Education student designs lesson plans to take a bite out of food marketing

A Manitoba teacher candidate has designed a unique lesson plan to introduce local food history to students. Emma Caronte, a final-year education student at the University of Manitoba, developed the 112-page resource to help teachers educate Grade 6 to 9 students on food guide evolution, marketing tactics, and how food influences choices.

The lesson plan includes slide shows, worksheets, and a guide with provincial curriculum outcomes, making it a valuable tool for educators. Caronte aims to make students more aware of advertisements, promote multiculturalism, and foster empathy while studying food deserts. The project was awarded an undergraduate research award and was completed over a 16-week period.

Caronte's resource highlights how discrimination and colonialism affect access to nutritious food and challenges stereotypes related to remote grocery stores and hunting seasons. The teacher-candidate believes food history can help students learn about various issues, such as media literacy and decolonization. The program, a first-of-its-kind initiative on a Canadian campus, pairs early-career researchers with professors to hone their skills and create original projects.