Ag-Bites are bite-sized ways to bring agriculture into your classroom. These one-page sheets explain how to perform hands-on learning activities with students in various grade levels (K-12).
These fact sheets provide information on the history, production, top producing regions and economic values of various agricultural products and natural resources. The activity sheets provide specific lesson ideas and fun facts for each topic. Commodities include agricultural water, alfalfa, almonds, artichokes, asparagus, avocados, beef, cantaloupes, carrots, citrus fruits, cling peaches, corn, cotton, cut flowers, dairy, dried plums, dry beans, forest resources, mushroom, pears, pistachios, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, processing tomato, rice, strawberries, table grapes, walnuts.
A peanut will burn producing an impressive amount of flame for a long time. The flame can be used to boil away water and count the calories contained in the peanut. A great way to show students how calories are calculated for energy in our bodies.
This classroom game is made up of eight stations that represent different forms of nitrogen. As players move from station to station, they collect cards that represent the different forms of nitrogen they became and whether they contributed to productive or unproductive outcomes. The interactive format breaks down a complex topic into an easy-to-digest format, allowing players to see how important nitrogen is as a building block of life and how to best optimize it as a critical component of biology.
In this activity students perform an experiment on plant growth using saline water, acidic water, and alkaline water to determine the effects of water quality on plant growth.
Students will learn about the ways in which water can become polluted and why it is important to conserve water by developing a model and watching a demonstration of the pollution of a lake. This activity is a great companion to any lesson on water, conserving natural resources, pollution, etc. Students will learn about the ways in which water can become polluted and why it is important to conserve water by developing a model and watching a demonstration of the pollution of a lake.
Water Savers is a board game developed for grades 6-12 and designed to support a group of 2-5 students. The game introduces environmental issues and sustainable farming practices to encourage understanding of issues within students' community and/or region.
This activity reviews the fundamentals required for plants to survive. This activity is best used after students have learned about a plants' basic necessities (air, water, light, and nutrients). The activity also demonstrates the many ways that humans rely on plants in everyday life.
To understand how a seed becomes a sunflower, you have to peek beneath the soil and wait patiently as winding roots grow, a stalk inches out of the earth, and new seeds emerge among blooming petals. From a tiny seed to a huge, fold-out bloom, the transformative life cycle of a sunflower plays out in this bold read-aloud.
Chef Alice Waters has always been friends with food. The search for good food led Alice Waters to France, and then back to Berkeley, California, where she started Chez Panisse restaurant and the Edible Schoolyard. For Alice, a delicious meal does not start in the kitchen, but in the fields with good soil and caring farmers.
Visit 3 Montana ranches and learn how ranchers manage grasslands and balance livestock grazing to maintain a healthy and balanced rangeland. This elementary-level book contains many photographs and explains why cattle grazing is beneficial for land and water, and improves habitat for birds, plants and other animals.
How do plants survive when they can't run away from danger? Plants can live in diverse places such as under water, in deserts, cold climates, high elevations or even on other plants. They must contend with storms, fire, poor soils, and hungry animals and insects. Fortunately plants can grow from spores, seeds, or vegetatively and often get a helping hand from people. Plants are cultivated to provide fruit, vegetables, nuts, grains, and fibers such as cotton as well as for wood, paper, and many other products. The book concludes by noting a few of the habitats plants help create such as forests, prairies, and marshes as the comical plant characters conclude that they do indeed have amazing powers. Several related activities are listed such as a plant power scavenger hunt, a writing prompt: My Plant Power, and a kitchen scrap garden.
Gram and Joe love to spend time together taking care of the vegetable patch, but it takes a lot of patience. There's digging time, planting time, weeding time, watering time, even thinking time. Meanwhile, the seasons change, and while Gram does things her way, Joe does things his way. But come harvest, each will find wondrous surprises, thanks to the benevolence of the good brown earth.
Explore the celebrations and feasts of twelve countries and cultures from around the world! From South Korea to Nigeria to the USA, come celebrate festivals throughout the year! People around the world are celebrating. In Australia, it's Christmas in summer with barbecues on the beach. In Thailand, they're celebrating Songkran, the famous Buddhist water festival. Rhyming text and graphic illustrations pair perfectly and invite young readers to explore the world through mesmerizing festivals.
This Stage 1, Let's-Read-and-Find-Out book shows young students how a pumpkin plant grows. The text clearly presents how the plant develops from seed to mature pumpkin as well as how it obtains and distributes water and nutrients. Three children join a farmer as he plants pumpkin seeds, waters them, and observes the plants as they grow. The last two pages give instructions for two activities, "Roasted Pumpkin Seeds" and "How Plants Drink Water." This is an excellent introduction to plant development in general and pumpkins in particular.
"I told my three sons stories about germs more than fifty years ago as fanciful bedtime tales." So begins this charming collection of poems written by Nobel Prize-winning scientist Arthur Kornberg to help us learn about the germs that help and harm us. These rollicking, entertaining, and informative poems have been illustrated with witty and amusing watercolors and the book also contains electron micrographs and a glossary for the student who wants to go deeper into the world of microbiology.
This beautifully told story follows Billy from early spring to late summer as he helps his grandpa on his vegetable patch. They dig the hard ground, sow rows of seeds, and keep them watered and safe from slugs. When harvest time arrives, they can pick all the vegetables and fruit they have grown. Children will be drawn in by the poetry of the language and the warm illustrations, while also catching the excitement of watching things grow!
This book is 32 pages long and includes color pictures and text descriptions of the harvest of many food crops including watermelons, carrots, strawberries, and many more.
When Tantoh Nforba was a child, his fellow students mocked him for his interest in gardening. Today he's an environmental hero, bringing clean water and bountiful gardens to the central African nation of Cameroon. Authors Miranda Paul and Baptiste Paul share Farmer Tantoh's inspiring story.
Everywhere you go, all around the world people are eating ice ceam! And while some folks spoon up sundaes and some savor Syrian bouza—one thing is always true: ice cream is joy! Travel the globe and discover a mouthwatering selection of cold, creamy treats. Which one is your favorite?
Cool and smooth and sweet, ice cream has long been a favorite treat. It cools you off when it's hot and is too delicious to resist even in cold weather. How did it get to be so scrumptious? Ice Cream: The Full Scoop dishes out the latest scoop on ice cream production. Ice cream has come a long way from its humble beginnings as a mixture of snow, milk, and rice. This book details the many firsts in ice cream history, from the earliest ice cream crank to the original waffle cone. Children's mouths will be watering as they follow ice cream's journey from farm to factory to freezer.
Gardening can be done inside or outside, all year long, if you use a container. You don't have to just use pots, either. You can garden in bowls, drinking glasses, aquariums--even an old hat! Grow a hanging basket of veggies. Make 'people' out of pots. Create your own water garden--with fish, even. Many are great gifts to give your family on holidays and birthdays.
This tale of a family road trip highlights the author's joy in both her American and Colombian heritage, and captures all the warmth and love of her family's two distinct cultures. After a long drive to visit family—whether in the mountains of rural West Virginia or the sticky heat of Florida—what could be a better welcome than a homemade meal? Inspired by Elizabeth Lilly's childhood vacations and the sense-memories of late-night journeys down the coast, Let Me Fix You a Plate is a vivacious exploration of family traditions old and new—from toast with homemade blueberry jam, to fresh orange juice and arepas with queso blanco, to midnight waffles at home. Vivid illustrations explore the heart of the home—the kitchen—and the treasures found when a family gathers to celebrate their culture, and one another. Joyous, bright, and mouth-watering, this celebration of family and our diverse, delicious traditions is sure to leave readers hungry for more!
Let's Pop, Pop, Popcorn!
Told through exuberant rhyme, a group of children shows the step-by-step process of how America's favorite snack comes about. Beginning with the planting of seeds, the cycle moves through the caretaking of the plant (watering and weeding), all the way to its harvest. Finally, it's time to shuck, then pop the kernels, and enjoy the finished product! Complete with back matter that includes scientific facts and activities, Let's Pop, Pop, Popcorn! offers a fun introduction to the process of creating popcorn.
Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!
Tippy, tippy, tippy, Pat! That's the sound three hungry bunnies make when the sun goes down and the moon comes up and Mr. McGreely's garden smells yum, yum, yummy. While he's dreaming of his mouth-watering carrots, the bunnies are diving over fences and swimming trenches to get the veggies first! Hammer, hammer, hammer, Saw! That's the sound Mr. McGreely makes when the sun comes up and the moon goes down and he sees what those twitch-whiskers have done....Nibbled leaves! Empty stalks! Mr. McGreely will build something bigger and better, sure to keep even pesky puff-tails away.
My Family's Corn Farm
There are a lot of jobs to do on the family farm! Presley and her farm family work on planting corn, watching for pests, monitoring rainfall so plants get the right amount of water, harvesting the corn, exploring how corn is used in many products, and learning how to be more sustainable farmers.
Plantzilla
After Mortimer takes a plant home from his 3rd grade classroom during summer vacation, strange things begin to occur. Plantzilla begins to grow tentacles and perform miraculous feats. Mortimer's parents begin to worry as they see the plant take on human characteristics, but Mortimer's love for Plantzilla grows even deeper. Written in letter-form, the text is a series of communications between Mortimer and his teacher, and the teacher and Mortimer's mother regarding the progress and concerns of this unusual plant. This humorous story contains beautiful watercolor illustrations that spill across the page and engage the reader.
Soil! Get the Inside Scoop
This book will help get kids excited about the living world of soil. Targeted for children aged 9-12, this 36-page, full-color book explores how soil is part of our life-the food we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink, the houses we live in, and more. Along the way, readers learn about different kinds of soil and meet the scientists who work with soil every day.
Still There Was Bread (Release Date: October 15, 2024)
Nana is coming to visit! She's going to teach Little Pickle to make her famous "Nana rolls"—a special bread recipe that Nana's nana taught her. Together, they gather ingredients: eggs and milk, flour and oil, sugar and salt, yeast and water. As they mix them together to form the dough, Nana shares stories about how making this treasured family recipe has changed over the years—and how it's sustained their family through good times and hard ones. And through the times when they could be together—and the times when they couldn't. Because sometimes a simple loaf of bread can mean so much more.
Sun in My Tummy
How does a home-cooked breakfast give a little girl the energy she needs for a brand-new day? Take a journey into the earth where sleepy seeds are tickled awake and grow into golden oats; into blueberry patches, where green leaves break apart water and air to build sweet sugar; and into a pasture where sun becomes grass, becomes cow, becomes milk.
Sunflower House
Sunflower House highlights the stages and life cycle of the sunflower. A young boy plants sunflower seeds in a large circle, waters the plants, and waits as they grow into a "house" to play in.
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
When a terrible drought struck William Kamkwamba's tiny village in Malawi, his family lost all of the season's crops, leaving them with nothing to eat and nothing to sell. William began to explore science books in his village library, looking for a solution. There, he came up with the idea that would change his family's life forever—he could build a windmill. Made out of scrap metal and old bicycle parts, William's windmill brought electricity to his home and helped his family pump the water they needed to farm the land.
The Carrot Seed
When a little boy plants a carrot seed, everyone tells him it won't grow. But when you are very young, there are some things that you just know, and the little boy knows that one day a carrot will come up. So he waters his seed and pulls the weeds and he waits... This beautiful simple classic teaches the patience and technique of planting a seed and helping it grow. This story was first published in 1945 and never out of print.
The Empty Pot
When Ping admits that he is the only child in China unable to grow a flower from the seeds distributed by the Emperor, he is rewarded for his honesty. This simple story with its clear moral is illustrated with beautiful paintings. The story shows how Ping carefully plants his seed in a flowerpot with rich soil and waters it daily, but to his surprise it doesn't grow. The emperor later reveals that the seeds he'd provided had been cooked and could not grow. This book works well as an engagement approach to lessons on seeds for younger students.
The Great Big Water Cycle Adventure
Dive into the great big water cycle story! The same water has been falling as raindrops for billions of years. It travels around our planet again and again, from raindrops into rivers, and from seas to water vapor in mist and clouds. The water on Earth is in glaciers, rivers, streams, lakes, and reservoirs. It is used by plants, humans, and animals. Follow the journey of a young girl and boy as they float, splash, and slide through the incredible water cycle story. The Great Big Water Cycle Adventure shows the incredible story of water in all its forms, from grey storm clouds to rushing waterfalls, calm lakes, and shining icy glaciers.
The Sweetwater Run: The Story of Buffalo Bill Cody and the Pony Express
In 1860, the only Pony Express job 13-year-old Will Cody could land was the "sweat and water run," taking care of the tired and thirsty ponies. But one chilly November morning, Will has his big chance. The news of the U.S. presidential election has been entrusted to the pony boys, and from the looks of it, only Will would be able to get the mail through. But should he risk his own safety and the wrath of his boss, the Terrible Slade, and ride himself?
The Water Lady: How Darlene Arviso Helps a Thirsty Navajo Nation
Underneath the New Mexico sky, a Navajo boy named Cody finds that his family's barrels of water are empty. He checks the chicken coop—nothing. He walks down the road to the horses' watering hole—dry. Meanwhile, a few miles away, Darlene Arviso drives a school bus and picks up students for school. After dropping them off, she heads to another job: she drives her big yellow tanker truck to the water tower, fills it with three thousand gallons of water, and returns to the reservation, bringing water to Cody's family, and many, many, others. Here is the incredible and inspiring true story of a Native American woman who continuously gives back to her community and celebrates her people.
Time for Cranberries
From the cranberry bog to the Thanksgiving table, join Sam and his family as they harvest a classic American fruit. When the vines hang heavy with berries that the autumn winds have turned deep red, it's time for cranberries, and Sam is finally old enough to help with the harvest! This charming, lyrical picture book follows Sam and his family as they raise the water in the bog, pick the cranberries, and gather the fruit for processing. It's a story of modern family farming in action, showing readers where their food comes from but mostly delighting them along the way. This book is a great companion to lessons on farming, harvesting, use of machines, Thanksgiving, or cranberries.
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?
Water is Water
This spare, poetic picture book follows a group of kids as they move through all the different phases of the water cycle. From rain to fog to snow to mist, Miranda Paul and Jason Chin combine to create a beautiful and informative journey in this innovative nonfiction picture book that will leave you thirsty for more.
Water: Sources, Use, Conservation
This 32-page book is perfect for any lesson on water. It contains informative text, pictures, and facts. Learn about the importance of water as well as the states, supply, and availability of it. Learn about the water cycle, rain, water tables, irrigation, and how water is used in agriculture. The book also includes numerous activities, websites, and other resources for teachers.
Watercress
Driving through Ohio in an old Pontiac, a young girl's parents stop suddenly when they spot watercress growing wild in a ditch by the side of the road. Grabbing an old paper bag and some rusty scissors, the whole family wades into the muck to collect as much of the muddy, snail covered watercress as they can. At first, she's embarrassed. Why can't her family get food from the grocery store? But when her mother shares a story of her family's time in China, the girl learns to appreciate the fresh food they foraged. Together, they make a new memory of watercress.
Weaving the Rainbow
How do you make a rainbow? If you are a weaver you can make a rainbow with wool. If you are a sheep you can BE a rainbow! This book is filled with lovely watercolor illustrations that show the process of tending the sheep, shearing their wool, spinning the wool, using natural dyes, and weaving the colored yarn into a piece of art.
You're Aboard Spaceship Earth
This attractive picture book enlarges on the metaphor "spaceship Earth," explaining that just as the space shuttle carries all the food, water, and oxygen the astronauts need, Earth carries all the food (minerals), water, and oxygen we need. It demonstrates the water, mineral, and oxygen cycles, showing that Earth makes a great spaceship, but tells readers that "our job is to keep it that way."
Zee Grows a Tree
On the morning little Zee Cooper is born, a Douglas-fir seedling emerges from the nursery bed at her family's Christmas tree farm. As Zee and the tree grow up together, they experience many of the same milestones. When Zee starts preschool, her tree is ready to start life outside the nursery. As Zee outgrows all her clothes, her tree grows taller, too. When Zee gets a whole new look for kindergarten, her tree gets a spiffy transformation as well. And as the years go on, Zee takes loving care of her tree, watering it through heat waves and protecting it from winter winds. Combining interesting details about how trees are grown and cared for on a farm with the sweet story of a friendship between a girl and her special tree, Zee Grows a Tree offers a blend of fiction and nonfiction that will draw the interest of young nature lovers everywhere.
Ag Today
Agriculture is everywhere! From the time we wake up in the morning until we end our day at night, we have encountered agriculture through the food we eat, the clothes we wear, and the fuel we use for transportation. Ag Today is a great reading supplement for upper elementary students to learn about agriculture. The six issues correlate with the themes of the National Agricultural Literacy Outcomes and can be integrated into science, social studies, and language arts curriculum. Each reader provides real-world connections to STEM and makes learning relevant for students in becoming agriculturally literate.
Kids' Lab Activity Book
Each page is loaded with engaging experiments, challenging puzzles, and lots of cool chemistry coloring pages. Be inspired by the chemistry all around you and discover how fun and exciting science can be.
Aeroponic Garden Kit
Aeroponics' is a plant cultivation technique where plant roots are suspended in the air and misted with a nutrient and water solution. The
Aeroponic Garden Kit provides everything except a 5-gallon bucket for students to create their own aeroponic garden.
Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.
Apple Land Use Model
New version! Imagine the Earth as an apple. Use this large,
16.5"x17.5" apple model to demonstrate the distribution of the Earth's water and land resources. The model is two layers of durable styrene board with a handle on the back of the bottom layer. The top layer is cut into sections and held to the bottom layer by magnets. Remove the top layer of the apple to reveal the image underneath.
Order this model online at agclassroomstore.com.
Biotech Cheese Kit
Make cheese in your classroom using the same fast methods as industry. This kit includes the recipe to make cheese (also
available to download), cheesecloth, and two different types of rennet - one from an organic animal source and one from a genetically modified yeast source. You add water, powdered milk, and buttermilk. This is a great activity for exploring enzymes and chemistry as well as the benefits and concerns surrounding genetic modification.
Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.
Classroom Aquaponics Kit
Investigate the basic needs of plants and fish and discover how plants, animals, and bacteria interact in a symbiotic system by assembling, maintaining, and observing a small-scale aquaponics system. This kit contains clear tubs, an overflow drain kit, a submersible fountain pump, flexible tubing, a plastic bell siphon container, expanded clay pellets, a light bulb, a timer, ammonium chloride, a water test kit, an aquarium thermometer, seed paper, fish food, a fish net, an aquarium cave, and assembly and maintenance instructions. This kit complements the
Exploring Aquaponics lessons.
Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.
Farming in a Glove
Grow your own farm in a glove! This kit contains instructions and enough materials for a classroom of students to plant five different seeds in the fingers of a food handler's glove and the cotton necessary to sprout them. Given a few days, and some water, the glove will be alive with growing sprouts - baby plants that your students can observe. An excellent activity for teaching plant growth and genetic differences.
Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.
Farming in a Glove (Corn Seeds)
This kit contains instructions and enough materials for a classroom of students to plant five varieties of corn seeds – sweet corn, super sweet corn, popcorn, dent corn (also known as field corn), and flint corn (also known as Indian corn) – in the fingers of a food handler's glove and the cotton necessary to sprout them. Given a few days and some water, the glove will be alive with growing sprouts that your students can observe. An excellent activity for teaching plant growth and genetic differences.
Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.
Gardening in a Box
This kit is designed to support various forms of homeschool, virtual learning, and online classes by providing ready-to-use supplies to facilitate hands-on learning and discovery. The kit contains materials for one student to complete a variety of activities found in the following lessons:
Soil Texture and Water Percolation (Activity 1);
Desktop Greenhouses (Activity 1);
Seeds, Miraculous Seeds (Activities 1 & 3);
Flower Power (Activity 2);
Plant Tops and Bottoms (Activity 2).
Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.
Get Popping!
How does popcorn pop? Investigate this phenomenon by observing how heat affects the water inside a popcorn kernel. See a demonstration of this investigation by viewing the
Get Popping! video. This kit contains safety glasses, test tubes, a test tube clamp, an alcohol lamp, balloons, aluminum foil, vegetable oil, boiling stones, and popcorn kernels. This kit complements the lesson
Get Popping! Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.Living Necklace Kits
Grow your own necklace! These kits contains enough materials for a classroom of students to make a living necklace. Plant a seed in a mini Ziploc, and after a few days, and some water, the necklace will be alive with growing sprouts - baby plants for students to observe.
Order these kits online from agclassroomstore.com.
Packing Peanuts
Engage students in a quick and simple activity using a product that can be made from either renewable or non-renewable resources—packing peanuts. This kit contains enough petroleum-based, Styrofoam packing peanuts and corn-based, biodegradable packing peanuts to complete five demonstrations showing how one dissolves in water and the other does not.
Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.
World Fabric Map
This fabric map is an excellent resource for "hands-on" geography activities. The cotton fabric washes well and can be taken outside. Countries and their capitals, and major bodies of water are identified. Each map has been serged around the edges. Order the map individually, or add on a set of Herbs and Spices Cards, Where in the World Food Cards, or Lunch Cards. Students will use the cards to identify where in the world each of the foods come from.
Order this map online from agclassroomstore.com.
Climate Change: The Water Paradigm
This video explores why maintaining a healthy water cycle may be much more important for the health of the climate than people realize. In case you are wondering, it's not suggesting that the greenhouse effect due to CO2 or methane is insignificant. But prompts a consideration that the importance of the water cycle has been grossly under-emphasized, and should occupy a more central position in environmental discourse.
Deep Sea Fish Farming in Geodesic Domes
Learn how fish farming has changed through the years as overfishing and changing water temperatures have impacted the populations of ocean fish. Discover the differences between open ocean aquaculture and inland aquaculture where fish are farmed for food.
Living Soil Film
Our soils support 95 percent of all food production, and by 2060, our soils will be asked to give us as much food as we have consumed in the last 500 years. They filter our water, sequester carbon, are our foundation for biodiversity, and are vibrantly alive with 10,000 pounds of biological life in every acre. This 60-minute documentary features innovative farmers and soil health experts from throughout the U.S.
The Story of Bottled Water video
This video highlights the story and history of bottled water. Discover when and why water first began being bottled and marketed for individual sale. This video can supplement lessons on water systems, pollution, water safety, and use. It can also be used as part of a business or marketing lesson discussing how markets and demand are created.
Third-Grader Explains Nature's Role in Providing Clean Water
Conservancy freshwater scientist Jeff Opperman and his eight-year-old son Luca give a tour of their homemade science project that demonstrates the connection between healthy natural lands and a reliable supply of clean water for people.
This High-Tech Farm Grows Kale in a Factory
Visit a vertical farm, Bowery Farming. The farm is a piece of proprietary software that makes most of the critical decisions -- like when to harvest and how much to water each plant. It still takes humans to carry out many tasks around the farm. Will robots change the need for farm laborers?
Top 10 Foods That Originally Looked Totally Different
Everyday foods, fruit and veggies used to look totally different before we started cultivating them. But did you know they haven’t always looked like they currently do? Here are 10 fruits and veggies that looked very different before we started cultivating them!
Vascular Plants video
Supplement a plant anatomy lesson with this video which breaks down the anatomy and physiology of vascular plants. Learn the difference between herbaceous and woody plants and examples of each, the parts of the plant and the function it performs, and how water is absorbed through the roots and circulated through the plant through the xylem.
Vertical Farming video
Use this 4-minute video to explore the benefits and challenges to vertical farming systems which utilize hydroponics to grow plants. Can the land and water conservation advantages outweigh the cost of creating artificial light?
Visit an Iowa Turkey Farm
In this virtual farm tour, go inside a modern brooder barn to see two-week-old turkey poults and a grow out barn with 10-week-old turkeys. Learn how farmers use technology every day to regulate barn temperature, air flow, feed and water use, and monitor turkey health.
Antimicrobial Wash for Fresh Produce
This article supplements lessons regarding food safety and food processing from the farm to the grocery store. Learn about an antimicrobial formulation, approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, that has been formulated to reduce the risk of food-borne pathogens that could contaminate fresh produce. The antimicrobial wash is a combination of lactic acid, fruit acids, and hydrogen peroxide proven to reduce pathogens up to 99.99 percent.
Better Paper, Plastics with Starch
USDA Agricultural Research Service scientists developed a new starch-based film, or coating, that can make paper and other materials more water resistant and biodegradable. The film can potentially be used in food packaging, plastic bags, and other products, reducing the amount of synthetic products clogging landfills.
Bottle Biology
Learn how to explore science and the environment using soda bottles and other recyclable materials. Model a rain forest and grow different plants, create a spider habitat, observe the life cycle of a slime mold, explore an ecosystem or make Korean kimchee. Pursue these and other scientific investigations with over 20 bottle constructions. Each chapter contains background information, activities and teaching tips. This is a great book for those interested in exploring gardening in the classroom before committing to something more expensive.
Encyclopedia of Gardening Techniques
The definitive guide to the best gardening techniques from pruning and propagation and planting to harvesting by the American Horticultural Society. This step-by-step guide contains a vast amount of expert information clearly demonstrating the tried-and-tested techniques honed by the world's leading garden authority. The book covers every aspect of gardening from pruning to sowing, watering to feeding, and propagating to planting. Covering all plants including trees, flowers, shrubs, climbers, lawns, vegetables, fruit and herb, it shows how to create water features and patios, and add lighting. It also includes organic techniques, recycling, and how to treat pests and diseases.
Feeding the World and Protecting the Environment
This supplemental resource was developed to provide content and labs about fertilizer’s role in federal regulations, such as the Clean Water Act. Additionally the supplement provides an overview of sustainability and 4R nutrient stewardship providing a lot of information as well as places for students to keep notes. This free,
downloadable PDF can be requested from the Nutrients for Life Foundation.
Using Technology to Save Water
Use this resource when discussing the future use and demand of fresh water. Sixty percent of the world's fresh water is used by farmers which has a large impact upon its availability in meeting the challenge of producing food for a growing population. This article explains how scientists in the southwest are developing tools for saving water with the help of satellites, computer models, remote sensors, and other types of technologies.
Wiki Watershed
A web toolkit designed to help teachers and students advance in their knowledge and stewardship of fresh water.
Producepedia
Fruits, vegetables, and nuts are all considered produce. Producepedia is a website devoted to teaching about these important food crops. Find fun facts about various produce, learn about how and where it is grown, when it is in season, and watch videos from top chefs about how to cook and prepare the produce for eating.
Project WET
Project WET publishes water resource education materials that are appropriate for many different age groups and cultures and offer comprehensive coverage of the broad topic of water. They also provide training workshops to educators at all levels, formal and non-formal, on diverse water topics.
Science in Your Watershed
This website can help teachers find scientific information on watersheds in their area. Use a mapping interface to
locate your local watershed as well as find various other resources.
The USGS Water Science School
This website offers information on many aspects of water, along with pictures, data, maps, and an interactive center where you can give opinions and test your water knowledge.
Virtual Food Safety Labs
Food safety and science come together with these virtual labs. Students can see and practice some of the laboratory techniques used by researchers and food scientists. Visit the website to see eight virtual labs including Testing for Corn Mold, Bacteria Sampling, Gram Staining, Using the Microscope, The pH Scale and Meter Calibration, Testing and Adjusting pH, Understanding Water Activity, and Controlling Water Activity in Food.
Virtual Labs: Understanding Water Activity
What is water activity, and how does it affect food spoilage? In this virtual lab, students can explore how microbes and reactions inside food rely on water and calibrate a lab water activity meter. Students will become familiar with food science lab equipment and standard techniques for measuring water activity. The lab guides users through both theory and practice, preparing them for experiences in a real lab.
