Hand holding out tomato

Teens CAN: Comprehensive Food Literacy in Cooking, Agriculture, and Nutrition (Grades 9-12)

Teens CAN was written to be implemented as a whole, but can also be used as three separate curricula. The modules were written to stand alone and can be used independently if needed. The intended style for implementing the lessons is inquiry, which allows for the facilitator to lead learners through discovery of concepts, opposed to lecture style, for example. This style takes practice and helps learners better retain knowledge gained from each lesson. Prior experience delivering inquiry-based education can aid in achieving lesson fidelity. Lesson fidelity is how well the facilitator delivers the lesson as intended and is very important for learners to achieve the lesson objectives.

Teens CAN is recommended to be accompanied by an agricultural space. While referred to as an “agricultural space” throughout the curriculum, this can range from a small garden to a state-of-the-art greenhouse. Please see the Building an Agricultural Space guide provided within the curriculum if assistance is needed for starting an agricultural space. Additionally, the cooking lessons of this curriculum require somewhere to prepare food and access to cooktops. These lessons can be taught in a traditional kitchen or on tabletops using portable stovetops, such as induction hot plates. Please see Common Cooking Equipment for a list of suggested cooking equipment to provide for cooking lessons.

Teens Can Curriculum front page

Download the Teens CAN Curriculum Documents:

Full Teens CAN Curriculum
Teens CAN: Agriculture Module
Teens CAN: Nutrition Module
Teens CAN: Cooking Module