Real Food Lab Curriculum & Capstone Project

What to Expect? We are excited for your school to participate in Real Food Lab this year. During the school year, participating teachers will have the opportunity to use the Real Food Lab curriculum and capstone project in their classroom. During the summer, participating schools will have the opportunity to implement a summer practicum. This document provides your school with an overview of the program components associated with implementing Real Food Lab. Program Cost There is no cost to participate in Real Food Lab. Your teachers and school staff will be provided with digital access to the Real Food Lab curriculum and all lessons and materials associated with the summer practicum via Big Green’s website. Program Timing We recommend implementing the Real Food Lab curriculum and capstone project during the spring semester as this aligns best with Real Food Lab’s summer practicum. Program Supplies Your school will receive program supplies to support the Real Food Lab. It will be the responsibility of your school to maintain and care for these supplies. If your school chooses to participate in Real Food Lab the following year or years, it will be your school’s responsibility to keep these program supplies and replace any supplies that go missing or have been damaged.

Curriculum & Capstone Supplies provided by your school

Curriculum & Capstone Supplies provided by Big Green

• Educators to teach Real Food Lab • Students to participate in the program • A productive and thriving school garden • Access to printer and printing supplies • Pens, pencils, calculators, coloring materials • Poster supplies (easel or poster paper, tape) • Classroom computers with internet • Projector with hook-up cables

• Teacher Guide, 18 lessons • Teacher Guide Presentation Deck Templates • Student Workbooks • Final Presentation Deck Template • School Business Plan • In-person teacher training • Garden, curriculum, and capstone support • Classroom visit from your Garden Educator

Teacher Training Teachers who are new to the Real Food Lab curriculum and capstone project will be required to attend a teacher training. Returning teachers are not required to attend the training but will always have the option to attend. A regional in-person teacher training will be available, if one is not available in your region, participating teachers will be able to participate in a webinar training.

Real Food Lab Curriculum & Capstone Project

Classroom Visits Big Green may periodically request to visit your classroom during a Real Food Lab lesson. During this visit, Big Green staff members are available to support and assist. The purpose of the classroom visit is for staff members to observe real classroom experiences and provide crucial feedback on the scope and sequence of the Real Food Lab curriculum. Teacher Time Commitment To assure all teachers allot ample time to prepare for, teach, and reflect on the Real Food Lab curriculum and capstone project, we’ve provided an overview of the expected time commitment for each teacher:

Real Food Lab Component Anticipated Time Commitment

Teacher training & Professional development 2 hours, new teachers only

Lesson preparation 30-60 minutes, per lesson

Curriculum & Capstone implementation 18 lessons, 50 minutes each

Program reporting 1 hour

Rosters All participating teachers are required to submit a roster to receive access to Real Food Lab curriculum and capstone project. Lesson Tracking All participating teachers are asked to track their lesson completion and submit via the teacher post-survey, see below for more information. This information is part of our process evaluation process and is in no way an assessment of the teacher. Teacher Program Evaluation Upon completion of the curriculum and capstone project, teachers will complete a post-survey. The teacher post-survey is part of our process evaluation. Your participation is crucial to the successful implementation of Real Food Lab in the future.

Preparing for your Summer Practicum Your school will have the opportunity to implement the Real Food Lab summer practicum, which is a 6-week program that pairs with the Real Food Lab curriculum and capstone project. Students who have completed the Real Food Lab curriculum will be eligible to apply for the Real Food Lab summer practicum. As a supporter of the Real Food Lab program, please communicate to your students that they will have the opportunity to apply for a paid summer practicum. For more information on the summer practicum, review What to Expect: Summer Practicum