S T U D E N T G U I D E

​

Food Waste Solutions

​

How are inventors and entrepreneurs innovating to develop solutions for social problems like food waste and food security?

​

​

thinkcerca.com

Table of Contents

Vocabulary Building

• Map a Word

Direct Instruction Guide

• Cornell Notes: Summary in Arguments

STEP 1: Connect

• Finding Your Purpose for Learning
• Think-Pair-Share

STEP 2: Read

• Pause and Reflect
• Test Prep Strategy: Error Analysis (optional)

STEP 3: Engage with the Text

• Highlight and Annotate

STEP 4: Summarize

• Write a Summary

STEP 5: Build an Argument

• Collaborate: Share your argument builder

STEP 6: Create your CERCA

• Peer Editing Activity
• Writing Reflection

Throughout the guide, look for the laptop icon to find steps to complete online!

thinkcerca.com

Optional Extensions

• Inquiry to Research: Social Impact Entrepreneurship in Practice
• Informed Action: Planning a Social Business
• Roundtable Discussion: Sharing Additional Research Findings, Learnings, and Experiences

SYNONYM (SIMILAR OR LIKE WORD)

ANTONYM (OPPOSITE WORD)

PICTURE OF�VOCABULARY WORD

SENTENCE USING VOCABULARY WORD

VOCABULARY WORD

PART OF SPEECH

V O C A B U L A R Y B U I L D I N G

Map a Word

Choose a word from the vocabulary list that is linked in the lesson. Write the word in the box below. Then fill in the other boxes on this page.

​

Completing this process will help the word "stick" in your memory!

thinkcerca.com

thinkcerca.com

D I R E C T I N S T R U C T I O N G U I D E

Cornell Notes: Summary in Arguments

Take notes on the lesson using the organizer below:

Watch the Direct Instruction lesson at learn.thinkcerca.com

thinkcerca.com

D I R E C T I N S T R U C T I O N G U I D E

Cornell Notes: Summary in Arguments (continued)

Summarize and Reflect

In your own words and in complete sentences, write a 3–4 sentence summary of this skills lesson. An accurate summary will cover the lesson's central ideas and include important details to support those ideas.

​

​

Record your summary here:

S T E P 1 : C O N N E C T

Finding Your Purpose for Learning

​

​

​

​

When you've finished reading the overview, answer the following questions in the space below:

​

What more would you like to learn about why so much food gets wasted? What would you like to know about food insecurity, and why it remains an issue in a world that actually produces enough food to feed everyone? What do you want to find out about these issues in your community?

thinkcerca.com

Read the Topic Overview provided at learn.thinkcerca.com

S T E P 1 : C O N N E C T

Think-Pair-Share

​

1. Think: On your own, think about your experiences related to the topic.

​

​

​

​

• Pair & Share: With a partner, group, or a trusted listener, share the parts of your response that you feel comfortable sharing.

• ​
• Reflect: If time permits, reflect on your experience. What ideas did others share that you hadn't considered? How were your ideas alike?

​

Complete the writing activity in Step 1: Connect at learn.thinkcerca.com

thinkcerca.com

S T E P 2 : R E A D

Pause and Reflect

​

​

​

When you’ve finished reading, go back and find the questions in the text marked “Pause and Reflect.” These questions will help you connect the text to yourself, to other texts, or to the world around you.

​

Use the space on the left below to answer the reflection questions. Then, discuss your answers, noting how they were similar or different.

Record “Pause and Reflect” answers here:

Record discussion reflections here:

Read the text for this lesson at learn.thinkcerca.com

thinkcerca.com

thinkcerca.com

S T E P 2 : R E A D

Test Prep Strategy: Error Analysis

​

​

​

Reflect on the patterns of your errors, so when you encounter questions like these on future assessments, you will pay extra attention to the blindspots.

Refer to the reading and multiple choice questions for this lesson at learn.thinkcerca.com.

thinkcerca.com

S T E P 3 : E N G A G E W I T H T H E T E X T

Highlight and Annotate

​

In this step, you will analyze the text closely, then discuss your findings to begin developing reasoning for your argument.

​

1. Read the text again, highlighting and annotating important details. Follow the prompts provided.

​

​

​

​

The highlighting prompts will help you with the final writing task. You will find evidence to support your own argument or informational piece, as well as models of excellence that will help you better understand a writer’s craft in narratives. The evidence you highlight will be available when you begin building your draft in the next step.

​

2. If time permits, pair and share your highlights and annotations with a classmate. Pay close attention to this conversation! Your thinking is important reasoning you may include in your final draft.

​

​

Return to learn.thinkcerca.com to complete Step 3: Engage with the Text.

thinkcerca.com

S T E P 4 : S U M M A R I Z E

Write a Summary

​

Summaries help you process your thinking about a text and are often a great way to start off an argumentative or informational essay. A good summary shows you have knowledge about a topic.

​

Practicing summarizing also helps you prepare for the main idea questions posed on many standardized assessments. In addition, summarizing is a helpful skill for working with others, such as when you need to confirm your understanding of what someone else has said. That's a useful skill for all parts of life.

​

1. ��Use the sentence stems provided to summarize the text.

Your summary should:

• Be brief
• Include the main idea and key details
• Represent these ideas fairly and accurately �
• If time permits, pair and share with a classmate. Read each other’s summary, and discuss how they are similar or different. What did you say were the main idea and key details? Were your summaries fair and accurate? Why?

​

Return to learn.thinkcerca.com to complete Step 4: Summarize.

thinkcerca.com

S T E P 5 : B U I L D A N A R G U M E N T

Collaborate: Share your Argument Builder

​

​

​

​

When you’ve completed the argument building step, share your results with others, and listen to how they responded to the same question. Ask questions and give feedback to help strengthen your partners’ reasons and evidence.

​

​

Complete Step 5 to begin building your argument at learn.thinkcerca.com

S T E P 6 : C R E A T E Y O U R C E R C A

Peer Editing Activity

​

​

​

1. Do a self-assessment of your CERCA. Use the online Rubric for the lesson on learn.thinkcerca.com, checking each box where you find evidence that you have achieved the criteria.�
2. Next, collaborate with a peer or peers to read each other’s drafts. Again, use the Rubric to evaluate each other’s work.�
3. Share insights into what might make your pieces stronger. Find two positive attributes and one area of growth for each draft you review.�
4. Revise your piece using what you learned from your self-assessment and the feedback from your peers.

Complete Step 6 to create your CERCA at learn.thinkcerca.com

thinkcerca.com

S T E P 6 : C R E A T E Y O U R C E R C A

Writing Reflection

Before you submit your final CERCA, write a brief reflection describing your experience.

An area for growth for me on this piece or in my writing in general is…

​

The strongest areas of this piece of writing are…

thinkcerca.com

Through self-assessment and/or peer editing, I learned…

Optional Extensions

​

The following activities can be used as optional extensions to this lesson.

thinkcerca.com

O P T I O N A L E X T E N S I O N : I N Q U I R Y T O R E S E A R C H

Research: Social Impact Entrepreneurship in Practice�

Background

Social impact entrepreneurs — people who use their work to solve complex social, environmental, and economic challenges — are all around us!

​

Who are they?

​

Social entrepreneurs can be architects creating energy-efficient buildings. They can also be restaurant owners finding ways to fight food waste, or teachers designing new ways for children to learn. They can be any age, and can work in nearly any occupation. The unifying quality? They innovate for positive change.

​

Research

Identify a person, company, or organization that you think has a positive impact on the community and/or the environment. Research this individual or group:

​

• Who or what inspired the work that is being done?
• What impact has this person or organization had on their communities?
• How does the person or group ensure that their work is reaching people who need it?
• Why do you consider this work important?
• How can you contribute to the work that’s being done?

​

thinkcerca.com

O P T I O N A L E X T E N S I O N : I N F O R M E D A C T I O N

Planning a Social Business�

Background

Think that you need to be a certain age to be a social entrepreneur? Think again!

​

People of all ages, including children and young adults, have launched successful social businesses. They range from ventures that help pollinators — like Austin-based Mikaila Ulmer’s “Me and the Bees” lemonade — to Benelab, a search engine that generates donations for charities, founded by Seattle teen Jack Kim.

Channel your talents and passions — whether it’s making sugar scrubs or board games; writing songs, playing sports, or coding — to create a social impact product.

​

Research

What does it take to launch a business? Research successful kid social entrepreneurs. What steps did they take to get started? What skills did they need? Where did they begin, and how did they bring their products to market? What advice do they offer other children and teens?

​

Act

Based on your findings, make a business plan. What’s your timeline? What resources and materials do you need to get started? Who can help you? Where can you sell your product, what is your message, and how can you make it appealing to consumers?

​

Then, bring it to an audience! Whether large or small, share the reason behind your business — and its impact on communities and the environment — with potential consumers.

​

​

​

​

thinkcerca.com

O P T I O N A L E X T E N S I O N : R O U N D T A B L E D I S C U S S I O N

Sharing Additional Research Findings, Learnings, and Experiences

Roundtable discussions offer you the opportunity to share what you’ve learned, as well as to ask questions and learn from others. Come to the discussion prepared to share your key findings. Use the organizer on the next page.

How the discussion works:

1. Choose a group leader who will help lead the roundtable discussion, and select a member of the group to go first.
2. Go around the group, allowing each participant to share a quick review of their their key findings.
3. When not presenting, take notes, summarizing key findings of your peers. Snap silently to show gratitude, appreciation, or interest!
4. After each presenter, take a moment for participants to ask questions or summarize what they just heard. Each participant should ask at least one question or summarize what someone else presented at least once during the discussion.
5. When complete, the presenter “passes the mic” to the next presenter.

Remember, it’s important to value dialogue and appreciate different perspectives. Learning from and understanding people who think differently or have different experiences is part of the process of growth! You don’t have to agree to learn from another perspective!

thinkcerca.com

O P T I O N A L E X T E N S I O N : R O U N D T A B L E D I S C U S S I O N

Discussion Notes

​

/ 224.412.3722 / thinkcerca.com