Students should be assessed on their understanding of agriculture and its importance to humans.

• Make observations while circulating around the room to see whether students are engaged in the various discussions.

• Individually assess if students completed the list of agriculture products in the classroom, completed the Agriculture Abacus, and are able to explain why they cut out certain pictures.

• Observe students during interactive discussions to see if they are participating in the lesson.

As a whole group have a discussion about agriculture. “Agriculture, what do you think when you hear this word? Talk with a partner and see if you can think of three words that describe agriculture.” Have students share ideas. “Did anyone think of farming, animals (livestock), wide open spaces, tractors? Agriculture is the science and work of raising crops and farm animals; farming. As one of the oldest industries on Earth, agriculture or “ag” for short is practiced in every part of the world. Did you ever wonder how agriculture impacts your life? When you think of agriculture you thought of cows and pigs on a farm. But agriculture is much more than that. Agriculture touches your life.”

“I’m going to read you a passage from A Day Without Agriculture and I want you to think about your life and how agriculture affects you:

When you wake up in the morning, you might be lying on cotton sheets. Your pillow could be filled with down feather from a goose. The frame of your bed is probably made of wood. These are all ag products, and you aren’t even out of bed yet. When you do get out of bed, you may put your feet onto a rug made from the wool of a sheep or a linoleum floor made from soybean oil. The soap you use in the shower might contain cottonseed oil or lanolin, a kind of oil from the sheep’s wool. The handle of your hairbrush might be made from the bones and horns of a beef animal, and the bristles might be the bristles, or hair of a pig. The towel you dry off with and the jeans and T-shirt you put on are made from cotton. Once you get to school you might pick up a crayon made from pig fat or soybeans. You’ve already used dozens of agricultural products, and you haven’t even started eating yet. Just imagine a day without agriculture. Do you think you could survive?”

Have students discuss as a group whether they think they could survive without agriculture.

Activity 1

Hand out the Agriculture and School Worksheet to students (S-K2-16-1_Agriculture and School Worksheet.doc). Say to students, “I am going to give you a piece of paper. Think back about the passage that was read earlier. Make a list of everything you can find in our classroom/school that has something to do with agriculture.” Give students about five minutes to jot answers down. You may want to walk around the school to get more ideas. Then have students share their findings and add more to their lists. Possible ideas: food, chairs, rug, crayons, soap, paper, yarn, fabric and the clothes they are wearing.

Activity 2

Hand out a paper plate to each student and make available magazines, scissors, and glue sticks. Say to students, “It is obvious that we depend on agriculture to survive. I am going to give you 15 minutes to look through magazines and cut out pictures that you use that come from a farm. Glue the pictures on the paper plate. Some examples could be blue jeans. Jeans are made from cotton. You can glue cookies because of the wheat and sugar, and newspaper because of soybean ink.”

“I want you to be ready to explain why you cut out the pictures you did. Talk with friends to get ideas or if you’re not sure.”

Walk around and guide students if they might need additional practice. Once the time is over, give students elastic string and beads. “We are going to attach an abacus. Does anyone know what an abacus is? It is a calculating machine used for addition and subtraction and was invented before computers. It’s an ancient calculator. We are attaching the string and beads (abacus) to help us keep track of how many times we use agriculture in a day.”

Have students start the day with all the beads on the back of the plate and move them forward one at a time as they use something that is related to agriculture. At the end of the day, discuss with students how many times they used agriculture, what surprised them, and what they learned about the importance of agriculture in their life.

“Agriculture affects your life no matter where you live. The food you eat, the clothes you wear, the paper you write on, and even the air you breathe is part of agriculture. I am going to hold up some pictures and I want you to share why they are a part of agriculture.” Share with students the pictures of Pennsylvania agriculture products (S-K2-16-1_Agriculture Pictures.doc).

Field student responses and guide a class discussion, highlighting the importance of each product.

Extension:

Here are activities for students who might need opportunities for additional learning:

• Have students list products they use at home that are related to agriculture.

• Keep a class abacus to count things students used or saw that relate to agriculture. Have students graph and display this information.