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Colorado Agriculture in the Classroom

Agricultural Literacy Curriculum Matrix

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Lesson Plans (42)

A Garden Plot: The Tale of Peter Rabbit

Students identify foods grown in a garden, observe various types of seed, and grow their own "milk jug" garden. Students listen to the Tale of Peter Rabbit, by Beatrix Potter and investigate produce that is grown in gardens or on farms. Grades K-2

Aeroponic Engineering and Vertical Farming (Grades 6-8)

Students will use the Engineering Design Process to develop and construct an aeroponic garden to grow a food crop. Students will develop and apply an understanding of plant anatomy and physiology related to plant growth and ultimately discuss the possibilities and limitations of using vertical farming to produce our food. Grades 6-8

Aeroponic Engineering and Vertical Farming (Grades 9-12)

Students will use the Engineering Design Process to develop and construct an aeroponic garden to grow a food crop. Students will develop and apply an understanding of plant anatomy and physiology related to plant growth and ultimately discuss the possibilities and limitations of using vertical farming to produce our food. Grades 9-12

Agriculture Pays

Students discover that agricultural careers are interconnected and that agriculture influences many parts of their daily lives. Grades K-2

Animals on the Farm

Students discover that farm animals produce different types of products. Grades PreK-K

Applying Heredity Concepts

In this lesson, students will complete monohybrid and dihybrid Punnett squares in preparation for taking on a challenge to breed cotton plants that produce naturally blue colored cotton. Grades 6-8

Beef Basics

Students explain the value of the beef cattle industry, including the products cattle produce, the production process from farm to plate, and how cattle can utilize and obtain energy from grass and other forage. Grades 3-5

By Land, Air, or Sea

Students discover how agricultural commodities are transported from producers to consumers. Grades 3-5

Charting Agricultural Careers

Students will use infographics and charts to explore the careers that produce food, clothing, shelter, and fuel along with a variety of agricultural STEM careers requiring critical thinkers and problem solvers. Grades 6-8

Climate Change Phenomena: Bananas in Our Breadbasket?

Students will explore the carbon cycle and evaluate associated phenomena of climate as they discover the impact climate change could have on the farms that produce our food. Grades 6-8

Energy's Journey from Farm to You

Students discover how plants use energy from the sun to change air and water into matter needed for growth. Using dairy cows as an example, students investigate how animals obtain energy from the plants they eat to produce milk for human consumption. Further exploration is facilitated by a live virtual visit to a dairy farm or the option of viewing a pre-recorded virtual dairy farm tour. Grades 3-5

Farm Animal Life Cycles

Students investigate six major livestock species, discover that animals need air, space, food, water, and shelter to survive, explore the life cycle of a farm animal, and identify the products each farm animal produces. Grades K-2

Farmers Market Finds

Students explore the value of farmers markets to local communities and discover the benefits of locally-grown food. Grades 3-5

Farming for Energy

Students identify renewable and nonrenewable energy sources and investigate how farms can produce renewable energy. Grades 3-5

Fertilizers and the Environment (Grades 6-8)

In this lesson students will recognize that fertile soil is a limited resource to produce food for a growing population, describe the role fertilizer plays to increase food productivity, distinguish between organic and commercial fertilizers, and recognize how excess nutrients are harmful to the environment. Grades 6-8

Filling the Global Grocery Bag

Students learn what factors affect a country's ability to produce their own food and how food expenses differ throughout the world. Grades 9-12

From Sap to Syrup

Students recognize how geography and climate allow for the growth of maple trees and the process of making syrup, identify the characteristics of maple trees that produce the best sap for making maple syrup, and name the steps in the process of creating syrup from sap. Grades K-2

Fueling Up for a Career in Biofuel

Students will recognize the importance of fuel energy and the fact that agriculture can produce biofuel; students will identify career opportunities in the biofuel industry. Grades 6-8

Grocery Store Problem Solving (Grades 3-5)

Students use basic mathematical skills to solve problems related to the cost of food while integrating geography and nutrition to enhance learning. Students analyze grocery ads, assess the nutrition and cost of meals, and explore diets around the world. Grades 3-5

Grocery Store Problem Solving (Grades 6-8)

Students will use basic mathematical skills to solve problems related to the cost of food while integrating geography and nutrition to enhance learning. Activities include analyzing grocery ads, assessing the nutrition and cost of meals, and exploring diets around the world. Grades 6-8

How to Grow a Monster: The Needs of a Zucchini Plant

Students read How to Grow a Monster, describe the needs of a zucchini plant, identify the structure and function of zucchini plant parts, grow classroom zucchini plants, and experiment with different environments and growing conditions. Grades K-2

John Deere, That's Who!

Students explore how producers and consumers work together to meet human needs by using the book John Deere, That’s Who!  Grades K-2

Let's Go Shopping! (Grades 3-5)

Students identify the differences between needs and wants, goods and services, and producers and consumers by participating in a grocery store simulation, exploring the source of grocery store items, and designing their own products to sell. Grades 3-5

Let's Go Shopping! (Grades K-2)

Students identify the differences between needs and wants, goods and services, and producers and consumers by participating in a grocery store simulation, exploring the source of grocery store items, and designing their own products to sell. Grades K-2

Machines and People

Students define the word "machine," explain how machines are used in agriculture to produce food and fiber, and compare and contrast a variety of machines. Grades 3-5

Companion Resources (61)

Activity
Invasive Species "Space Invaders" Game
The Space Invaders game helps students better understand the adaptive traits of plants in a new environment. The game simulates introducing new plants to 3 different ecosystems. After several rounds of play, students will see which plants survive and reproduced as well as which plants were potentially displaced.
Sprouting Success
This activity provides basic instructions for growing edible sprouts. By sprouting seeds in your classroom, students can learn about the science of seed germination, plant growth, and how sprouts can contribute to a healthy diet. A seed is the miraculous start of a new plant. It contains all the food a new plant will need until its leaves reach sunlight and begin to make more food for the plant. Seeds are essential to agriculture and are the original source of much of our food, clothing, and shelter. Understanding agriculture and its role in civilization can provide a context for understanding social studies, science, and nutrition. Seeds need warmth, moisture, oxygen, and sometimes light or darkness to germinate. Changing these variables will produce measurably different results students can experiment with to explore the scientific method.
Book
A New Coat for Anna

In A New Coat for Anna by Harriet Ziefert, Anna needs a new coat, but her mother has no money, and the stores are empty. The story takes place in the hard times following World War II. Anna's mother barters, directly exchanging goods or services with a sheep farmer, a spinner, a weaver, and a tailor to produce the new coat. 

Apples
Today, the average American consumes about sixty-five fresh apples each year. Where do so many apples come from? How do they grow? This book takes young readers on a field trip to the apple orchard to find out how apple growers produce the many different varieties of America's favorite fruit. Recipes, trivia, and fun facts included.
Chicks & Chickens
Chicks & Chickens illustrates and teaches about the production of eggs. You will learn how eggs are produced for human consumption and how fertilized eggs develop into embryos and grow to be fuzzy baby chicks. Readers will also learn about various chicken breeds, behaviors and terms.
Extra Cheese, Please!
When Annabelle gives birth to her calf, she also begins to produce milk. The milk is then processed into cheese, and from the cheese, pizza is made. An excellent nonfiction look at milk production.
Farming
Each season in this book brings to life a new chore or activity on the farm. Farming shows real-life activities and chores on a farm that produces crops and food.
Fresh-Picked Poetry: A Day at the Farmers' Market
This collection of poems takes young readers to a day at an urban farmers' market. Who to see, what to eat, and how produce is grown—it's all so exciting, fresh, and delicious. Readers are invited to peruse the stands and inspect vendors' wares with poems like "Farmer Greg's Free-Range Eggs," "Summer Checklist," and "Necessary Mess."
From Start to Finish Series
Books from this series teach how objects are made, how nature's cycles work, and how food is produced—from start to finish. Suitable for both struggling and on-level readers, these titles teach science concepts as well as sequential thinking. These books are an excellent supplement to lessons teaching elementary students about the importance of agriculture and how food and fiber gets from the farm to their home.
Grow! Raise! Catch!
Who grows our juicy fruit and yummy vegetables? Who raises animals for our tasty eggs, milk, and meat? Who catches fresh fish for our table? Farmers and fishermen show off their bounty in this lively and informative look at the people who produce the food on which we all rely. 
Lily's Garden
Lilys grandparents move all the way across the country, but stay in touch with Lily by sending her plants and produce from their new home and through her garden. Each spread deals with a new month and garden challenge for Lily. Her grandparents advice helps her cope with the realistic challenges presented by managing a successful garden. This book is also a good exploration of seasonal changes.
Miss MacDonald has a Farm
"Miss MacDonald has a farm, She loves things that grow!" E-I-E-I-GROW! With a "weed-weed" here and a "pick-pick" there, young readers can follow Miss MacDonald as she tends to her vegetable farm. It's a rollicking, rhyming read-aloud that ends in a community feast and celebrates themes of healthy eating, local produce, gardens, seasons, and female farmers.
On the Farm, at the Market
Take a behind-the-scenes tour of three different farms where food is locally grown, harvested, and sold at the market. This book illustrates the journey of vegetables, cheese, and mushrooms as they travel from the farm to your fork. 
Rah, Rah, Radishes!: A Vegetable Chant
Know any kids that don't like veggies? Here's a book that's sure to change their hungry minds. Rah, Rah, Radishes! celebrates fresh vegetables, nature's bright colors, and the joy of healthy eating.
Spring is for Strawberries
When a farm family brings their spring crops to a city farmers market, the farmer's daughter befriends the daughter of a neighborhood family doing their weekly shopping. Over the course of a year, the girls explore the bounty of each season. Sweet spring strawberries and crisp, fresh greens make way for corn on the cob, peppers, and a rainbow of tomatoes. Fall brings pumpkin patches and the crunch of apples. The friends part at the final winter market, already looking forward to the sweet red strawberries that will unite them again next spring.
Sunflower Life Cycle
Learn all about a sunflower's life cycle in this book for young students. Simple text and clear pictures make it fun to learn about how sunflower seeds grow from a seed to a flower, how flowers produce seeds, and what sunflower seeds and parts of sunflowers can be used for.
The Apple Pie Tree
Two young sisters watch in fascination as their apple tree changes, from bare in winter to a burst of pink blossoms in the spring. When autumn comes, the small green apples have grown big enough for picking—and for pie! This colorfully illustrated book shows how apples are produced and how apple trees change with the seasons.
The Cow in Patrick O'Shanahan's Kitchen
When Patrick wakes up for breakfast, he finds an adventure in his kitchen. As his dad cooks him breakfast, he learns where each breakfast food item is produced. The chicken lays the eggs, the cow produces the milk and the maple tree makes the syrup. This book is a great resource for teaching elementary students where their food comes from.
The Magic School Bus Rides Again: Robot Farm
Wanda proudly hosts this year's school harvest feast, but she was so busy promoting it she forgot to get the food! Luckily, Ralphie happens to know of a farm that grows the finest produce around, but there's a problem—he thinks it's haunted! There are tractors driven by ghosts, plants that climb walls, and so many robots! Could the spooky discoveries actually be helping the farm?
To Market, To Market
Alternating between story and fact, this picture book follows a mother and son to the weekly market. As they check off items on their shopping list, the reader learns how each particular food was grown or produced, from its earliest stages to how it ended up at the market. To Market, To Market is a book that shines awareness on the skill that goes into making good food.
Try It! How Frieda Caplan Changed the Way We Eat
Meet fearless Frieda Caplan—the produce pioneer who changed the way Americans eat by introducing exciting new fruits and vegetables, from baby carrots to blood oranges to kiwis. In 1956, Frieda Caplan started working at the Seventh Street Produce Market in Los Angeles. Instead of competing with the men in the business with their apples, potatoes, and tomatoes, Frieda thought, why not try something new? Starting with mushrooms, Frieda began introducing fresh and unusual foods to her customers—snap peas, seedless watermelon, mangos, and more! This groundbreaking woman brought a whole world of delicious foods to the United States, forever changing the way we eat. Frieda Caplan was always willing to try something new—are you?
Where Does Food Come From?
This book is all about making food connections. Each spread introduces a different food. The first spread explains that cocoa beans are seeds that grow on cocoa trees, chocolate is produced by grinding and cooking cocoa beans, and hot chocolate is made from chocolate. Children who have never thought about the origins of maple syrup or salt will have their eyes opened in a way that makes them think about how other products come to their lives.
Booklet/Reader
Christmas Tree Ag Mag
The Christmas Tree Ag Mag was written for elementary and middle school students. In this issue, students will learn about the origin of the Christmas tree tradition, discover different varieties of evergreen trees, identify pests that can damage trees, explore careers, and other fun facts. The ag mag includes specific statistics for North Carolina, the 2nd largest producer of Christmas trees. Visit the Interactive Map webpage to discover if your state produces Christmas trees. The reader can be viewed by students electronically on individual devices, as a class with a projector, or printed.
Farming for Energy e-magazine
A 5-page interactive magazine to help students study the science of energy and energy conversion. What is energy? Where can we collect energy and how? Can farms produce energy? What is biomass energy? These questions and more are answered.
Food and Farm Facts Booklet
The 2021 Food and Farm Facts series features interesting and educational facts about food in America - how and where it is grown, and who produces it. Color photographs and USA Today-style graphics illustrate the many fascinating facets of today’s agriculture. The series includes a 32-page book with map insert.