Climate education is more important than ever, but finding high-quality resources that are engaging, standards-aligned, and easy to implement can be a challenge. That’s why you should know about Educated Choices Program, a nonprofit organization that offers free climate education resources designed to help students better understand the connection between food systems and the environment. It gives them solutions-based education to really understand and reduce their impact.
Developed with internationally recognized organizations and experts, each program includes a video, lesson plans, discussion prompts, quizzes, homework assignments, activities, and more. Most are available in both English and Spanish, with video captioning offered in numerous languages.
These lessons are effective too. A recent study conducted by researchers at the Universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh found that students were 2.5 times more likely to make positive changes in their food-related behaviors after participating in the program.
Here are seven of our favorite climate and environment education video lessons for the classroom.
This is one of Educated Choices Program’s newest offerings, developed in partnership with the Planetary Health Alliance. Planetary Health: Agriculture and the Anthropocene helps students explore how human health and Earth’s natural systems are connected through our global food systems. Through an 18-minute video and accompanying lessons, students examine topics like biodiversity loss, climate change, water pollution, and public health while considering how everyday food choices can influence people and the planet.
How it meets standards
Teachers can easily connect this lesson to environmental science, biology, health, sustainability, and social studies instruction. Students analyze complex cause-and-effect relationships, evaluate real-world environmental challenges, and apply systems-thinking skills as they investigate how food production affects ecosystems and human well-being.
Why we love it
This lesson breaks down complex global issues into relatable, real-world examples, helping students better understand the connection between people, food systems, and the planet.
Part of Educated Choices Program’s Bite-Sized Learning Series for ages 8–11, Eat for the Earth introduces students to how food choices affect the environment. Through engaging, age-appropriate content and a virtual cafeteria activity, students learn about topics like land and water use, greenhouse gas emissions, and simple ways they can make a positive impact every day.
How it meets standards
This lesson supports standards in environmental science, sustainability, responsible decision-making, and environmental literacy. Students build an understanding of natural resource use, climate change, and the relationship between everyday choices and environmental outcomes.
Why we love it
Climate education can be challenging to introduce to younger students, but this lesson makes big ideas approachable and engaging. We especially like how it empowers kids to see that small actions can make a difference.
The Environment and Modern Agriculture explores how modern food production affects the world around us. It includes topics like greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, water usage, and pollution. Students investigate the environmental challenges associated with industrial agriculture while learning about practical, everyday actions that can help reduce their own environmental footprint. Available in both English and Spanish, it also includes a video lesson, classroom activities, quizzes, and more.
How it meets standards
This lesson supports standards across environmental science, ecology, sustainability, agriculture, and earth science. Students analyze the use of natural resources, examine human impacts on ecosystems, evaluate evidence, and explore potential solutions to real-world environmental challenges.
Why we love it
The video lesson gives students a fact-based look at how food systems affect the environment. It also encourages thoughtful discussion and critical thinking about real-world challenges and practical solutions kids can do every day.
Our oceans play a vital role in the health of the planet, yet many students don’t realize how marine ecosystems are affected by the foods we eat. Sea the Impact explores how food production on land and in the water contributes to issues like overfishing, plastic pollution, ocean acidification, and habitat loss. Through engaging lessons and activities, students learn why healthy oceans matter. They also see how everyday choices can help protect marine life.
How it meets standards
This lesson supports standards in environmental science, marine biology, ecology, sustainability, and human impact on Earth systems. Students evaluate the effects of food production on ocean ecosystems, analyze environmental challenges, and explore solutions that can help preserve marine biodiversity.
Why we love it
Ocean conservation is an important part of climate education, but it isn’t always covered in the classroom. This lesson helps students understand how their everyday choices connect to the health of our oceans and the species that depend on them.
Food waste doesn’t just happen in kitchens and cafeterias. Rethinking Food Waste: The Journey of Food follows food through every stage of the supply chain. It reveals where waste occurs and how it affects people and the planet. Students learn about the environmental costs of wasted food and explore practical strategies for reducing waste in their own lives and communities.
How it meets standards
This lesson supports standards in environmental science, sustainability, systems thinking, and scientific inquiry. Students analyze the food supply chain, evaluate the environmental impacts of food waste, and develop solutions to address real-world challenges related to resource conservation.
Why we love it
Food waste is a concept students can easily see and understand. By tracing food from farm to table, this lesson turns an everyday issue into an engaging opportunity for students to think critically about waste, resources, and environmental impact. Rethinking Food Waste is also one of We Are Teachers’ Teacher Picks. Read about how one middle school educator used this lesson to spark meaningful conversations in her classroom and inspired student action around food waste.
Developed in partnership with EARTHDAY.ORG, The Planet and Our Plates takes a close look at how modern food systems affect the environment. Students explore topics like biodiversity loss, natural resource depletion, climate change, overfishing, and food waste. They also look at solutions that can help create a more sustainable future.
How it meets standards
This lesson supports standards in environmental science, sustainability, ecology, social studies, and global citizenship. Students investigate the connection between food production and environmental challenges. They also evaluate potential solutions and analyze how their actions can influence the health of ecosystems and communities.
Why we love it
We appreciate how this lesson encourages systems thinking. It helps students understand how issues like climate change, biodiversity, food waste, and public health are connected rather than treating them as separate challenges.
Developed in partnership with the Environmental Working Group, Our Carbon Foodprint helps students explore how food production contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution, deforestation, and other environmental challenges. The lesson examines the relationship between food systems and climate change while introducing practical ways individuals can reduce their environmental impact through everyday choices.
How it meets standards
This lesson supports standards in climate science, environmental science, sustainability, and ecology. Students investigate the sources and impacts of greenhouse gas emissions, analyze the environmental effects of food production, and evaluate strategies for reducing their carbon footprint.
Why we love it
Students hear the term “carbon footprint” all the time, but it can feel abstract. This lesson helps make the concept more concrete by showing how everyday food choices connect to larger environmental impacts.
Educated Choices Program makes it easy to align with your individual standards. They’ve put together one of the most comprehensive documents we’ve seen to help identify all the different options. Here’s a link directly to their standards guidelines that you can download to get more details.
There are many uses for Educated Choices Program’s resources in your classroom and school. Whether you’re teaching science, health, social studies, or environmental literacy, these free lessons make it easy to bring meaningful, real-world learning into your classroom. Check out all of the great offerings on their website.
Source link
