Lesson Plans on Food Education

Pilot Light, a Chicago-based nonprofit, has released updated Food Education Standards for grades preK–12. Pilot Light also offers lesson plans that have been tested for more than five years in classrooms nationwide. The lessons weave food into science, math, social studies, and language arts, while encouraging civic engagement and real-world problem-solving. For example, in Milwaukee, third graders used fractions to redesign their cafeteria’s composting system.

Pilot Light Anywhere eLearning Lessons are designed for teaching literacy-based food education wherever you are. Lessons are built around Pilot Light’s Food Education Standards and Common Core English Language Arts Standards. 

In addition, Pilot Light’s Classroom Lessons for elementary through high school grades at https://foodedu.pilotlightchefs.org/lesson-plan-library/ include curricular information, background knowledge, recommended anchor texts, and supporting food experience instructions. The Lesson Plan Library can be integrated across a range of content areas. Check out the science lesson plans at https://foodedu.pilotlightchefs.org/category/integrated-subject/science/.

Ocean School 

Developed collaboratively by the Ocean Frontier Institute and the National Film Board of Canada, Ocean School provides online and classroom-based resources for grades 5–12 to teach ocean literacy and illustrate the complex relationship between humans and the ocean. At the Ocean School website, teachers can access short films, interactive games, 360-degree “immersive” ocean experiences, and other digital materials to help students learn about the ocean and how to protect it. Engage students in ocean studies with Where’s Whaledo? (grades 5–6), an augmented reality experience that brings a 3D virtual right whale into your classroom, or inspire students to consider ocean-related careers through videos highlighting jobs such as submarine pilot (How to Build a Submarine), conservation biologist (Monitoring Manta Rays), and others.

Can You Believe Your Eyes?

Use this activity from the Library of Congress blog Teaching with the Library to help middle and high school students learn how to think critically about images and discover strategies for evaluating tricky photographs. In the activity, students are presented with two images from the Library’s collection and the question, “Based on available data, can you tell which image is ‘real’ and which is ‘fake?’”(One photograph shows a group of men watching a circular object in the air, while the other shows a closeup of a lunar crater.) After students make initial observations and form hypotheses about which image is authentic, the teacher presents the item records for each image and shares more information about the circumstances of each photograph.

While the image of the men watching a circular object in the air may look like someone has photoshopped a UFO into the photograph, the scene is an authentic one, depicting one of Alexander Graham Bell’s many experiments flying a tetrahedral kite. The crater image, on the other hand, does not show an actual lunar crater. It is a photograph of a plaster model based on the observations of James Nasmyth, an amateur astronomer in the 1870s. While the information in the item record is accurate—Nasmyth did photograph a “real” crater model that was “based on observations”—it just wasn’t the actual crater photograph that some may have thought at first. The ensuing class discussions about these photographs are helpful in building students’ skills in thinking critically about what they see. The activity include links to the images and other resources from the Library’s collection, as well as question prompts for teachers to ask to engage students in meaningful conversation on the topic.

#The Advice Lab—Social Media Contest

This August, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) invites you to submit your favorite teacher hacks for easing back into the classroom after summer break. To enter the contest, follow ORISE on social media, a brief survey, and comment your answer on the post. Three randomly selected teachers will receive back-to-school bundles containing a Rocketbook Pro 2.0 and other useful school supplies. Teachers must teach in the United States, a U.S. Territory, or a Department of Defense Education Activity school to be eligible to win. (Deadline August 31)

Herb Society of America’s Samull Classroom Herb Garden Grants

Elementary classrooms (grades K–6) with 10 or more students may apply for a grant for planting, expanding or improving an herb garden. In addition to plants, the funds may be used for supplies such as soil, plants trays, containers, child or youth sized tools, and more. Fifteen grants of $500 each will be awarded in 2026 for the following academic year. (Deadline October 1)

National Society of High School Scholars School Supplies Grant

NSHSS is giving four high school educators $500 grants to help provide additional opportunities to their students and classrooms. Any high school educator currently employed at a public or private high school in the United States or internationally may apply for the grants. To apply, register for free as an NSHSS educator. (Deadline October 28)