Boosting achievement through food systems

In the 2011-12 school year, Creative Change and the River Rouge (MI) schools partnered to infuse food systems and health across the K-8 curriculum. In the one-year initiative, Creative Change supported teachers to plan, implement, and evaluate a project-based unit designed to 1) boost student achievement on power standards and 2) improve teacher practice in the areas of project-based learning.

To meet these goals, Creative Change provided customized professional development and a site license to the Curriculum Resource Center.

Examples of integration:

• 8th grade geography students explored the origins of food and global trade.
• 7th graders applied literacy skills to examine the life cycle of common foods.
• 3rd graders used charts and graphs to document the neighborhood food system.

The results? Student achievement on the targeted standards increased by up to 47%.  Read the evaluation report, or view a 5-minute video.