This week, Eagles class stepped into the role of young geographers as part of our unit “Sustainable World: Does it matter how we live?” The children developed their disciplinary geographical skills by investigating where everyday foods come from and what this tells us about our global connections.
Using real food packaging as primary evidence, the children identified countries of origin and carefully plotted them onto our classroom world map. They were fascinated to see just how far many of their favourite foods had travelled. This hands-on enquiry helped them interpret global trade links and analyse the spatial relationship between production and consumption.
A real moment of awe came when the children calculated the approximate “food miles” involved. By mapping these journeys, they didn’t just gather facts – they learned how to collect meaningful data, ask thoughtful questions and draw conclusions about the environmental impact of our global food system.
“The children were genuinely amazed to see how connected our world is. Their curiosity, teamwork and critical thinking shone through as they explored food miles and sustainability. It was wonderful to see them growing into thoughtful, responsible global citizens.”
Mrs Williams, Class Teacher
Ideas for Follow-up Learning at Home
If families would like to build on this week’s learning, here are some simple but powerful home activities:
Kitchen detectives: Look at food packaging together and see how many different countries you can spot.
Food miles challenge: Choose a meal and investigate how far each ingredient has travelled – which ingredient racks up the most miles?
Try a “low‑food‑miles” meal: Could you plan a meal made from ingredients grown in the UK?
Map the journey: Children could draw a world map at home and add strings or arrows to show where household foods have come from.
Talk sustainability: Discuss why some foods travel so far, and what choices families can make to help care for our planet.
