Lesson Plans - All
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- Agricultural Awareness Through Poetry
- Edited by Pamela Emery
- Updated October, 2002
- Grade: 9-10
- Subjects: Reading/Language Arts
- In this lesson, students will see how poets have used farming as an interesting and important topic and then will write a poem on how and why agriculture is important in his or her life.
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- Entirety
(156 KB)
- An Ag Interview
- Edited by Pamela Emery
- Updated August, 2002
- Grade: 9-10
- Subjects: Reading/Language Arts
- In this lesson, students will gain a greater awareness of the role agriculture plays in the American economy, practice oral and written communication skills, and learn about numerous agricultural careers.
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- Entirety (156 KB)
- Edible Numbers
- By Pamela Emery and Gina Hieb
- Updated September, 2003
- Grade: 3-6
- Subjects: Reading/Language Arts, Science, Mathematics
- Through a series of activities, students analyze, using mathematical and scientific processes, the food they buy at the grocery store and understand that it ultimately comes from plants or animals. Includes grocery ad scavenger hunts.
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- Entirety (882 KB)
- Food Safety: From Farm to Fork
- Updated August, 2009
- Grade: 5-7
- Subjects: Reading/Language Arts, Science, Mathematics
- This unit provides fifth through seventh graders a better understanding of food safety through real-life examples and enjoyable activities. They learn that everyone has a responsibility in minimizing foodborne illnesses—farmers, transporters, restaurants, grocery stores...and the consumer! Through reading, games, puzzles, math problems and science investigations, participants identify the roles each one of us plays to ensure the food we enjoy is safe to eat.
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- From Genes to Jeans
- By John Vogt and Mary Yale
- Updated February, 2001
- Grade: 7-9
- Subjects: Science/Environmental, English/Language Arts, Visual/Performing Arts
- Students are introduced to the genetic research and technologies associated with agriculture. Students are provided with the scientific principles and tools associated with genetics and are encouraged to use their knowledge to think critically, creatively and freely about the viability and ethics associated with genetic engineering and agriculture. Careers related to science and agriculture are also introduced.
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- Entirety (480 KB)
- Fruits and Vegetables for Health
- By Pricilla Naworski, MS and Brenda Byers, MS
- Edited by Pamela Emery
- Updated January, 2003
- Grade: 4-6
- Subjects: Science, Language/Reading Arts, Mathematics
- The comprehensive unit teaches students about the production, distribution, and nutritional value of California fresh produce. Geography, language arts, mathematics, science, health, and nutrition concepts are incorporated. Aligned to the Content Standards for California Public Schools.
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- Entirety (461 KB)
- Garden Plot The Tale of Peter Rabbit, A
- By Donica O'Laughlin
- Edited by Pamela Emery
- Updated September, 2003
- Grade: K-1
- Subjects: Science, Reading/Language Arts
- This unit uses The Tale of Peter Rabbit and other stories by Beatrix Potter as a vehicle to teach reading, writing, and science concepts. This unit encourages students to think about where their food comes from, distinguish between fact and fiction, observe roots and soil, and write about personal experiences they have while caring for the personal gardens they create.
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- Entirety (249 KB)
- Milk Matters! Discovering Dairy
- Edited by Mandi Bottoms
- Updated January, 2009
- Grade: 4- 6
- Subjects: Science, physical education, English-language arts, history-social science, mathematics, visual arts
- Students discover the many different aspects of life on a dairy farm. From investigating the historical significance of dairy breeds to conquering mathematical business challenges, students will understand why milk matters. This five-lesson unit plan meets the California State Content Standards in each subject area. Aligned to the Content Standards for California Public Schools.
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- Entirety (12.3 MB)
- Red Imported Fire Ants
- Grade: 2-3
- Subjects: Reading/Language Arts, Mathematics
- This 16-page booklet provides facts and activities for teaching children about the Red Imported Fire Ant, a potentially dangerous and destructive insect to the people, animals, and plants of California. Includes student activities, safety tips and lesson ideas.
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- Science Fair and Lesson Ideas
- By Pamela Emery
- Updated August, 2003
- Grade: 3-12
- Subjects: Science
- Includes stimulating questions that teachers can use when teaching a specific scientific topic, science fair ideas, in the form of questions, that relate to agriculture, and Web sites that educators and students may find useful when preparing a science lesson or a science fair project.
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- Entirety (124 KB)
- Simple and Complex Machines Used in Agriculture
- By Tonya Cargill and Pamela Emery
- Updated July, 2002
- Grade: 2-4
- Subjects: Science/Environmental, Mathematics, English/Language Arts, Visual/Performing Arts
- This unit incorporates many science and math concepts as students learn about farm machinery and the use of machines in agricultural practices. Concepts focus on simple machines such as inclined planes, levers and pulleys and show how these simple machines are combined to form complex agricultural equipment.
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- Entirety (1.22 MB)
- Sour Subject, A
- Edited by Pamela Emery
- Updated July, 2002
- Grade: 5-6
- Subjects: Reading/Language Arts, Mathematics
- Students reinforce their skills of reading, observation, mathematical computation, and written expression by comparing a grapefruit to a lemon. A fun lesson on percentages!
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- Entirety (450 KB)
- That was Then, This is Now
- Edited by Pamela Emery
- Updated August, 2002
- Grade: 3-6
- Subjects: Mathematics
- Students will learn about food prices, and how they have changed over time, as they perform mathematical computations, analyze date charts, and compare and contrast statistical information.
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- Entirety (83.9 KB)
- Tomato Trivia
- By Kathleen Schinski and Frances Vaughn
- Edited by Pamela Emery and Mandi Bottoms
- Updated March, 2009
- Grade: K-3
- Subjects: English/Language Arts, Mathematics, Science
- Using tomatoes as a theme, students will practice their math and science skills of estimating, measuring, counting, graphing and sequencing.
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- Entirety (833 KB)
- What's Bugging You?
- By Pamela Emery and Ethan Heifetz
- Updated July, 2001
- Grade: 4-6
- Subjects: Science/Environmental, English/Language Arts
- Through a variety of activities, students reinforce their skills of reading, writing, designing, investigating, and problem-solving while learning about a current issue--pest management. The students develop a definition for the word "pest," learn about agricultural pests in a cooperative setting, observe insects in student-made insect observation chambers, learn about the life cycles of certain pests, and create individual and class poems. In a concluding activity, students create an imaginary pest and discuss its hypothetical habitat.
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- Entirety (1.27 MB)
- Where'd You Get Those Genes?
- By Beth Brookhart and Pam Schallock
- Updated September, 2001
- Grade: 5-7
- Subjects: Science, Language/Reading Arts, Mathematics
- The students participate in a variety of lessons that examine the basic principles of heredity, as well as learn some specifics about genetics and how they are incorporated into today's agricultural industry. After reading an interview with a horse breeder, students will understand that certain traits are carried from one generation to the next. The Rock, Paper, Scissors activity helps students understand that some traits are dominant and others are recessive. Students are then asked to create a new produce item by combining existing traits with desirable traits. By reading biographies of scientists who have contributed to the study of genetics and biotechnology, students gain a better understanding of the history of genetic research. Finally, using tomatoes as an example, students learn how technological advances have affected tomato production.
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- Entirety (582 KB)