read and report on a book about the food system, such as Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma for Young Readers or Eric Schlosser’s Chew On This. See recommendations.
• Screen and discuss food films such as Food, Inc., King Corn, or What’s On My Plate. See recommendations.
• Organize a school-wide assembly to share your students’ discoveries with the rest of the school. You might include a Nourish screening, student presentations, a panel discussion, and local food fair and tasting.

Discover more ideas and inspiration in Nourish in Action. How are you using the Nourish resources? Let us know.