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.
The crops we eat are constantly at risk of harm from pests. But what are these pests? In this activity, students will develop a definition of an agricultural pest that is meaningful to them and identify categories of pests such as insects, rodents, mollusks, weeds, and diseases.
This activity prepares students to interview someone in an agricultural career. 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.
In this activity, students will examine a variety of foods and their ingredients to determine which foods contain ingredients that may have come from genetically engineered plants.
This activity introduces students to a unique and interesting sequence of events related to the nature of scientific discovery. They will explore how scientific discoveries evolve and often lead to unexpected outcomes. While researchers were trying to develop a method of tenderizing beef, they discovered that the process they were researching also decreased the harmful bacteria in meat by 40-60%. This activity teaches students about this process and how it was developed.
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.
In this activity students will taste different types of chocolate to determine if price is an indicator of better taste. Chocolate is a New World food that is now beloved by cultures around the globe. Use this activity to engage students with lessons related to the Columbian Exchange, global trade, food ingredients, and food origins and processing.
Free app teaching students how foods fuel their body to create energy for their favorite activities.
This activity can be a supplement to any nutrition lesson. Students will complete puzzles by matching food groups to the nutrients the food group provides and examples of foods within the food group. A digital and paper version is included.
In this activity, students become the head chef in a virtual kitchen. They will use mathematical knowledge, problem-solving skills and food safety guidelines to prepare a safe and nutritious meal. This activity can be used to supplement lessons on food safety.
Students will learn the basic science of food safety and the importance of safe food practices while playing a board game, performing “fact or opinion” and “cause and effect” activities, and then writing an essay on what they learned. This activity can be used to supplement lessons on food safety.
In addition to selective breeding, genetic engineering tools such as transgenics and CRISPR gene editing can be used by plant breeders to solve agricultural challenges. Plants can be engineered to be more nutritious, more resistent to pests, drought tolerant, etc. This activity challenges students to match several crops and the challenges faced in growing them to potential solutions that could be reached with genetic engineering.
Demonstrate proper handwashing technique, proper surface cleaning and how to prevent the spread of germs. This kit includes a gel, lotion, or a powder which glows when exposed to a long wave UV light. This kit can be purchased from a variety of online retailers, search keyword "Glo Germ."
In this activity the students will identify the parts and functions of a fish, explore the Japanese art of fish printing known as gyotaku, and label their gyotaku print with the parts of a fish.
Spinning, dyeing, weaving, and felting wool can easily be done in the classroom. This activity provides instructions and a materials list, making it easy to prepare a hands-on wool project for your class. Wool processing is a topic that connects easily to lessons in history and science.
A "Price is Right" style activity designed to help illustrate the sugar and salt content found in processed foods. This activity can supplement nutrition and food processing lessons.
Use these detailed instructions to add a DNA extraction activity to a science lesson on genetics and DNA.
Through this web quest, students will examine where their food comes from, federal agencies involved in protecting our food supply, how imported foods such as honey present a safety challenge, and what measures are being taken to meet these challenges. This activity can be paired with secondary lessons on food safety.
Introduction to Circuits
Paper circuits are an exciting way for students to learn how electrical circuits work. This activity gives students a foundation for what a circuit is and how to create a closed, series, parallel, and open circuit using a few simple supplies. The concepts learned in this introductory activity are a springboard for more complicated electrical projects such as sewing circuits and building prototypes controlled by Arduino boards.
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.
Invasive Species Profile
In this activity students will create a profile for an invasive species in their area to gain an understanding of the diversity of organisms that can become invasive, where to go for trusted information, how humans may be involved in their introduction and spread, and what native species or resources are threatened. This activity can complement secondary level lessons on invasive species.
Is There Ever Too Much of a Good Thing?
This activity directs students in performing an experiment measuring the growth of beans using too much fertilizer, too little fertilizer, and the right balance of fertilizer. Students will learn how and why farmers use the correct amount and type of fertilizer to grow crops used for our food and fiber.
Journey 2050 Program Summary: Project-Based Learning
Journey 2050 is a program helping students engage in world food sustainability at a local and global scale. The program contains seven lessons which are aligned to education standards for both
6-8th grade and
9-12th grade. Use this project-based learning approach as a capstone to develop a plan to support sustainable agriculture.
Lab Investigation: Biodiesel
In this laboratory students will determine the amount of energy released from biodiesel compared to other energy sources.
Lose a Million Bacteria The Game
Based on the popular TV game show, “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?”, this activity allows students to put their food safety knowledge to the test. It reinforces safe food handling practices, promotes cooperative learning, encourages class participation, and reviews food safety in a fun, interactive way. On Day 1, students create their own evaluation questions based on what they’ve learned from the Dr. X and the Quest for Food Safety video, activities, and labs. Then, on Day 2, they play the game, using the questions as an evaluation exercise.
Make Your Own Worm Bin
Vermicomposting in your classroom is an effective way to engage students with a wide variety of science concepts. This activity will show you how to make your own worm bin out of a recycled styrofoam cooler. Prepare the cooler ahead of time, and then have students add the bedding, worms, and vegetable scraps.
Making a New Apple Cultivar
Pair this activity with lessons on selective breeding. Students will identify desirable genetic traits in apples and use a coin flip to simulate the steps and time involved to breed a new cultivar of apple.
Mapping Meals Activity
A 20-minute activity to illustrate to students that many of our foods come from around the world. Activity can be added to any lesson on food, food sources, nutrition, etc.
Modeling Selective Breeding with Starburst®
In this activity students will model the process of selective breeding using Starburst® candies to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of this breeding technique.
Move 'N Around—The Nitrogen Cycle Game
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.
Nutrient Supply Activity
In this activity, students will explore the global problem of hunger and nutrient availability along with techniques that are being used to improve nutrient supplies where shortages exist. Students will also exercise their ability to identify credible information sources.
Nutrients for Life eLessons
Browse a library of elessons related to soil science. These videos are ideal for distance learning.
Planet Food Online Game
Have your students discover their own global food network by playing Planet Food—a two-part interactive game that introduces the concepts of interdependence and globalization through the geography of food. In part one, students see the ways food on their plate creates a map that criss-crosses the world. Part two will call on their critical thinking and geographic decision-making skills in an investigative journey as they consider different values and points of view while making a bar of chocolate.
Portion Size Comparison
This activity can supplement any nutrition lesson. Students will identify portion sizes for food and compare them with common every-day items through a "Grab Bag" activity.
Processed Food Breakdown
This 20-minute activity allows students to apply their knowledge of reading food labels and identifying the nutrient content of food. Students work in groups and are challenged to create a nutritious meal with processed foods. This is an ideal capstone activity for a lesson on reading food labels and determining the nutrient content of foods.
Selectively Breeding Sheep: Punnet Square Practice
This activity can be a companion to a secondary genetics lesson allowing students to practice completing Punnett Squares. Students will learn about sheep production and how sheep breeders can use the Punnett Square to predict the likelihood of lambs in their flock inheriting a disease called Spider Lamb Syndrome or SLS.
Show Them The Germs!
This activity helps students to understand how germs are spread and how they can prevent disease by washing their hands properly.
Skillet Toasted Squash Seeds
Seeds from winter squash are collected, cleaned, and skillet toasted for a unique and tasty snack.
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.
Supply and Demand
A simple activity that demonstrates the principles of supply and demand.
Sweet Slow Cooker Squash
Students have the opportunity to taste winter squash in the classroom with this simple slow cooker recipe.
The 12 Most Unwanted Bacteria
Students will divide into teams and select a bacterium from The 12 Most Unwanted Bacteria handout to research. Each team will create a food safety portfolio and conduct an innovative presentation. Each team will be able to recognize the foodborne illness that the bacterium causes and understand how to control that bacterium.
The Bean Game
In this game, students determine how much money to invest in their bean crop and then roll dice to determine what happens to their crop during the planting, growing, harvesting, and marketing phases. Will their farms make money this year?
The Steaks Are High Online Game
This engaging game introduces students to the world of beef production, from the cow-calf operation to the livestock auction, stocker ranch, and feedyard. Answering math problems is the key to progressing through the game, reinforcing key mathematics standards for third- through fifth-grade students.
Tootsie Roll Conversation About Conservation Terms
In our efforts to protect the environment we sometimes confuse the terms preserve and conserve. This activity is designed to help students understand the difference between conservation, preservation, and indiscriminate use.
Trading Around the World
Play this game to experience the challenges and excitement of international trade. See if you can get the best price for the goods you sell and the biggest bargains for the goods you buy. Watch how the global economy is doing: the prices you'll be able to get and the deals you can make depend on how healthy the global economy is.
Troubled Waters
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.
Two Truths and a Lie
You're scrolling through social media and come across a food meme. Is this fact or fiction? Use this activity to help students debunk food and farming misconceptions. Then, put these resources to work by incorporating the agricultural themes into student research projects.
Virtual Insect Collection Lab
Insect collections are so cool! This virtual insect collection lab allows students to participate in a virtual science experience as they learn more about insects and what they can tell us about our world.
Water Pollution Demonstration
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
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.
Wisconsin Fast Plants®
Growing Wisconsin Fast Plants in your classroom is a great activity to give life to lessons on plant growth and development, pollination, life cycles, and heredity. Fast Plants are members of the cabbage family (Brassicaceae) that have been selectively bred for rapid development. In five to six weeks, these plants will complete an entire life cycle, from seed to seed. They are small, productive, and easy to grow, making them practical and manageable for classroom research and demonstration. Fast Plants of all types will show some differences between individual plants, but those with several variations (non-purple stem, yellow-green leaf) will show greater variability between individuals, an important consideration for lessons on heredity.
Book
Agricultural Drones
Farm fields can span hundreds of acres. With so much area to cover, checking crops and livestock can be difficult. But with an agricultural drone, this job becomes much simpler. Young readers will discover how drones help farmers maximize efficiencies and bring abundant harvests.
Agricultural Inventions: At the Top of the Field
Historically, farming was an exhausting, physical task. Bright-minded individuals revolutionized agriculture with inventions that eased tasks and sped up production. The invention of milestone machines, such as Eli Whitney's cotton gin, are explored chronologically.
Agricultural Research Magazine
A scientific magazine with articles generally written in an 'easy-to-understand' fashion. Recommended for secondary science and agricultural educators who are looking to enhance their curriculum with the most recent agricultural research. View the current issue or the archives be visiting the website.
Agronomy - Grow with It!
Agronomy Grow with It! explores the science of agriculture. Agronomy is the science we use to grow the crops that feed us, feed our livestock, and even fuel our cars. It's a science that tackles the big challenge of our future: How can we grow enough food to end world hunger and, at the same time, adapt to a changing climate and protect our environment? This book introduces you to 20 real agronomists who face that challenge every day.
Amazing Grazing
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.
Amelia's Road
Amelia Luisa Martinez hates roads. Los caminos, the roads, take her migrant worker family to fields where they labor all day, to schools where no one knows Amelia's name, and to bleak cabins that are not home. Amelia longs for a beautiful white house with a fine shade tree in the yard, where she can live without worrying about los caminos again. Then one day, Amelia discovers an "accidental road." At its end she finds an amazing old tree reminiscent of the one in her dreams. Its stately sense of permanence inspires her to put her own roots down in a very special way. The richly colored illustrations bring to life the landscape of California's Central Valley farmland. Amelia's Road is an inspirational tale about the importance of home.
Ancient Agriculture
This book shows the progression of technology through history as human civilizations progressed from foraging to farming. Agriculture enabled humans to stop wandering from place to place to find food. This chapter book includes text as well as photographs and reproductions to illustrate the implementation of agriculture in our daily lives.
Beans to Chocolate
Everyone loves chocolate, but do you know where it comes from and how it ends up on supermarket shelves? Follow the story of chocolate through the farming process to manufacturing.
Bees and Wasps
Bees and Wasps is a 32-page book filled with color photographs and illustrations. Learn about their lifecycle and the varieties of bees and wasps that pollinate flowers and make honey. You will also learn about the organization of beehives, the roles of each bee, and how they all work together to make honey and pollinate flowers.
Black Storm Comin'
Wanted: Young skinny, wiry fellows not over eighteen. Must be expert riders. Willing to risk death daily. Orphans preferred. When Colton Westcott sees this sign for the Pony Express, he thinks he has the solution to his problems. He's stuck with his ma and two younger sisters on the wrong side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, with no way to get across. They were on the wagon train heading to California when Pa accidentally shot Colton and then galloped away. Ma is sick, and Colton needs money to pay the doctor. He'd make good money as a Pony rider. He also needs to get to California to deliver freedom papers to Ma's sister, a runaway slave. The Pony Express could get him there too...
Calling the Doves
Poet Juan Felipe Herrera's bilingual memoir paints a vivid picture of his migrant farmworker childhood. In delightful and lyrical language, he recreates the joy of eating breakfast under the open sky, listening to Mexican songs in the little trailer house his father built, and celebrating with other families at a fiesta in the mountains. He remembers his mother singing songs and reciting poetry, and his father telling stories and calling the doves.
Careers in Agriculture
A secondary level e-book designed as a guide for students and young people considering their career opportunities by presenting them with a current, in-depth, thorough, and real view of the agricultural industry. Each page is equipped with interactive links to videos, further reading, and more.
Casper Jaggi: Master Swiss Cheese Maker
Have you ever wondered why Swiss cheese has holes? You'll find out in this story about a Swiss cheese maker named Casper Jaggi. Casper Jaggi was only six years old when his father taught him how to make cheese in the Swiss Alps. In 1913, Jaggi left Switzerland in search of new opportunities in the United States. Like many other Swiss, he settled in Green County, Wisconsin, where the rolling hills dotted with grazing cows reminded him of home. And soon, he'd be turning cow's milk into cheese, just as he did in Switzerland. The book opens the doors to Jaggi's Brodhead Swiss Cheese Factory—largest factory of its kind in Wisconsin in the 1950s. Archival photos help illustrate, step-by-step, the process Jaggi and his workers followed to transform 2,000 pounds of milk in a copper kettle into a 200-pound wheel of Swiss cheese. Jaggi was one of the many European immigrants who helped establish Wisconsin's reputation for delicious cheese. The Artisan cheese makers crafting award-winning cheeses today are continuing this rich tradition in America's Dairyland.
Children of the Dust Bowl: The True Story of the School at Weedpatch Camp
This highly readable portrait is about the Okies driven to California by the Dust Bowl days of the 1930s and the formidable hardships they faced. The desperation of their lives in the Midwest is described and then we follow the Okes on their trek across the western United States to the promise of work in California, where their hopes are dashed. Weedpatch Camp is the farm-labor camp built by the federal government, that educator Leo Hart creates a federal emergency school. The book includes period black and white photographs depicting the hardships and the school.
Cotton Now & Then: Fabric-Making from Boll to Bolt
The text and illustrations follow the process of fabric-making from boll to bolt. This book is a great introduction to cotton processing.
Diary of a Worm
Written in diary form, students will learn about life from the perspective of a worm. The book teaches about the role worms play in our soil and uses fun and comical observations of a worm.
Dust Bowl Diary
This is the diary of a young girl and includes her true account of the dust bowl. The book provides details and some humor. It would be great literature to accompany "Grapes of Wrath' or a class studying the dust bowl years in American History.
Eating the Plates
A fascinating slice of American history, Eating the Plates describes the customs, manners, and eating habits of the Pilgrims. From the hardships of the settlers' first years in the wilderness, to their eventual success in farming and hunting, the reader is immersed in the sights, sounds, and smells of life in Plymouth. The evolution of diet in early America is a subject that should appeal to students; the glimpses of Pilgrim manners and home life are sure to amuse. Ten tasty, simple recipes provide directions for a full meal.
Eli Whitney and the Cotton Gin
This graphic novel tells the story of how Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, and the effects it had on the Southern United States.
Energy Island
Hold onto your hats! It's windy on the Danish island of Samsø. Meet the environmentally friendly people who now proudly call their home Energy Island. At a time when most countries are producing ever-increasing amounts of CO2, the rather ordinary citizens of Samsø have accomplished something extraordinary—in just ten years, they have reduced their carbon emissions by 140% and become almost completely energy independent. A narrative tale and a science book in one, this inspiring true story proves that with a little hard work and a big idea, anyone can make a huge step toward energy conservation.
Erosion: How Hugh Bennett Saved America's Soil and Ended the Dust Bowl
When the dust storms of the 1930s threatened to destroy U.S. farming and agriculture, Hugh Bennett knew what to do. For decades, he had studied the soils in every state, creating maps showing soil composition nationwide. He knew what should be grown in each area, and how to manage the land to conserve the soil. He knew what to do for weathering and erosion. To do that, he needed the government's help. But how do you convince politicians that the soil needs help? Hugh Bennett knew what to do. He waited for the wind. This is the exciting story of a soil scientist confronting politicians to encourage them to pass a law to protect the land, the soil. When the U.S. Congress passed a law establishing the Soil Conservation Service, it was the first government agency in the world dedicated to protecting the land, to protecting the Earth.
Esperanza Rising
Esperanza thought she'd always live a privileged life on her family's ranch in Mexico. She'd always have fancy dresses, a beautiful home filled with servants, and Mama, Papa, and Abuelita to care for her. But a sudden tragedy forces Esperanza and Mama to flee to California and settle in a Mexican farm labor camp. Esperanza isn't ready for the hard work, financial struggles brought on by the Great Depression, or lack of acceptance she now faces. When Mama gets sick and a strike for better working conditions threatens to uproot their new life, Esperanza must find a way to rise above her difficult circumstances—because Mama's life, and her own, depend on it.
Everybody Cooks Rice
Carrie goes from one neighbor's house to the next looking for her brother, who is late for dinner. Each family invites her to taste what they are cooking. She discovers that although each family is from a different country, 'everybody cooks rice.'
First Day in Grapes
All year long Chico and his family move up and down the state of California picking fruits and vegetables. Every September they pick grapes and Chico starts at a new school again. Often other children pick on him—maybe because he is always new or maybe because he speaks Spanish sometimes. Chico's first day in third grade turns out to be different. His teacher likes him right away, and she and his classmates are quick to recognize his excellent math skills. He may even get to go to the math fair! When the fourth-grade bullies confront Chico in the lunchroom, he responds wisely with strengths of his own.
Food: How We Hunt and Gather It...
Author Milton Meltzer deals with these and other questions as he shows how food and the search for it has been a powerful force in shaping the world's history. He shows us how food has had a great influence on population and its growth or decline, on the rise of cities, on the expansion of trade, on economic and political thought, as well as on wars and revolutions. This book contains a series of entertaining essays, each of which is designed to elucidate another aspect of his topic. A great reference book for teachers and students.
Four Seasons of Corn: A Winnebago Tradition
Many Native Americans regard corn as a gift, a food with sacred value. The Winnebago, or Hochunk people, tell a story about a clan leader who saw a spirit called Corn Person in a dream. Corn Person showed the man how to plant, grow, and preserve corn so his people would have food to eat all year. In this photographic essay, twelve-year-old Russell learns the traditions of corn from his grandfather, who is from the Winnebago reservation in Nebraska.
From Cane to Sugar
This book illustrates the production of sugar, following the process from the farms where sugarcane is grown to the factories where the sugar is extracted to the stores where the sugar is sold.
From Wheat to Bread
Provides an introduction to the basic concepts of food production, distribution, and consumption by tracing the production of bread from wheat.
Full of Beans: Henry Ford Grows a Car
With a mind for ingenuity, Henry Ford looked to improve life for others. After the Great Depression struck, Ford especially wanted to support ailing farmers. For two years, Ford and his team researched ways to use farmers' crops in his Ford Motor Company. They discovered that the soybean was the perfect answer. Soon, Ford's cars contained many soybean plastic parts, and Ford incorporated soybeans into every part of his life. He ate soybeans, he wore clothes made of soybean fabric, and he wanted to drive soybeans, too.
Germ Stories
"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.
Glorious Grasses: The Grains
This book covers early history, cultivation, processing, and nutritional importance of grains. One chapter is dedicated to each grain, including wheat, rice, corn, millet and barley, and oats and rye. The two-column text reads easily and is full of informative material.
Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez
Cesar Chavez is known as one of America's greatest civil rights leaders. When he led a 340-mile peaceful protest march through California, he ignited a cause and improved the lives of thousands of migrant farmworkers. But Cesar wasn't always a leader. As a boy, he was shy and teased at school. His family slaved in the fields for barely enough money to survive. Cesar knew things had to change, and he thought that—maybe—he could help change them. So he took charge. He spoke up. And an entire country listened.
Hungry Planet
In 2000, the author began research for this book on the world's eating habits. Each family was asked to purchase a typical week's groceries, which were artfully arrayed—whether sacks of grain and potatoes and overripe bananas, or rows of packaged cereals, sodas and take-out pizzas—for a full-page family portrait. A detailed listing of the goods, broken down by food groups and expenditures are shown, then a more general discussion of how the food is raised and used, illustrated with a variety of photos and a family recipe. While the photos are extraordinary—fine enough for a stand-alone volume—it's the questions these photos ask that make this volume so gripping. This is a beautiful, quietly provocative volume.
I Am Farmer: Growing an Environmental Movement in Cameroon
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.
If You Lived At the Time of the Civil War
This Scholastic book illustrates what it was like to live at the time of the Civil War. Alternating pages are written from the point of view of the South and the North. Appropriate for Grades 2-6, this is a great resource to help tie lessons on cotton to social studies.
If the World Were a Village
Imagine if the entire world's population were compiled into a village of 100 people. What would the demographics of that village be? This book helps students understand the similarities and differences of a global society. Comprehend the languages they speak, where they live, how much money they earn daily, and if they can read and write.
Immigration, Migration, and the Industrial Revolution
This easy to read 24-page book describes how inventions such as the cotton gin transformed America from an agricultural country to an industrial one, and led to both problems and opportunities.
John Deere's Powerful Idea: The Perfect Plow
John Deere’s farm equipment brand is famous around the world, but people may not know the story behind the man himself. Deere's humble blacksmith beginnings and a simple plow eventually led to massive success, but it wasn’t easy. The story behind the name will give readers new appreciation for the popular green tractors and equipment around today.
Leaf Litter Critters
Have fun on this poetic tour through the leaf litter layer and dig into the fascinating facts about the tiny critters who live there.
Nineteen poems in a variety of verse forms with accompanying science notes take readers on a decomposer safari through the "brown food web," from bacteria through tardigrades and on to rove beetle predators with other busy recyclers in-between. Glossary, hands-on investigations, and resources are included in the back matter.
Levi Strauss and Blue Jeans
Levi Strauss and Blue Jeans tells the story of the man who made the first pair of blue jeans and changed the way the world dressed! In the mid-1880s, while adventurers rushed off to California to find gold, Levi Strauss followed with an idea of his own. In dramatic, graphic novel format, this book follows Strauss as he works to create a pair of pants sturdy enough for gold miners. Readers will learn how Levi found that not just gold miners, but hard-working people everywhere wanted the durable pants with the pocket rivets.
Little Joe
The novel Little Joe offers a realistic look at the bond between 9-year-old Eli Stegner and his Angus calf, Little Joe, as they prepare for the county fair -- and the beef auction that follows. Readers will be fascinated by the details of raising beef cattle and receive an in-depth account of life on the farm.
Louis Pasteur and Pasteurization
In the early 1880s, people did not understand why food spoiled. Louis Pasteur discovered that small germs cause spoilage. He began working on a process that would help food last longer. Inside this graphic novel, the reader learns about the experiments Pasteur conducted and the process of pasteurization.
Midday Meals Around the World
Discover what children around the world eat for their midday meals. Menus include one or two meals from North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. Kid-friendly recipes are also included.
Migrant
Anna is the child of Mennonites from Mexico, who have come north to harvest fruits and vegetables. Sometimes she feels like a bird, flying north in the spring and south in the fall, sometimes like a jackrabbit in an abandoned burrow, since her family occupies an abandoned farmhouse near the fields, sometimes like a kitten, as she shares a bed with her sisters...But above all Anna wonders what it would be like to be a tree rooted deeply in the earth, watching the seasons come and go, instead of being like a "feather in the wind."
Mr. Blue Jeans
Mr. Blue Jeans is a 64-page chapter book which tells the story of the life of an immigrant Jewish peddler who founded Levi Strauss & Company, the world's first and largest manufacturer of denim blue jeans.
No Small Potatoes: Junius G. Groves and His Kingdom in Kansas
Discover the incredible true story of how one of history's most successful potato farmers began life as a slave and worked until he was named the "Potato King of the World!" Junius G. Groves came from humble beginnings in the Bluegrass State. Born in Kentucky into slavery, freedom came when he was still a young man and he intended to make a name for himself. Along with thousands of other African Americans who migrated from the South, Junius walked west and stopped in Kansas. Working for a pittance on a small potato farm was no reason to feel sorry for himself, especially when he was made foreman. But Junius did dream of owning his own farm, so he did the next best thing. He rented the land and worked hard! As he built his empire, he also built a family, and he built them both on tons and tons and tons of potatoes. He never quit working hard, even as the naysayers doubted him, and soon he was declared Potato King of the World and had five hundred acres and a castle to call his own. From award winning author Tonya Bolden and talented illustrator Don Tate comes a tale of perseverance that reminds us no matter where you begin, as long as you work hard, your creation can never be called small potatoes.
Nory Ryan's Song
Life is hard for poor Irish potato farmers, but 12-year-old Nory Ryan and her family have always scraped by... until one morning, Nory wakes to the foul, rotting smell of diseased potatoes dying in the fields. And just like that, all their hopes for the harvest--for this year and next--are dashed. Hunger sets in quickly. The beaches are stripped of edible seaweed, the shore is emptied of fish, desperate souls even chew on grass for the nourishment. As her community falls apart, Nory scrambles to find food for her family. Meanwhile, the specter of America lurks, where, the word is, no one is ever hungry, and horses carry milk in huge cans down cobblestone streets.
Off Like the Wind! The First Ride of the Pony Express
In 1860, the first Pony Express rider set out on a trail from Missouri to California. With him, he carried a special delivery—the first mail ever carried by hand to the West. Over the next eleven days, he and many other riders would endure harsh weather, dangerous animals, and more. But nothing would diminish their unflagging determination and courage.
One Grain of Rice
A mathematical folktale illustrating the concept of doubling using rice as the example.
One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference
Inspired by true events, One Hen tells the story of Kojo, a boy from Ghana who turns a small loan into a thriving farm and a livelihood for many. After his father died, Kojo had to quit school to help his mother collect firewood to sell at the market. When his mother receives a loan from some village families, she gives a little money to her son. With this tiny loan, Kojo buys a hen. A year later, Kojo has built up a flock of 25 hens. With his earnings, Kojo is able to return to school, and soon Kojo's farm grows to become the largest in the region. The final pages of One Hen explain the microloan system and include a list of relevant organizations for children to explore. This book is part of CitizenKid, a collection of books that inform children about the world and inspire them to be better global citizens.
Popcorn Country: The Story of America's Favorite Snack
How does a field of corn become a delicious bowl of popcorn? The story behind the fluffy snack the entire country loves is revealed in this photographic nonfiction picture book. Kids love food—and they especially love to eat popcorn! Author Cris Peterson offers an illuminating step-by-step examination of the history and science behind America's favorite snack. With photographs illustrating every stage, readers get a behind-the-scenes view of how popcorn is planted, grown, harvested, processed, tested, and finally shipped to stores and movie theaters all over the world. Back matter delves into the history of popcorn and how it became so popular in the United States.
Producing Fish (The Technology of Farming)
What is commercial fishing? What are fish farms? How do fish get from the sea to the supermarket? This book looks at the history of fishing, discusses commercial fishing and aquaculture, and explores how technology has impacted the fishing industry.
Radio Man
Diego and his family are migrant farmers who move from state to state picking fruits and vegetables. Each day brings a new experience—a different place, a different crop, and different people to meet. But no matter where Diego goes, his radio goes with him—it helps him to learn about the places he's going and to keep in touch with the people he meets along the way.
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
This book tells the story of one African American family, fighting to stay together and strong in the face of brutal racist attacks, illness, poverty, and betrayal in the Deep South of the 1930s. Nine-year-old Cassie Logan, growing up protected by her loving family, has never had reason to suspect that any white person could consider her inferior or wish her harm. But during the course of one devastating year when her community begins to be ripped apart by angry night riders threatening African Americans, she and her three brothers come to understand why the land they own means so much to their Papa. "Look out there, Cassie girl. All that belongs to you. You ain't never had to live on nobody's place but your own and long as I live and the family survives, you'll never have to. That's important. You may not understand that now but one day you will. Then you'll see."
Saturday at the Food Pantry
Molly and her mom don't always have enough food, so one Saturday they visit their local food pantry. Molly's happy to get food to eat until she sees her classmate Caitlin, who's embarrassed to be at the food pantry. Can Molly help Caitlin realize that everyone needs help sometimes?
Say Cheese! A Kid's Guide to Cheese Making
A mother-daughter team bring easy cheese making right into your kitchen with this fun guide for kids and families. Step-by-step photos take kids ages 8–12 through the cheese making process, then teach them how to make 12 classic favorites, including mozzarella, feta, ricotta, and cream cheese. A hearty helping of kitchen chemistry and math along with bits of international cheese making history add to the education.
Seed, Soil, Sun: Earth's Recipe for Food
Seed. Soil. Sun. With these simple ingredients, nature creates our food. Noted author Cris Peterson brings both wonder and clarity to the subject of agriculture, celebrating the cycle of growth, harvest, and renewal in this American Farm Bureau Foundation's Agriculture Book of the Year.
Sheepology: The Ultimate Encyclopedia
Discover all there is to know about sheep in all their woolly glory in Sheepology, a delightfully illustrated guide ewe will flock to again and again. Did you know that sheep do not like to be alone and get along well with other animals? Or that a sheep was the first mammal to be cloned by humans? Have you ever wondered how sheep's milk turns into cheese? Or how sheep are shorn and wool is made into cloth? These and other intriguing and engaging facts can be found in Sheepology, a visual encyclopedia.
Side By Side: The Story of Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez
Every day, thousands of farmworkers harvested the food that ended up on kitchen tables all over the country. But at the end of the day, when the workers sat down to eat, there were only beans on their own tables. Then Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez teamed up. Together they motivated the workers to fight for their rights and, in the process, changed history.
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.
Sparrow Girl
After sparrows ate too much grain, it was determined to banish them from China. However, an unintended consequence surfaced. The locust population grew to plague proportions and contributed to widespread famine. Based on a true story about the 1958 Sparrow War in China, this event highlights the important connections between managed and natural ecosystems.
Spill the Beans and Pass the Peanuts
This book highlights legumes, especially peanuts and beans. Learn the history, agricultural production, and processing of these food crops. You will also find recipes and cooking methods used around the world.
The Book of Chocolate: The Amazing Story of the World's Favorite Candy
Join science author HP Newquist as he explores chocolate's fascinating history. Along the way, you'll meet colorful characters like the feathered-serpent god Quentzalcoatl, who gave chocolate trees to the Aztecs; Henri Nestlé, who invented milk chocolate while trying to save the lives of babies who couldn't nurse; and the quarrelsome Mars family, who split into two warring factions, one selling Milky Way, Snickers, and 3 Musketeers, the other Mars Bars and M&M's. From its origin as the sacred, bitter drink of South American rulers to the the familiar candy bars sold by today's multimillion dollar businesses, people everywhere have fallen in love with chocolate, the world's favorite flavor.
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 First Strawberries: A Cherokee Story
From an award-winning Native American storyteller comes this captivating re-telling of a Cherokee legend, which explains how strawberries came to be. Long ago, the first man and woman quarrelled. The woman left in anger, but the Sun sent tempting berries to Earth to slow the woman's retreat.
The Girl Who Thought in Pictures: The Story of Dr. Temple Grandin
When young Temple was diagnosed with autism, no one expected her to talk, let alone become one of the most powerful voices in modern science. Yet, the determined visual thinker did just that. Her unique mind allowed her to connect with animals in a special way, helping her invent groundbreaking improvements for farms around the globe!
The Good Garden
Maria's family are poor Honduran farmers, growing barely enough to eat. Then a new teacher comes to town and shows Maria sustainable farming practices that yield good crops. An inspiring story, based on actual events, that shows us how farms and hopes are transformed as good gardens begin to grow.
The Great American Dust Bowl
A speck of dust is a tiny thing. In fact, five of them could fit into the period at the end of this sentence. On a clear, warm Sunday, April 14, 1935, a wild wind whipped up millions upon millions of these specks of dust to form a duster—a savage storm—on America's high southern plains. The sky turned black, sand-filled winds scoured the paint off houses and cars, trains derailed, and electricity coursed through the air. Sand and dirt fell like snow. People got lost in the gloom and suffocated...and that was just the beginning. Don Brown brings the dirty thirties to life with kinetic, highly saturated, and lively artwork in this graphic novel about one of America's most catastrophic natural events: the Dust Bowl.
The Life Cycle of a Pumpkin
How big can pumpkins grow? Why do pumpkins have very big leaves? What can we make with pumpkins? Explaining concepts through stunning photographs and simple text, Life Cycle of a Pumpkin takes an in-depth look at this familiar but fascinating plant.
The Most Magnificent Thing
A young girl sets her mind to creating the most magnificent thing! She has the plans in her head, gathers all the necessary materials, and builds her first prototype. However, her invention is not exactly what she had planned, and after repeated attempts at making her invention "magnificent," she quits. Her pet dog convinces her to walk away, and when she returns she tackles her project with renewed enthusiasm and conviction. The result—the most magnificent thing! This is a fun, educational look at the engineering design process.
The Reason for a Flower
This book has large pictures and fun text to introduce scientific words in a simple way. The book teaches about stages of plant growth, flowers, and seeds.
The Shepherd's Trail
A wagon sits in the sagebrush-covered desert, while herders on horseback move sheep to high summer range. It looks like a scene from the Old West, but it's actually a sight you can see today. Shepherds still live in wagons, tending their flocks in Wyoming and other places in the American West just as they have done for more than a hundred years. From breeding season to lambing season, and shearing in between, this informative text filled with stunning photographs shows how sheep are raised over the course of a year. Use this book as an introduction for examining migrant workers and the importance of their contribution to the American economy or as a background text to provide context to lessons on wool or ranching.
The Story of Food: An Illustrated History of Everything We Eat
This glorious visual celebration of food in all its forms reveals the extraordinary cultural impact of the foods we eat, explores the early efforts of humans in their quest for sustenance, and tells the fascinating stories behind individual foods. With profiles of the most culturally and historically interesting foods of all types, from nuts and grains, fruits and vegetables, and meat and fish, to herbs and spices, this fascinating culinary historical reference provides the facts on all aspects of each food's unique story. Feature spreads shine a spotlight on influential international cuisines and the local foods that built them. The Story of Food explains how foods have become the cornerstone of our culture, from their origins to how they are eaten and their place in world cuisine.
The Story of Seeds
This nonfiction chapter book follows seeds from Mendel's garden to our plate. Discover how something as small as a seed can have a world-wide impact. From Iraq to India to an impenetrable seed vault in a Norwegian mountainside, this book speaks to the current ways we think about our food and how it is grown. Readers will discover just how important seeds are to the functioning of our global economy--and how much power we as a world-wide community have to keep seeds around, because once a seed disappears, it's gone forever. With both text and color photos, this book touches on subjects such as seed genetics, the development of new seed varieties, heirloom seeds, and GMO seeds. It also introduces readers to seed scientists such as Gregor Mendel, Luther Burbank, and Nikolai Vavilov.
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?
They're Off! The Story of the Pony Express
In 1860, with North and South about to be divided by war, East and West were united through an extraordinary venture—the Pony Express. Over the course of ten days in April, eighty riders and five hundred horses delivered mail between California and Missouri—a mission that took three weeks by stagecoach. Although it existed for only a year and a half, the Pony Express remains a legendary chapter in American history and a symbol of the bold, adventurous character of the Old West.
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.
What's For Lunch?
Every day, all over the world children eat together at school. Use this book to help children compare and contrast school lunch in different countries and cultures. Each page has a photograph of a typical lunch along with a detailed description about the menu and what school lunch is like. This book will help your students "visit" school lunch in France, Mexico, Kenya, Canada, Brazil, Russia, Peru, America, and more.
Whatever Happened to the Pony Express?
When the Pony Express came along, it cut the time it took to send a letter across the country in half. But only a year and a half later, with the arrival of the transcontinental telegraph lines, it was put right out of business. Along with a family's story told through cross country letters, Verla Kay uses her trademark short, rhythmic verse to pack in loads of information about how the Pony Express came to be and why it didn't last.
Working Cotton
Working Cotton describes the long days of work in a cotton field from the view of a child in a migrant family. Shelan describes how her parents, brothers, and sisters arrive at the cotton fields before dawn and work until night to harvest cotton.
You Wouldn't Want to be a Pony Express Rider!
It's 1860 and a new mail company is looking for riders. You are the son of a pioneer family, living in Kansas Territory. You read an ad for a direct mail delivery service. How do you survive the 1,966 miles of the Pony Express?
Booklet/Reader
#SoilScience Reader
This digital reader introduces soil formation and soil horizons with a fun edible soil activity. Other topics include the nitrogen cycle, plant nutrition, and fertilizer basics featuring the 4R Nutrient Stewardship. This resource is an excellent supplement to soil lessons and can be requested for free from the Nutrients for Life Foundation. There is a
student reader as well as a
teacher guide.
4R Reader
Use this free, downloadable reader from the Nutrient for Life Foundation to supplement a soil lesson. Students will learn about the 4 Rs of soil nutrient management: right source, right rate, right time, and right place.
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.
Biotech in Focus
Use this monthly bulletin as a companion resource for secondary lessons about DNA, biotechnology, genetic engineering, and many other related topics. Each 2-page bulletin addresses current topics in biotechnology including the development and safety of GM crops, GMO product labeling, plant breeding, GMOs and human healthy, and many more.
Climate Change Phenomena e-Magazine
This digital e-magazine gives students the ability to explore the connections carbon, climate, and weather have to our food supply. With interactive links, students can discover how climate and weather impact our food supply, where carbon is found and how it is cycled, what climate change is, and how adaptations and mitigations can help as we face climate change.
Cotton Reader
A four-page student reader examines how cotton is grown, its agricultural importance, product evolution, and economic importance. It can be easily printed for individual or small group use in the classroom.
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.
Nutrition Ag Mag
The Nutrition Ag Mag is an agricultural magazine for students. This issue focuses on nutrition with segments highlighting physical fitness, career options, making healthy dietary choices, and how to read a food label. The entire publication can be viewed online.
Oh, Scrap
A digital agricultural reader for 6th-8th grade students to investigate the global impacts of food waste. Students will discover the difference between food waste and food loss, understand where food waste and loss occurs along the food commodity chain, and recognize the economic, social, and environmental impacts of food waste.
Renewable vs Nonrenewable vs Inexhaustible Resources e-magazine
An interactive digital e-magazine describing the differences between renewable, nonrenewable, and inexhaustible resources.
SOIL Reader
This 18-page downloadable PDF reader contains activities and articles to enhance lessons on soil. The reader features an interview with an agriculture engineer and includes puzzles, quizzes, and visuals. The
student reader and
teacher guide are available free from the Nutrients for Life Foundation.
Strawberry Ag Mag
The Strawberry Ag Mag was written for elementary and middle school students. In this issue, students learn about the history of the strawberry, hybridization, the life cycle and anatomy of the strawberry plant, careers, and more. The reader can be viewed by students electronically on individual devices, as a class with a projector, or printed.
Sweetpotato Ag Mag
The Sweetpotato Ag Mag is an agricultural magazine written for elementary and middle school students. In this issue, students will learn that North Carolina is the #1 producer of sweetpotatoes in the United States and how the root vegetable was introduced to the nation. They will also explore the life cycle of the sweetpotato plant, its health benefits to humans, the STEM-focused processes for growing, harvesting, and curing sweetpotatoes, visit a fourth-generation sweetpotato farm, and investigate three careers that involve sweetpotato production. The reader can be viewed by students electronically on individual devices, as a class with a projector, or printed.
Under Your Feet: Exploring Soil Science
Written for first and second grade, this activity reader introduces soil, plant nutrients, and their role in producing food. The digital booklet contains an experiential learning activity, a letter from a farmer, practice with categorizing food, and discussions about where food comes from. This
student reader is free and available by request from the Nutrients for Life Foundation.
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.
Arduino Controlled Relay
Using a relay allows an Arduino microcontroller to power a high voltage object. This kit contains what you need to build a relay that can be used to control a grow light or a sprinkler in an aeroponics system. Use this system to replace the timer included in the
SpaceLite (Plant Light) Kit and the
Classroom Aquaponics Kit.
Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.
Beeswax Lip Balm Kit
Beeswax is a valuable by-product of honey harvesting. Beeswax is used in the production of candles, cosmetics, artists’ materials, electronics, lubricants, polishes, inks, and paints. This kit includes common ingredients used to make beeswax lip balm. Kit contains enough supplies for 36 tubes of lip balm.
Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.Beeswax Modeling Clay Kit
Stimulate your students’ creativity with beeswax modeling clay. This kit contains the recipe and enough beeswax, coconut oil, and lanolin to make 36 portions of all-natural modeling clay that softens with the warmth of your hands. Beeswax clay can be reused again and again. Containers are included for storage.
Order this kit online from 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.
Bitter/Sweet Cucumber Taste Test
Having a cucumber taste test in your classroom can be informative and fun. This kit contains bitter cucumber seeds and non-bitter cucumber seeds.
Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.
Blue's the Clue
We're spoiling milk for science! This kit provides your students with the chance to experiment with different variables that affect something most of them drink every day. This experiment can be used to model the scientific process or to get kids thinking about how scientists and quality control workers keep them safe and healthy every day. The kit includes six test tubes with caps, one test tube stand, a bottle of methylene blue, a carton of UHT milk, and instructions.
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.
Cotton Boll Kit
Help your students understand how the fiber in their clothing, towels, and sheets comes from cotton plants. The seeds must be removed from the cotton fibers to make cloth. This process is called ginning (after Eli Whitney's cotton gin; gin is short for engine). The cotton bolls in this kit may be hand ginned, or dissected, allowing students to experience the process of hand ginning, understand the significance of the cotton gin, and explain how machines help us today to be more productive. Each kit contains a classroom set of individually wrapped cotton bolls. Each cotton boll can easily be pulled apart into four distinct sections so that a group of four students may use one cotton boll. Teacher Note: The purpose of this activity is to investigate cotton, the process of hand ginning cotton, and the impacts of the cotton gin. Adjusting this investigation into a role-play or simulation of a slave activity is absolutely discouraged. In addition, no student should be required to participate in hand ginning cotton. We recommend consulting your administrator and/or communicating with parents prior to presenting this lesson. You may want to consider ginning as a teacher demonstration if you anticipate tension or uncomfortable feelings. For more information concerning teaching about the history of African Enslavement, refer to research conducted by the Southern Poverty Law Center Teaching Hard History: American Slavery. Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.
Cotton Education Kit
This Cotton Education Kit is designed for students, teachers and anyone who is interested in learning about cotton. This kit can be used by educators as a companion to any lesson about cotton in the subjects of science, geography, history, or agriculture science. The kit includes cotton seed with planting instructions, cotton boll from the farm, cottonseed separated from raw cotton, cotton lint separated by removing seeds, cotton bale that is sent to mills, cotton sliver that makes yarn, cotton yarn used to make cloth, denim representing the final product, and the Cotton in the Classroom brochure with lesson plan ideas.
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.
Food Models
These full-color, life-size cardboard photographs of 200 commonly eaten foods are pictured in portion sizes with nutrition information presented in label format on the back. A perfect hands-on tool for teaching food and nutrition concepts! Included with your purchase are the Food Models and Leader Guide.
Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.
Food Science 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:
What's on MyPlate? (Activity 1);
Get Popping! (Interest Approach—Engagement);
Cultures, Food, and Communities Around the World (Activity 1);
Cheesemaking: From Liquid to Solid (Activity 1);
By Land, Air, or Sea (Activities 2 & 3).
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.Google Earth on the Range Repeat Photographs
Take a tour of Utah rangelands with historical photos. This kit includes 16 pairs of laminated photographs. Each pair of photos shows one location in Utah's rangeland at two different points in time, illustrating how factors like grazing, erosion, and management affect the landscape over time.
Order these photographs online at agclassroomstore.com.Grains and Legumes of the World
This hands-on activity explores grains and legumes common in global agricultural production—barley, dent corn, popcorn, oats, rice, wheat, soybeans, lentils, and pinto beans. Students create their own journals that include important facts, descriptions, and samples of the seeds of these crops. Teachers can use the information to expand students’ knowledge of agriculture while connecting to lessons in social studies and science. This kit contains enough seeds for a classroom of students. A master copy of the grains and legumes information cards is also included.
Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.
Hen House Prototype
Creating a prototype is an important part of the engineering process. Adding paper circuits and fans to a cardboard model can be a cost effective way for students to build a prototype. The Hen House Prototype Kit contains copper tape, white LEDs, 3V coin cell batteries, hobby motors, and propellers. The kit contains enough materials for 12 small groups of students.
Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.
Heredity in a Box Kit
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:
Apple Science: Comparing Apples to Onions (Activity 2);
From Chicken Little to Chicken Big (Activity 2);
Sheep See, Sheep Do (Activity 1);
Peas in a Pod (Activity 2);
Inherited Traits in the Living Corn Necklace (Activity 2).
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.
Living Science Careers Equipment Bags
This is a great resource to help your students better understand the exciting and diverse array of STEM employment opportunities in food, agriculture, and natural resources. Each kit comes with yarn, signs, and seven Living Science Careers Equipment Bags, all in a sturdy plastic storage container.
Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.
Mozzarella Cheese Kit
Making mozzarella cheese in the classroom can provide an engaging opportunity to discuss food processing, the science of enzymes and proteins, careers, and more. This kit includes rennet (enzymes), and citric acid (acid), two of the components used in the cheesemaking process.
Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.
Origami Parts of a Flower
Explore the parts of a flower by creating origami flower models. This kit contains instructions and enough origami paper, chenille stems, and beads for a classroom of students to make a flower.
Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.
PTC Paper
Are you a "taster" or a "non-taster?" PTC paper is used to test whether or not a person can taste the bitter flavor of phenylthiocarbamide (PTC). The ability to taste or not taste PTC is conveyed by a single gene, TAS2R38, that codes for a taste receptor on the tongue. On average, 75% of people can taste PTC and 25% cannot. Each vial contains 100 testing strips.
Order these testing strips 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.
Paper Circuits
Paper circuits are an exciting way for students to learn how electrical circuits work. The concepts learned in this activity are a springboard for more complicated electrical projects such as sewing circuits and building prototypes controlled by Arduino boards. This kit includes 3mm LEDs, copper tape, 3V coin cell batteries, and activity sheet masters. The kit contains enough supplies for a classroom of students.
Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.
Planet Zorcon
This interactive group activity will help your students understand the limited resources available for consumption on earth. Students will work in groups to explore the connection between individual behavior and resource use, explain the differences between renewable and nonrenewable resources, and identify careers related to natural resource management.
Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.
Popcorn on the Cob
Pop popcorn right off the cob! Place the cob in a paper bag, fold the top of the bag down twice to secure the top, place in the center of a microwave, and heat on high power for 1-1/2 to 3-1/2 minutes. Kit includes a popcorn cob and a brown paper bag.
Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.Ranch Starter Kit
Need a great way to connect students to rangeland? Have them start their own ranch! This kit includes a classroom set of jiffy peat pellet pots and enough grass seed to fill each pot. As your class learns about cattle grazing throughout our history, each student will be able to see how grazing can help - or hurt - rangeland, and will understand the importance of keeping our lands healthy. Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.
Sandpaper Texturing Kit
Students will explore soil textures using sandpaper and hand lenses. Kit includes 30 squares of sandpaper (10 pieces of 60 grit, 10 pieces of 220 grit and 10 pieces of 400 grit) and 10 hand lenses that students will use to explore basic hand texturing.
Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.Seed Samples
This kit contains a variety of agronomic or crop seeds. Samples of corn, wheat, rice, and quinoa seeds are included.
Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.Serious Cereal Science Kit
Use this kit to introduce students to careers that keep cereal on grocery store shelves. Just as grains were foundational in the advent of agriculture thousands of years ago, they continue to play a central role in agriculture and food security today. Corn, rice, and wheat provide more than half of the calories consumed by people worldwide. The science of cereal science is serious business!
Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.Source Search Kit
This kit complements the
Source Search lesson providing all the supplies to teach the
source of the items we rely on every day. The activity helps students discover what items come from farms, factories, stores, or natural resources.
Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.
Strawberry DNA Necklace
This kit allows students to take home visible proof that plants have DNA. Each kit contains enough supplies for 100 students to make their own DNA necklace. The kit contains cheesecloth, funnels, pipettes, test tubes, flasks, microcentrifuge tubes, and yarn, all in a sturdy plastic storage container. Refill kits are also available.
Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.Test Tube Hydroponics Kit
Investigate the importance of nutrients for plant growth and discover how plants grow without soil. Use this kit to grow and observe plants in a test tube hydroponic system. Kit includes rock wool, seed-starter trays, soybean seeds, plant tags, test tubes, and pipettes for 35 students. The
Test Tube Hydroponics Kit complements the lesson
Test Tube Hydroponics.
Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com. Topsoil Tour
Designed especially for elementary and middle school, this hands-on test kit and mini curriculum employs simplified soil science methodology. Students examine and compare the physical and chemical properties of soil samples that they collect themselves, and they learn about properties of good and poor soil as related to requirements of plants. Materials included allow students to conduct soil tests for texture, pH, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium using nonhazardous reagent tablets individually sealed in foil strips.
VR Viewer
Experience Virtual Reality (VR) in agriculture with these collapsible viewers. The VR Viewers fit most Android and Apple phones. The
360 Agriculture webpage contains a collection of virtual reality (VR) agricultural tours and farm field trips.
Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.
Wheat Bundle
Wheat is the most widely used grain across the globe. Experience threshing and grinding the wheat with your students to accompany any lesson on wheat, flour, or bread. Each wheat bundle has 35 stalks of wheat.
Order this wheat bundle online from agclassroomstore.com.Wheat Germ DNA Necklace
Is there DNA in my food? Absolutely! Each variety of wheat has DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) that gives it certain genetic traits or characteristics. Use this kit to extract and observe strands of DNA from wheat germ. Kit includes test tubes, stir sticks, pipettes, microcentrifuge tubes, and yarn with enough supplies for a classroom of students. The
Wheat Germ DNA Necklace kit complements the lesson
Wheat Germ DNA.
Refill kits are also available.
Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.
Wheat Grinder
What is wheat? How is bread made? This kit comes with a bag of wheat seeds, a wheat bundle with 35 stalks of wheat, and a hand-cranked grinder that your students can turn to make flour.
Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.Wool Samples
Use these samples to show your students what minimally processed wool looks like. The kit comes with a sample of scoured wool and another sample of wool top. Scoured wool is wool that has been washed commercially so that grease and vegetable matter are removed. Wool top is wool that has been scoured, carded, and combed.
Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.Wool Spinning Kit
Involve students with the materials and techniques that people have used for centuries to spin, dye, and felt wool. This kit comes with 15 feet of carded wool, 30 wool-spinning hooks, and instructions. Wool refills are also available.
Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.40 Maps that Explain Food in America
A collection of maps and graphs that represent farms, food production, and many other statistics in the United States. These maps provide excellent illustrations for students to understand how climate and geography affects the production of food as well as to provide statistics about the economics of food production through the years and across the United States.
Ag Census Web Maps
This interactive map allows users to select specific agricultural crops from a drop-down menu and see where those crops are grown in the United States. This map provides an excellent illustration for students to see how climate and geography impacts food production.
Crop Intensity Maps
The images on this site show crop intensity data (regions that produce the most crops), followed by the cropland products of 26 countries that produce 82% of the world's food. The final image shows the the population density in 2002 and the projected population in 2050.
Food & Farm Sky Tour
Soar with Google Earth to explore farms and food processing across the United States. Use the state agricultural information, videos, and satellite map to investigate connections between geography, climate, and the crops and livestock grown and raised in each state.
How America Uses Its Land
A series of interactive maps illustrating how land is used in America.
Interactive Map Project
Use this interactive map to help students see how geography and climate affects the production of agricultural crops. The map has USDA statistics built in to allow your students to answer questions such as, "Which state(s) produce the most cattle?" "Where does [my state] rank nationally in corn production?" "What region of the United States produces the most cotton?" etc. There are many agricultural maps available including field crops such as corn, wheat, barley, and alfalfa in addition to fruit and vegetable crops, ornamental nursery crops, and livestock.
Live Hunger Map
The World Food Programme (WFP) Live Hunger Map monitors food security in more than 90 countries and issues predictions where data is limited. The live map aims to identify areas that are currently food insecure or are sliding towards food insecurity. A static hunger map can be found if you click on "undernourishment" at the bottom of the page. It includes data from 2017-2019.
Map: The Most Common Job in Every State
Use this interactive map of the United States to see which job is most common in each state. Statistics can be viewed and compared from 1978 until 2014.
Mapped: Where Does Our Food Come From?
Maps that show the historical origins of major agricultural crops before they were domesticated across the globe as well as graphics representing current global producers of common commodities.
SoilWeb Interactive Map
This interactive map allows you to explore USDA-NCSS soil survey data for locations throughout most of the U.S. It is compatible with smartphones, tablets, and desktop computers. Zoom into an area of interest and discover the soil composition.
The Complexities of our Global Food System
The global food system is balanced between the supply and demand of food and tethered to our environment. These
high resolution PDFs demonstrate visually the complexity of agriculture. These maps highlight how the global food system is the balance between supply and demand of food as governed by geography and politics. These elements are divided into natural systems and human systems.
Visualized: The World's Population at 8 Billion
Around November 2022, the world will reach a pivotal milestone—8 billion global population. Use this infographic to visualize the distribution of the world's population by region and country.
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.
"Cheese Science-As Gouda as TV Gets" Video Series
The Utah Education Network (UEN) website has a series of 25 three minute video clips about cheese and food science. The videos teach science, chemistry, and physics principles in addition to highlighting many careers in related fields.
'Martian' Food video
Show your students a neat application of hydroponics and climate controlled greenhouses with this video teaching about the NASA-funded research taking place at the University of Arizona. The goal of this research is to discover a successful method for food to be grown in space.
360 Agriculture Virtual Reality
Engage students in virtual agricultural experiences. The
360 Agriculture webpage contains a collection of virtual reality (VR) agricultural tours and farm field trips.
Order VR Viewers online from agclassroomstore.com.
9 Billion Mouths to Feed: Leading the Way to Abundance and Sustainability
30-minute video segment giving an overview of how programs at the University of California are striving to meet the challenge of feeding an ever-growing global population with sustainable practices.
Ag States of America
Farms across America are like the patchwork of a quilt that binds our nation together. Comedian Charlie Berens takes you on a tour of America's farm production in the Ag States of America, a new show from Pivot Bio.
Agricultural Careers Prezi
This Agricultural Career Prezi can supplement a secondary lesson on careers by showing a variety of agriculturally related careers organized by career pathways. Explore careers in plant and animal science, business, science and engineering, education, communication, service, and natural resources.
Agricultural Engineering Video
Use this 8-minute video clip to profile a career in Agricultural Engineering. Learn how agricultural engineers apply engineering technology and science to help farmers be more productive, reduce environmental impacts, and keep our food affordable, safe, healthy and delicious.
Agriculture Technology Advancements Video Playlist
Robots, drones, and lasers...oh my! Western growers has produced a series of one-minute videos highlighting the newest technologies in agriculture. From flying autonomous robots working alongside harvest crews to AI-directed blades and lasers that zap weeds with ruthless efficiency, the next generation of farmers have access to cutting-edge technologies that will help them meet the challenges of the future.
Agriculture and the Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, the world came together to identify some of the greatest challenges of our time, and set 17 Sustainable Development Goals to respond to them. The challenges are formidable, but they’re interrelated, in that progress in one area (like agriculture!) can cause a ripple effect of change in other areas (like health and education). Watch this video to see how agriculture can help transform our world.
All About Eggs
Experience the miracle of baby chicks hatching and follow their development into mature hens. This 17-minute video also shows how eggs are processed after leaving the farm, including inspection, washing, drying, and packaging.
Order this DVD online from agclassroomstore.com.All About the Pumpkin Video
In two minutes, this video engagingly delivers a host of facts about pumpkins. Students will learn that each pumpkin has about 500 seeds, pumpkins originated in Central America, 19th century New Englanders thought that pumpkins could cure snake bites, and much more.
Amazing BREAD Processing- How It's Made Inside a Factory
Watch how wheat is processed into bread at a factory. Beginning with the harvest of the wheat on a farm and ending with slicing and bagging loaves of bread, see the automated machinery that makes bread processing on a large scale possible.
Amazing Time-Lapse: Bees Hatch Before Your Eyes
This one-minute time-lapse video captures the fascinating transformation of larvae into bees. Witness this mesmerizing life cycle with close-up footage from photographer Anand Varma.
America's Heartland
America’s Heartland is a magazine-style, half-hour video series. The website and YouTube channel offer more than 700 episodes about farmers and ranchers providing food, fuel, and fiber for America and the world. The series strives to give urban viewers a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing modern agriculture today by providing informative and compelling stories about topics ranging from agricultural technology to consumer issues to crop sustainability. Video segments can be viewed from the website or YouTube and can be easily integrated into classroom discussions. Visit the website and search for videos by topic (e.g., dairy farm, cotton, cattle ranch, etc.).
America's Heartland: A Sea of Grass
This half-hour video explores how the American tall-grass prairies have changed over the last 150 years. These grasslands created the rich soils that grow our crops today, and a number of farmers who work these soils are featured in the video.
America's Heartland: Bachelor Sheep Ranch
This half-hour video will give your students a peek into the lives of sheep ranchers Don and Pete Meike (pronounced mikey), who say that time slows when they’re on the trail. These bachelor brothers have been running sheep into Wyoming’s Bighorn Mountains all their lives, a ritual and a responsibility started by their grandparents way back in 1901.
America's Heartland: Cotton Episodes
Watch all or part of these episodes to learn about cotton. Follow the production of cotton from field to fabric and learn about the genetic improvement of cotton plants, their harvesting, history, use as cattle feed, and more.
America's Heartland: Maine-ly Apples
A little band of bakers is busy turning out 32 hundred apple pies a day. But the Kroitzsh (pronounced “Kroich”) family doesn’t mind. These sweet treats have been the salvation for their Valley View Apple orchard in south central Maine for the past 15 years.
America's Heartland: Riding the Range on a Utah Cattle Drive
Give students a peek into the lives of the Heaton's— a cattle ranching family from Alton, Utah. Follow them on their 30-mile journey from Rush Meadow to Dixie National Forest and learn more about the challenges these hardworking cowboys face.
America's Heartland: Sweet Beets
You may think most of the sugar you consume comes from sugar cane. That’s not always the case. Sugar beets are playing an increasingly important role in American agriculture. This 10-minute video segment shows the sugar beet from the farm to the fork. Learn how the crop is grown, harvested, and processed into table sugar.
America's Heartland: Wheat Episodes
Browse a collection of short video clips about growing wheat.
America's Heartland: Wild & Wooly Roundup
This half-hour video visits the windswept plateaus of New Mexico, where some of America's best wool is being worn by sheep whose yearly shearing provides a valuable agricultural product for ranchers here. New Mexico claims that this region, also known for its sightings of UFOs, is the most productive wool gathering area in the nation.
Ancient Recipes - Foods of Bible Times
Take your students on a culinary journey to learn how bread, olives, fish, and other foods were and are now produced. This 40-minute DVD explores foods from Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and Hebrew cultures, detailing how these foods shaped culture, religion and the development of civilizations. Can be shown in segments.
Order this DVD online from agclassroomstore.com.Animal Biotechnology video
Animal biotechnology encompasses a broad range of techniques for the genetic improvement of domesticated animal species including selective breeding, artificial insemination, cloning, and genetic engineering. Learn about both biomedical and agricultural applications of animal biotechnology and some of the science-based and ethical concerns that are engendered by certain applications.
Animated Life: Seeing the Invisible
This animated feature celebrates 17th-century citizen-scientist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, whose discoveries of microbes changed our view of the biological world. Also available in Spanish.
Apples
This 30-minute video begins with the legend of Johnny Appleseed and then goes on to explore apples in pioneer times with the story of the McIntosh apple. An orchard is visited over the seasons from winter pruning, spring blossoms with bees and pollination, spring planting, summer thinning to fall harvesting. Viewers even get to see apple cells through an electron microscope and learn how to clone an apple tree.
Beef Cattle PowerPoint
This PowerPoint includes basic profile information about the major beef cattle breeds in the United States. It includes the name and basic characteristics of each breed including frame size, breed origin, size, coat colors, etc.
Black Blizzard
On May 9th, 1934 a giant storm rose up out of the great plains. A menacing wall of soil and dust headed east across the land, thick enough to block out the sun. This 4-minute video gives a good account of this disaster through video footage and photographs.
Brittlelactica: Planet in Need
The "Brittlelactica" integrated campaign tells the story of a race of calcium deficient aliens who discover the health benefits of milk and begin abducting cows, whom they dub "The Supreme Ones."
CRISPR: A Word Processor for Editing the Genome Video
Since the discovery of DNA’s fundamental role in building and sustaining life, scientists have dreamed of having the ability to easily edit DNA in very precise ways. This video explores how a group of scientists made a major breakthrough in understanding the bacterial immune response, called the CRISPR/Cas system, and discovered a way to utilize this system to create a new technique to specifically change the DNA sequence of any organism with great ease. This video can be used with an advanced lesson on DNA to help students begin to see how science is advancing and how this knowledge can potentially be used.
CRISPR: Gene Editing and Beyond
The CRISPR-Cas9 system has revolutionised gene-editing, but cutting DNA isn’t all it can do. From turning gene expression on and off to fluorescently tagging particular sequences, this animation explores some of the exciting possibilities of CRISPR.
California Rice: Farming with Nature
This excellent DVD explores a family rice farm in California's Sacramento Valley as viewed through the eyes of 11-year-old Sue Miller. A farmer's daughter, Sue is just beginning to understand the important role her family's farm plays in the surrounding ecology. Packed with plenty of educational information, this video also contains stirring visual images and a young person's perspective on something we all share; the basic human link to the soil and nature.
Order this DVD online from agclassroomstore.com.Can Science Create a 'Greener' Pickle? video
In three minutes, learn how a food processing company has discovered a more environmentally friendly method for processing pickles. This method disposes of the pickling salt which can seep into wetlands and contaminate the soil.
Career Profile Video: Educator & Agronomist
Learn from Catherine Swoboda about being an educator and agronomist. Discover how she became interested in the field and how she has used her education to help alleviate hunger by increasing education on the production of food.
Careers in Agriculture Videos
This collection of 40 short videos highlights a wide variety of careers in agriculture and natural resources. Each video is one to four minutes long and features an interview with a professional working in an agricultural field. Give your students time to explore these videos on their own or select a few to show in class. Allow students to hear directly from a plant scientist, a cheese production manager, an algae farmer, or a GIS specialist and learn how these professionals chose the career paths that got them where they are today.
Chocolate: How It's Made
Solid chocolates have only been around since the 1800s. 70% of the world's cocoa beans are grown in West Africa. See how raw ingredients are expertly combined to create delicious milk chocolate.
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.
Connecting to Agriculture
This 17-minute video is a great way for students to learn about how agriculture connects to their lives. Animation, fun facts, and farmers tell the story of agriculture and how it relates to economics, science, and business. Interwoven through the commodity stories of corn, cotton, apples, dairy, and soybeans are important concepts such as: biodegradable properties, renewable resources, biotechnology, foreign trade, pest management, conservation practices, and food quality.
Order this DVD online from agclassroomstore.com.
Cotton Gin Animation
View an animation of Ely Whitney's Cotton Gin. Separating the cotton seeds from the cotton fiber was a very labor-intensive task before the invention of the cotton gin. This animation can help students visualize how the cotton gin worked and see the impact of labor-saving technology.
Cotton in the Classroom
Take a walk through cotton's journey from dirt to shirt, and find out the many ways we use cotton everyday!
Cotton... From Field to Fabric
Explore how cotton is produced "from field to fabric" and processed into cotton cloth on a modern farm and in a modern textile mill.
Order this DVD online from agclassroomstore.com.Cotton...The Perennial Patriot
Cotton has been grown and used throughout the history of the United States. This 9-minute DVD teaches how cotton plants have impacted and changed the history of the United States. From the production of blue jeans to the filament in the first light bulbs, you will be amazed to learn some of the many uses of cotton, past and present.
Order this DVD online from agclassroomstore.com.Cows and Climate
Watch a series of video clips by Dr. Frank Mitloehner as he explains livestock's role in the global food system and our environment. Dr. Mitloehner is a professor and air quality scientist in the area of animal science at UC Davis. These videos help answer questions about our diet and climate change, the environmental footprint of cars vs cows, methane from livestock, food waste, and solutions for a sustainable future.
Crash Course Geography
Crash Course Geography has 50 episodes to support geography courses. The first half of the collection focuses on physical geography, processes, and phenomena. The second half focuses on human geography and explores the ways people occupy the Earth's surface.
Dairy Tour 360
Milk, leche, lait. No matter what you call it, real milk offers tons of nutrition and is sustainably produced—and we've got the receipts. Come behind the scenes on a few dairy farms: see the cow care and learn the real science. Oh, and did we mention you'll be flying around on a butterfly? Available for
desktop or
VR headset use.
Dairy in the Mountain West: Our Family of Farmers
This video highlights dairy farmers and their families. See many different dairy farms, learn about how they care for animals, dairy farmer's priorities in animal welfare, and how dairy farms utilize their resources to increase their sustainability and decrease their environmental footprint.
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.
Drones and the Future of Farming Video
This 3-minute video highlights how drones can be used to identify specific plants in a farmer's field that are diseased or infested with bugs. A great illustration of a technology that is improving agricultural production and efficiency.
Dust Bowl: CBS 1955 Documentary
This newsreel-style documentary chronicles the Dust Bowl with interviews from people (primary sources) who lived through the "dirty thirties." The images linger well after the film ends. An excellent resource to use when studying the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, or the
Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck. The renowned Walter Cronkite narrates the 23-minute film available on DVD or
YouTube.
Order this DVD online from agclassroomstore.com.
Dust Bowl: Grantsville, Utah
This 14-minute documentary includes interviews from Utah residents (primary sources) about the "dirty" Grantsville Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Yes, Utah did experience its own dust bowl, not from the turn of the plow like the Midwest, but from overgrazing. Learn about how residents responded to what was one of the nation's worst environmental disasters. This video is available on DVD or
YouTube.
Order this DVD online from agclassroomstore.com.Eat Happy Project video series
The "Eat Happy Project" is a British YouTube channel aimed to help children to understand more about food; where it comes from and how to cook it. Online Field Trips have taken schoolchildren from their classrooms to citrus groves in Valencia, Paddy fields in Thailand and banana plantations in Costa Rica, allowing them to interact with food growers and suppliers from all over the world. Browse the entire
YouTube Channel or go directly to topic-specific playlists including Healthy Eating (
ages 5-7) or (
ages 7-11),
Online Field Trips,
Food Around the World,
How Does Your Food Grow, and
From Farm to Fork.
Eggs 101: An Egg's Journey from the Farm to Our Tables
Designed for the classroom, this collection of short videos showcases an egg’s journey from the hen house to our plates. This flexible series includes seven videos that give an in-depth explanation of an egg’s journey; from the barn experience to environmental management and from the egg itself to the homes of families nationwide.
Epic Pumpkin Collapse Timelapse
Observe the decomposition of a Jack-o-lantern in time-lapse over an 8-week period of time.
Everything is Chemical
A 4-minute video clip teaching that everything, including plants and animals is made of chemical elements. See how chemistry relates to agriculture to balance feed rations, calculate fertilizer application rates, and digestion.
FDR's Fireside Chat: Dust Bowl
On September 6, 1936, in one of his famous fireside chat radio broadcasts, President Franklin Roosevelt describes the conditions he observed firsthand on a tour of the many states devastated by drought.
Field Robots of the Future
How could robots impact agriculture? Use this video to engage students in discussion about how robots could change food production as we know it. Discuss topics such as efficiency, food production, sustainability, and farm labor.
Field to Film Career Snapshots
Explore more than 20 agriculture-related careers with these "snapshot" videos. The video playlist features careers on the farm as well as many others in sales, technology, education, and more.
Food Doesn't Grow in the Supermarket!
This DVD, narrated by children, follows "The City Guy," an adult who thinks he knows where food comes from (the grocery store), as he visits three different farms to learn where food really comes from and what it takes to produce it. Interesting even for those who have experience in farming and food production! This video is available on DVD or
YouTube.
Order this DVD online from agclassroomstore.com.Food Facts: 7 Reasons to Eat Insects
When discussing world food supply, hunger, or agricultural sustainability discuss the idea of eating bugs as an alternative protein source. How does it compare to other forms of nutrition in terms of protein, vitamins, minerals, and amino acids?
Food Machine
This video is the first episode of the PBS series, "America Revealed." Show host Yul Kwon explores how the "Food Machine" (agriculture) feeds nearly 300 million Americans every day. The video highlights farm practices, machines which make the production of our food easier and more productive, and the requirements of nature and our natural resources in order to produce our food. This secondary resource addresses topics such as sustainability, GMOs, pests and pesticides, global food trade, and food marketing.
From Fiber to Fabric... Wool's a Natural
This 15-minute, 1977 video narrated by Orson Wells provides a historical look at fiber, following the history of wool from before Egyptian times to the present day. This movie ties easily to social studies curriculum, as it discusses how England withheld sheep from the early colonists to control the economics of the colony. Old and new spinning techniques and looms in operation are shown. This video is available on DVD or
YouTube.
Order this DVD online from agclassroomstore.com.From Moo to You Video
This 26-minute program from the Gee Whiz in Agriculture series explores a dairy food processing plant that makes many of our favorite foods, such as cheese, butter, and ice cream. Why "milk does a body good" and why it's considered nature's most perfect food are emphasized. A direct comparison of the nutrient values of milk and soft drinks are made, along with other nutritional considerations. This video can be purchased on
DVD or accessed on
YouTube.
Frontier House
In this PBS production three families traveled back in time to the days of the Wild West, living as settlers did on the frontier in the 1880s. Each family took over their own 160-acre plot of homestead land in a remote region of Montana. They were then filmed as they built their homes, tended livestock, and planted crops, all without the assistance of modern technology. Their triumphs and frustrations provide a unique account of an important period of American history and a unique perspective on the practice and importance of agriculture.
Give it a Minute: Organic & Conventional Farming
Do you know the difference between organic and conventional (non-organic) foods? In one minute this video explains the differences and similarities in how these foods are produced on the farm.
Growing Today for Tomorrow
Farmers have the biggest job on earth. The population is increasing — yet farmland isn't — so farmers have taken on the responsibility of producing more high-quality crops with fewer resources. This 3.5-minute video illustrates the remarkable improvements that have been made in agricultural efficiency and productivity while bringing home the challenges that the future holds. The attention-grabbing message makes for a great introduction to any lesson on agricultural production or careers in agriculture.
Guns, Germs, and Steel
Both a book and a movie, Guns, Germs and Steel lays a foundation for understanding human history. Enter a 10,000 year journey through history and across every continent of the world to learn how and why human civilizations evolved from hunter-gatherers to a growing civilization and why some civilizations progressed faster than others. Learn how farming and the domestication of plants and animals impacted this evolution.
Have We Engineered the Perfect Apple? video
It took over 30 years to create the perfect apple. Find out how scientists designed the Honeycrisp to be the best.
Hilmar Cheese Company Virtual Video Tour
10-minute video for elementary students to learn about the dairy industry. They visit the dairy farm and the processing plant where they learn about pasteurization and cheese making.
How Are GMOs Created?
Use this 5-minute video to illustrate the complete process for developing a GMO through the scientific method and research. The Hawaiian papaya story is used as an example for resolving the papaya ring spot virus that had devastated the crop until a GMO variety was developed. Researchers and farmers turned to the development of GMOs as early as 1985 to improve the quality of plants to resist insects and disease while battling problems in production.
How CRISPR Lets You Edit DNA
Explore the science of the groundbreaking technology for editing genes, called CRISPR- Cas9. Discover how the tool could be used to cure diseases.
How Can CRISPR Improve Food?
Learn how CRISPR gene editing is being studied and implemented to improve food. This form of gene editing holds promising applications to cure diseases and improve food. Can allergenic proteins in foods be removed? Can cassava be engineered to remove the cyanide responsible for growth stunting in malnourished children?
How Do Farmers Make Seedless Fruit?
Explore how seedless fruits are made and how trees are reproduced without seeds in this 4-minute video.
How Do You Grow a Fish Sandwich? Video
Have you heard of hydroponics or aquaculture? In this video from the
Gee Whiz in Agriculture series, you get a fish-eye view of fish and lettuce production in an ecologically-closed system. We look at plant and fish life cycles, showing how each is dependent upon the other for nourishment. Concepts of symbiotic life systems, chemical and nutrient cycling, and integrated food production are highlighted. A "model ecosystem" can be used to demonstrate concepts, both in the program and the classroom. This video is available on DVD or
YouTube.
Order this video online from agclassroomstore.com.How Does it Grow? Video Series
This video series follows food from farm to fork. Learn more about potatoes, asparagus, mushrooms, cranberries, garlic, cauliflower, spinach, oranges and more. These videos are a great way to introduce students to food science and cooking, and to increase understanding of the sources of our food.
How Drones are Helping to Plant Trees - A Cleaner Future
See how drones can plant tree seeds to help reforestation be more affordable and efficient with the goal of lowering overall carbon emissions.
How Farming Planted Seeds for the Internet
Use this TedEd video to support reasons why early civilizations moved from hunting-gathering to farming as a major innovation for the current world we live in today. All the essential advancements are depicted throughout this video stemming from agriculture to include the development of cities, division of labor, governing institutions, and advanced technologies - without agriculture none of these advancements would have occurred.
How It's Made Documentary Series
Although this television series is no longer being aired, the YouTube videos provide invaluable footage of factory production. A wide variety of foods and other products created from raw agricultural materials are explored in five-minute segments. Browse the "Food Collections" playlist to learn about a variety of foods from farm-to-fork.
How It's Made: Corn Tortillas
This five-minute video shows how corn tortillas are mass produced in factories, starting with Grade A corn that is de-husked, removed from the cob, and stored in huge steel silos and ending with tortillas ready to package.
How It's Made: Cotton Yarn
In just under five minutes, this video shows how cotton is processed in modern factories. See cotton cleaned, carded, coiled, drawn, stretched, spun, and wound onto giant spools—all by machines. In 48 hours raw cotton is transformed into cotton yarn.
How It's Made: Honey
This five-minute video travels from field to hive to factory, illustrating all the steps involved in making honey. Get a close-up look at a beekeeper opening a hive and a queen bee in the midst of her hive, and watch frames of honeycomb go through a factory to yield a number of products.
How It's Made: Wool
In five minutes this video covers the history of wool production, the qualities of wool fabric, and everything that goes into producing wool fabric. See a sheep being sheared, and watch as the wool travels through a factory where it is cleaned, blended with other fibers, carded, and spun into yarn. The yarn is then woven into fabric and finished.
How Mendel's Pea Plants Helped Us Understand Genetics
This three-minute video does a great job of quickly explaining several key concepts. Cleverly animated peas illustrate the difference between dominant and recessive traits and how these traits can be diagrammed using Punnett squares. The difference between genotype and phenotype is also covered, and the importance of Mendel's discoveries is nicely put into a modern-day context.
How Stuff Works: Corn Plastic
This 3-minute video clip from HowStuffWorks on the Discovery Channel illustrates how corn can be used to make plastic. Students can discuss and compare the use of a renewable resource, such as corn, to make plastic in comparison to petroleum, a non-renewable resource.
How Stuff Works: Popcorn
From Discovery Channel's How Stuff Works, watch how our favorite movie snack explodes from kernel to white fluffy treat. The shell of a corn kernel can withstand an internal temperature of 450 degrees. After that threshold, the kernel explodes. Find out what it takes to create the perfect popping kernel in this three-minute video.
How to Feed the World in 2050: Actions in a Changing Climate video
Learn how climate change has affected agriculture and how steps can be taken to preserve our ability to sustainably produce food for our planet.
How to Read Food Labels, From Free-range to Fair Trade
Listen to a 22-minute podcast describing food labels related to agricultural production practices.
How to Read Nutrition Facts - Food Labels Made Easy video
A 5-minute explanation of the Nutrition Facts label. Learn about servings, serving size, calories, fat, and more.
Introduction to Pollination video
This 2-minute video provides an animated illustration of the pollination of a flower. It also teaches flower anatomy to fully understand the role each part of the flower plays in pollination.
Learn GMO
Join director and writer, Nick Saik on his skeptical adventure to understand GMOs. Videos address specific questions such as Why are there two kinds of farming? Is the glass half empty or half full? or Why are there two kinds of 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.
Make Mine Milk
This 27-minute DVD teaches students where milk comes from, how milk is transported and processed, and how milk contributes to a nutritious diet.
Order this DVD online from agclassroomstore.com.Modern Marvels: Harvesting
Modern Marvels: Harvesting traces the development of the massive machines that have transformed a season's labor into the work of mere hours. Cutting, digging, picking, stripping, shaking and raking--whatever the crop, there's a custom machine to harvest it. It all began with hand picking, but today it's often one man and one machine harvesting hundreds of acres in a matter of hours. Harvesting 2 explores the efficient and sometimes bizarre harvesting methods that have arisen from the constant struggle between hand labor and mechanization in America's orchards and farm fields.
NMSU Field Trip! Video Series
Field Trip! is a series of video field trips you can take right in your classroom. Video field trips include: Beef, Cheese, Cotton, Honey, Milk, Onion, Peanuts, Pecans, Pistachios, Red Chile Spice, Salsa, Turf, and Wine!
NMSU Field Trip: Beef
Take a Field Trip! from the farm to the grill to find out how that sizzling steak got to the grocery store. Nutritious and delicious, beef is a staple on our tables.
NMSU Field Trip: Honey
It's common knowledge that honey comes from bees. But many people don't know how bees make it and why. Honey making is a collective effort between nature and man. It's a process that's involves bee colonies, native plant life, agricultural crops, and of course beekeepers. This Field Trip! explores historical uses of honey, the basics of honey bee behavior, the process through which honey is made, factors that affect honey flavor, the process of removing honey from the hive, and more.
NMSU Field Trip: Milk
Take a Field Trip! through the dairy to discover how milk gets in the carton. Whether you're dipping or pouring, milk is an essential part of our diet.
Oyster Farm Tour
Visit an oyster farm in Maine to learn about how oysters are grown and harvested.
Phosphate Mining Video
Phosphate is the "P" in N-P-K; one of three macronutrients that plants need to thrive. The Phosphate Mining video shows students the process of mining phosphate in the Southeastern region of the U.S. Take a close up look at where this element is found in the earth, how it is obtained, and how it is used as fertilizer to add nutrients to the soil to grow our food supply.
Photosynthesis video
This 12-minute video clip describes and illustrates photosynthesis. It also addresses the Calvin Cycle and photorespiration.
Planet Money Makes a T-shirt
This link highlights the growth and production of the cotton plant. Begin with a short video clip about the growth of cotton including its history with slaves. Continue by learning about the modern use of genetic engineering in the cotton industry today. Following the video you can learn where cotton is grown across the world and what technology is used to plant, harvest, and process it into fabric.
Popped Secret: The Mysterious Origin of Corn
View this 17-minute video to learn about the origins of corn. Discover how the domestication of corn impacted society and what plant domestic corn originates from. This video supports lessons on the domestication of plants and genetic evolution.
Population, Sustainability, and Malthus: Crash Course World History video
How many people can reasonably live on the Earth? Thomas Malthus got it totally wrong in the 19th century, but for some reason, he keeps coming up when we talk about population. In 1800, the human population of the Earth passed 1 billion, and Thomas Malthus posited that growth had hit its ceiling, and the population would level off and stop growing. He was totally wrong! There are 7 billion people on the planet now! John will teach a little about how Malthus made his calculations, and explain how Malthus came up with the wrong answer by not understanding the technological advances in agriculture that were improving population sustainability by providing a steady food supply.
Portion Size Me & Portion Size Me Too DVDs
"Portion size is the key to the American obesity epidemic," said James Painter, chair of Eastern Illinois University's School of Family and Consumer Sciences. He believed that healthy choices could be found in every fast-food restaurant. To prove his point, he followed two graduate students--254-pound Aaron and 111-pound Ellen--who ate portions suitable to their body types for a month. They could chose only foods from 10 fast-food restaurants and gas stations. Both ended up losing weight and lowering their cholesterol. While Portion Size Me showcases the details of the study, Portion Size Me Too highlights how they did it. Students will enjoy the details of how to make healthier choices at their favorite fast-food restaurants.
Potash Mining Video
Potassium is the "K" in N-P-K; one of three macronutrients that plants need to thrive. The Potash Mining video shows students the process of mining potassium (potash). Take a close up look at where this element is found in the earth, how it it was formed anciently, and how it is mined and then used as fertilizer to add nutrients to the soil to grow our food supply.
Rice Farming TV
Your students might be surprised to know that rice grows in the USA. Rice Farming TV is educational and dynamic. The episodes are presented in chronological order throughout the growing season. Learn how rice is planted, harvested, and more.
Robotic Farming of the Future
The University of Sydney's Australian Centre for Field Robotics are pioneers when it comes to robotic farming. Having developed a series of driverless tractors, they give us a sneak peek of how future farms and orchards will operate in the era of mass automation.
Science: What is Gluten? Here's How to see and Feel Gluten
What is gluten? All wheat flours contain two important proteins, glutenin and gliadin. These proteins bond together to create gluten. It allows breads to rise and cakes to have structure. Can you see gluten? Can you feel gluten. This 4-minute video has these answers and more.
Sheep - Utah's Agricultural Cornerstone
During the first decades of the 20th century, sheep were the most important livestock in Utah in both numbers and value. In the 1920s there were over 2.5 million sheep in Utah worth $23 million dollars! Utah, with its millions of acres of desert land, was an ideal region for raising sheep. This DVD explores the history, life cycle, and environmental issues associated with raising sheep in Utah. Learn from Utah wool growers about the hardships and future of this adaptable dual-purpose animal. This video is available on DVD or
YouTube.
Order this DVD online from agclassroomstore.com.Soil Science Videos
To celebrate the International Year of Soils in 2015, the Soil Science Society of America created monthly videos teaching about various soil topics. These videos are a great supplement to soil science lessons.
Soil, Not Dirt
Follow Rebecca Lybrand on a digital journey to connect soils, plants, and climate. Rebecca, a soil scientist explains some of her daily job tasks and teaches about soils in different climates and ecosystems.
Some Like it Hot: Climate Change and Agricultural Pests
Scientists and farmers are starting to notice that as California's winters warm up, the state is becoming more hospitable to agricultural pests resulting in crop destruction and undesirable traits in food. Secondary students can explore the impact of this phenomenon in this video.
Sorghum: The Super Grain
Explore the world of sorghum in school meals. Learn about its origin, growth in the United States, sustainability, and nutritional benefits. Discover how sorghum can be used in various recipes and its advantages as a gluten-free, high-fiber, and antioxidant-rich grain.
SupraSensor Could be Super Tool for Precision Agriculture
Preserving the environment and developing agricultural products that do not harm unintended targets are top priorities for many scientists, farmers, and environmentalists. See how new sensors aid with precision agricultural practices—maximizing productivity while minimizing energy use and environmental impacts.
T. Marzetti Virtual Field Trip
1-hour recorded field trip to the Marzetti Innovation Center in Columbus Ohio. Learn how soybean oil is used to create dressings, dips, sauces and bakery items for the T. Marzetti Company. The field trip highlights the science used to develop these products and introduces students to numerous careers in the food science industry.
TEDMED Talk: What Does the World Eat?
Peter Menzel is a freelance photojournalist known for his coverage of international feature stories on science and the environment, and his wife Faith D’Aluisio is a former award-winning television news producer. In this 14-minute talk, Menzel discusses the projects they have undertaken together, including publishing The Hungry Planet. He further explores the changes they have observed in what and how people eat around the world, touching on issues such as obesity and food security.
Taking Care of Business (DVD)
Help your students understand the difference between a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, and cooperative with this video from the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives. This 10-minute DVD highlights the distinguishing details of each type of business structure and gives examples that students can relate to. A great video for Business CTE or basic economics courses.
Order this DVD online from agclassroomstore.com.TedTalk- How to Fight Desertification and Reverse Climate Change
Secondary students can learn from scientist Allan Savory how and why fertile grasslands are changing into desert. It is a common belief that livestock grazing is causing or increasing this loss of rangelands. Discover a different cause and solution to this worldwide problem and how livestock can help.
TedTalk- The First 21 Days of a Bees Life
Photographer Anand Varma raised bees in his backyard and in front of a camera to get an up close view. This National Geographic project gives a lyrical glimpse into a beehive and reveals one of the biggest threats to its health, a mite that preys on baby bees in their first 21 days of life. The footage is set to music from Rob Moose and the Magik*Magik Orchestra. (This talk was part of a session at TED2015).
The Chloroplast video
In this YouTube video, Paul Anderson gives a detailed explanation in addition to visuals for explaining the purpose of chloroplasts during photosynthesis in plants. He explains how chloroplast will use the energy from the sun to form the chemical compound called glucose. The video also displays the structure of chloroplast, a description of light reaction, and the Calvin Cycle.
The Farming Robots of Tomorrow are Here Today
If we told you traditional agriculture was on the brink of a massive shift towards autonomy with machines doing the bulk of all the harvesting, would you believe it? Discover how robot farming machines are already doing the dirty work in more fields than people may realize.
The Future of Farming & Agriculture video
Farming is being revolutionized by a technological wave. This 12-minute video highlights technological advancements in both animal and plant agriculture. Learn how drones, robots, GPS systems, hydroponics, vertical farming systems, and more can help grow and harvest crops more efficiently. You can also see tools used in livestock production such as activity monitors, thermal imaging tools, and 3-D imaging which assist farmers in keeping their animals healthy.
The Importance of Pollinators
Pollinators are vitally important to agriculture, as well as our food system and ecosystems. They help thousands of flowering plants reproduce, from flowers to fruits and even some crops. Pollinator habitat can also provide benefits on the farm, such as preventing soil erosion and improving biodiversity. This video collection discusses the importance of pollinators and provides examples of the successful implementation of pollinator habitats on farmland.
The Journey of Milk
Watch this 4-minute video clip to teach about the dairy farm. Students will learn about what dairy cows eat and how they are cared for to produce the milk we drink and the dairy products we consume.
The Life of a Seed- Jake, a GMO Seed
The Life of a Seed is a 3-minute video clip which explores the basics of biotechnology. Learn about the history of plant breeding and how genetically modified crops are created.
The Price of Climate Audio Series
Listen to the Wall Street Journal's "Future of Everything" three-part audio series on the price of climate. These podcasts will cause students to critically think about the implications of climate change related to their food, clothing, and shelter.
The Real Reason Leaves Change Color in the Fall
Use this video for an advanced explanation for why leaves change color.
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.
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?
Timelapse: Photosynthesis Seen from Space
Witness the influence of the sun on the seasonal abundance of plant matter produced on land and in our oceans. Use this video as a catalyst to discuss questions about which areas of our planet are most productive and why, how plants respond to seasonal changes in sunlight, and about carbon absorption.
Up Close Experience: Bees
Have you ever seen the inside of a beehive? Honey bees play an important role in agriculture and our daily lives. Explore a beehive up close in this 360 video.
Utah Beefscapes
Beef cattle are the leading source of farm income in Utah. This video is a mountain of beefy goodness that allows you to examine Utah beef from farm to fork.
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?
Vertical Farming video and activities
This 2-minute video explores a potential innovation in agriculture, vertical farming. Watch the video and use the discussion questions and accompanying activities to help students think critically as they weigh the pros and cons of this method of farming.
Virtual Chicken
Watch the virtual animation of the step-by-step process of a hen producing an egg. Students will learn the parts of an egg as it is developed. This is an excellent way for students to gain a greater understanding of egg science.
Virtual Egg Farm Field Trips
Take a virtual tour of three different egg farms. Learn why each farmer chose their career, how their farm manages their ecological footprint and how they conserve natural resources all while raising the laying hens that produce eggs for our food supply.
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.
What Can We Learn from Cuba's Organic Farms? video
This 6-minute video highlights the success of Cuban farmers in growing their food using organic agriculture practices. This method was adopted incidentally in the 90s when the country lost its access to fertilizers, fuel, and food. Out of necessity, they began producing their own food without fertilizers, pesticides, or fuel for tractors. See the successes, benefits, and challenges of organic agriculture practices.
What Happens When Farming Goes High-Tech?
Soil maps, GPS guidance, and even drones are becoming critical tools for modern farmers. These methods of precision agriculture can help increase yields and save farmers a surprising sum along the way.
What is Regenerative Agriculture?
Regenerative agriculture is an effective way to restore biodiversity and stabilize the climate, but what exactly is it? This video explores three different regenerative practices that have great potential both in food production and in healing the land.
What is Sustainable Agriculture?
A video series highlighting common practices farmers and ranchers use to improve profitability, qualify of life, and environmental stewardship.
Why Can a Cow Eat Grass? Video
Beef and dairy cattle provide us with hundreds of different products, and all they need is an ample supply of grass and other plants. Most of these plants people can't even eat, so why can cows eat them? This Gee Whiz in Agriculture video provides an in-depth look at the digestive system of cattle, focusing on differences between cattle and humans. Take a journey into a cow’s stomach and microscopically view the stomach contents. Ten-year old “experts” will share their “MOO-ving” experiences with you. This video is available on DVD or
YouTube.
Order this DVD online from agclassroomstore.com.
Why are GMOs Bad?
This video clip provides a brief, but comprehensive introduction to GMOs. The video defines what a GMO is, the history of genetic engineering, how GMOs are created, what traits genetically modified crops exhibit, how traditional plant breeding differs from genetic engineering and how all methods of plant breeding have been used to improve crops through the years.
Will the Last Farmer in America Please Turn Out the Light? video
Immigration policy affects how we eat... what we eat... and how much it costs. Discover the necessity farmers have for skilled labor in order to plant, grow, and harvest the food on our tables. When did immigrant farm labor begin and what challenges would occur if this work force was lost?
Wings of Life
One-third of the world’s food supply depends on pollinators. This full-length movie uses stunning imagery to explore the interactions of butterflies, hummingbirds, bees, and bats with flowers. Use this DVD as a companion resource to any lesson on pollinators.
World Population History
Our population is expected to grow to over 9 billion by 2050, yet the ability of our environment to provide space, food, and energy are limited. Explore population growth from 1 CE to 2050 with this video, see how our numbers impact the environment, and learn about the key advances and events allowing our numbers to grow.
Worm Farm
This four-minute video tells the story of Kevin, who's been fascinated with garbage since he was really little. He wanted to put an end to landfills and make it easier for people to recycle. How? Worms decompose organic waste! Learn how can worms help us with our garbage in this engaging video.
Poster/Infographic
Anatomy of a Worker Bee
Honey bees are extremely important to humans. Bees pollinate 95 different crops, helping to create nearly one-third of the world’s food supply. Use this 38" x 25" laminated poster to identify each bee body part.
Order this poster online from agclassroomstore.com.
Berries Flowchart
This three-page informational sheet describes the process of how berries are grown and harvested, how they get from the farm to the store, and nutrition facts. Words and graphics are used to portray this information for strawberries, blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, and blackberries.
Print your own or order a set of 30" x 8" printed charts from
agclassroomstore.com.
Chew It Twice Poster
Did you know that a cow spends six hours eating and eight hours chewing its cud each day? Use this 25" x 32" activity poster to follow the path food takes on its way through the cow.
Order this poster online from agclassroomstore.com.
Creative Solutions to Ending School Food Waste
Americans waste enough food every day to fill a 90,000 seat football stadium. Approximately one-third of all food is wasted at the retail and consumer levels. While research has shown that food wasted by children is similar to the rest of the U.S. population, there are many ways schools can reduce food waste and teach students about the impact it has on the environment and in their community.
Crop Modification Techniques
To help educate people about the many methods that are used to generate new traits in plants, Biology Fortified has created an infographic on six different crop modification techniques, with examples of crops generated with each method. The webpage has detailed explanations of each modification technique, helpful to both teachers and students to recognize all the ways plants can be selectively bred to obtain desired characteristics.
Grains Flowchart
This three-page informational sheet describes the process of how grains are grown and harvested, how they get from the farm to the store, and nutrition facts. Words and graphics are used to portray this information for barley, corn, oats, rice, rye, sorghum, and wheat.
Print your own or order a set of 30" x 8" printed charts from
agclassroomstore.com.
Honey Bee Study Prints
Twelve 13" x 18" color enlargements from Dadant & Sons depict various behavioral characteristics of honey bees and scenes of beekeeping. Instructional material printed on the back of each color photograph tells what can be observed and learned from the picture, asks questions, gives additional information on the subject, and suggests other sources of information.
Livestock Flowchart
This three-page informational sheet describes the processes of how an animal grows, how it gets from the farm to the store, and what products are produced from that animal. Words and simple graphics are used to portray this information for beef cattle, dairy cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens, and turkeys.
Print your own or order a set of 30" x 8" printed charts from
agclassroomstore.com.
Living Science Career Cards (posters or mini-posters)
The Living Science Career Cards feature 32 science careers associated with our nation's food, agricultural, and natural resource system. This is a great resource to help your students better understand the exciting and diverse array of employment opportunities for scientists working to generate new knowledge and to advance technology. These cards are available for
free download.
Meat Cut Fact Cards
Print these black-and-white fact cards to illustrate the wholesale and retail cuts of meat found in beef, lamb, pork, and chicken. Use them as a coloring pages or as pages in an interactive notebook.
MyPlate Activity Poster
Use this 30" x 26" MyPlate poster to teach your students about food groups and healthy eating. MyPlate is the USDA’s visual nutrition guide, which depicts a place setting showing the five food groups and the relative proportions they take up in a healthy diet. MyPlate provides a simple, highly visual approach to nutrition that is directly applicable to daily life.
Order this poster online from agclassroomstore.com.
Nutrition Posters
How would you rather eat calcium, fiber, iron, protein, vitamin C, and zinc? This set of posters provides examples of foods that fit into each category and includes nutrition information about each.
Nuts Flowchart
This six-page informational sheet describes the process of how nuts are grown and harvested, how they get from the farm to the store, and nutrition facts. Words and graphics are used to portray this information for almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, peanuts, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios, and walnuts.
Print your own or order a set of 30" x 8" printed charts from
agclassroomstore.com.
Oilseeds Flowchart
This three-page informational sheet describes the process of how oilseed crops are grown and harvested, how the products get from the farm to the store, and nutrition facts. Words and graphics are used to portray this information for canola, cottonseed, peanuts, soybeans, and sunflower seeds.
Print your own or order a set of 30" x 8" printed charts from
agclassroomstore.com.
Parts of a Flower Poster
Introduce students to the processes of pollination and how traits are inherited from parents to offspring in plants with this interactive poster. The cross-section diagram clearly shows the petals, sepal, anther, pollen grains, filament, stigma, style, and ovary of a flower.
Order this poster online from agclassroomstore.com.
Pizza Time Bulletin Board
This 42" x 42" bulletin board uses the skill of "telling time" to help students understand the time it takes to grow, process, and produce the ingredients of a pizza. It can easily be used to teach concepts of time, community involvement, raw to finished products, careers, and much more. The hands of the clock are movable. An activity sheet is included to demonstrate to students just how long it really takes to make a pizza. You'd be surprised!
Order this bulletin board online from agclassroomstore.com.
Stop the Invasion Fact Sheet Set
With the Stop the Invasion Fact Sheet Set, students will read about six different invasive species, the damage they cause and how to stop their spread. Download the entire set.
The Power of Choice Bulletin Board
In a society with so many choices and a bewildering array of options, it's important to learn about healthful eating and active living. Students need to discover the connection between their food and the farm, learn facts about food and nutrition, and explore ways to be more active. This 42" x 42" nutrition bulletin board emphasizes the importance of making healthy choices that will last a lifetime.
Order this bulletin board online from agclassroomstore.com.
What Is Agriculture?
How would you define agriculture? Not with
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary. That just doesn't fully capture the importance of agriculture or how it touches all of our lives. Learn how to define agriculture with five words by using this 22" x 34" poster, which engagingly displays the 5-F's of agriculture—farming, food, fabric, forestry, and flowers.
Order this poster online from agclassroomstore.com.
Where Does Your Cheeseburger Come From?
Do you know the source of the burger, bun and toppings that make a delicious cheeseburger? This 11" x 17" student poster breaks down the cheeseburger ingredients to help students correlate the farm-to-fork path. These are available to educators free of charge from Minnesota Agriculture in the Classroom.
Who Makes the Best Burger?
This 42" x 25" bulletin board teaches students about the production of the ingredients in hamburgers. A large picture of a hamburger is featured in the middle of the bulletin board and pictures of the ingredients and their descriptions are in each corner. An envelope asking students to vote for "Who makes the best burger?" is included. The envelope can be removed after the voting to display the words "FARMERS and RANCHERS." The bulletin board is mailed in a reusable storage tube.
Order this bulletin board online from agclassroomstore.com.
Agricultural Biotechnology Questions and Answers
What is Agricultural Biotechnology and how is it used? This informative text breaks down the questions surrounding biotechnology and how it is used for agricultural production. The article breaks down four topics: Genetically Engineered (GE) Crops, How Other Countries Gain Access to GE Technology, How Crops and Foods are Assessed for Safety, and Developing a Biosafety System.
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.
Are consumers ready to embrace and eat lab-grown meat?
Public attitudes about cultured "meat" vary widely. Use this article to introduce students to the possibility. Discuss the pros and cons and develop a name for this alternative meat.
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.
Crop Cards
Double-sided cards representing ten agricultural crops. Each card shows the plant in each stage of growth, explains how and when it is planted and harvested and describes its use as feed for animals or food for humans. The cards can be printed from the attached PDF or prints can be ordered from the Nebraska Foundation for Agricultural Awareness.
Dig In: Hands-On Soil Investigations
Give students the dirt on soil with a practical book that brings new meaning to the term "hands-on." Using these 12 activities and two original stories as guides, kids will soon be up to their elbows in the study of soil formation, habitats and land use, animals that depend on soil, plants that grow in soil, soil science, and soil conservation. Each teacher-tested lesson plan offers helpful background, assessment methods, and suggestions for further exploration.
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.
Fighting Weeds: Can we reduce, or even eliminate herbicides by utilizing robotics and AI?
Take a quick look at some of the technical strategies being pursued in farming, robotics, and AI. Which of these robots do you think you'll see in the future? Could robotics revolutionize farming practices for weed control?
Food Chemistry Experiments
This free, downloadable 60-page booklet contains seven basic food science experiments designed for middle and high school students. Includes teacher/student activity guides.
Food Safety A to Z Reference Guide
A treasure trove of scientific and comprehensive food safety information in one user-friendly, alphabetical format. Use this guide as a research tool for reinforcing the science concepts in the video, performing the activities and labs, and to further enhance your knowledge of food safety.
Garden Genetics: Teaching With Edible Plants
Tired of teaching genetic concepts with the same old pink petunias and Mendel’s peas? With Garden Genetics, you can present core content in ways that are fun for students and fresh for you. This two-part set—a teacher edition and companion student edition—is adaptable to biology students at all levels, including AP. It uses a series of activities and inquiry-based experiments with familiar foods to teach genetics while helping students make connections to ecology, evolution, and plant biology.
Genetically Modified Food: Good, Bad, Ugly
Review this article to hear multiple perspectives on the issue of GMOs. Why do some fear the technology while others believe it is a solution to many challenges in food production?
Gourmet Lab: The Scientific Principles Behind Your Favorite Foods
Hands-on, inquiry-based, and relevant to every student’s life, Gourmet Lab serves up a full menu of activities for science teachers of grades 6-12. This collection of 15 hands-on experiments, each of which includes a full set of both student and teacher pages, challenges students to take on the role of scientist and chef as they boil, bake, and toast their way to better understanding of science concepts from chemistry, biology, and physics. By cooking edible items such as pancakes and butterscotch, students have the opportunity to learn about physical changes in states of matter, acids and bases, biochemistry, and molecular structure. What better topic than food to engage students to explore science in the natural world?
Health and Nutrition from the Garden
This guide from the Junior Master Gardener series is packed with basic gardening information that includes growing techniques, food safety, healthy eating tips, and nutritious snack food preparation. This book is a great tool for educators who use garden programs to teach students about health, nutrition, food safety, and wise decision-making skills. Grades 3-5.
How Safe is Your Salad?
Learn about the safety system and protocols farmers and farm workers must follow while growing and harvesting lettuce and other leafy greens grown in Arizona. After an E. coli outbreak in 2006 the leafy green industry began approaching food safety in a new way. Learn the steps taken to protect your salad from foodborne illness.
How a New Evolutionary Map Could Help Farmers Eliminate Fertilizer
Many key food crops require nitrogen fertilizer, which can have negative effects on the environment if not managed correctly. Other crops, such as those from the legume family have special nitrogen fixing characteristics which return nitrogen to the soil. Read this article to discover how scientists are trying to transfer the nitrogen fixing trait to other plants.
Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
This TIME magazine article highlights the work and photography of Peter Menzel as he traveled the world documenting the food average families throughout the globe consumed in a typical week. Discover how culture, climate, economic status, food costs, and other factors impact the food a family consumes.
Illustrated Accounts of Moments in Agricultural History
Modern Farmer magazine offers a number of illustrated accounts by Lucas Adams that depict interesting and important moments in agricultural history. The Illustrated Account of 'The Great Die-Up' of the 1880s tells the story of the winter of 1886-7, which was so harsh that only about one out of ten cattle survived, and the era of the open range came to an end soon after. Other accounts address topics such as the Pleasant Valley Sheep War, mulberry and silk production in 1830s Connecticut, a maple syrup heist, and dairy farming in the 1940s. These graphic novel style articles are sure to engage students from upper elementary to high school and older.
Magical Sour Cabbage: How Sauerkraut Helped Save the Age of Sail
"Super food" is a well-known term representing a food rich in nutrients. Did you know sauerkraut was a superfood on sailing ships in the 1500-1800s? Introduce or support a lesson on food preservation, food storage, or nutrients by teaching your students how fermented cabbage prevented sailors from coming down with scurvy on long voyages.
Mandarin Oranges: Protecting the Flavor of This Popular Fruit
This article can enrich a lesson on food safety, transportation, food packaging, or food science with a real-life example. Illustrate how food scientists are researching the mandarin orange to protect the flavor of the fruit after it is harvested.
Mobile System Removes Phosphorus From Manure
Read about the research for a mobile system designed to remove phosphorus from cow manure. This technology may offer dairy farmers greater flexibility in where, when, and how they use the nutrient to fertilize crops.
NASA Shows U.S. Corn Belt Literally Glowing with Productivity
Help students identify the "Corn Belt" region of the United States with an image taken from space which shows the agricultural productivity of the region.
Native American Gardening
This book provides stories, projects, and recipes that can easily be adapted for use in the classroom. Native American Gardening brings the magical world of stories together with the nurturing experience of gardening. Native stories lay the groundwork for understanding, while hands-on activities show readers how to continue the work of generations of Native farmers.
Natural GMO? Sweet Potato Genetically Modified 8,000 Years Ago
Genetically modified crops have specific genes transferred from one genome to another. Typically it is believed that this could not happen naturally without human assistance. However, this article reports on the evidence that the sweet potato has a gene originally found in a bacterium.
Nutrition Research Articles
See a collection of articles reporting the results of various research projects carried out by the United States Department of Agriculture. These articles can help secondary students make connections with topics such as food, nutrition, and overall health.
Precision Agriculture Technologies and Factors Affecting Their Adoption
Precision agriculture technologies are playing an increasing role in farm production. Examples include GPS tractor guidance systems and GPS soil and yield mapping for variable-rate applications. This USDA report discusses adoption rates for using these technologies and factors impacting adoption of use.
Programming Sun and Rain
On the cramped urban campus of Boston Latin School, students grow an acre’s worth of vegetables in an old shipping container that’s been transformed into a computer-controlled hydroponic farm. Using a wall-mounted keyboard or a mobile app, the student farmers can monitor their crops, tweak the climate, make it rain and schedule sunrise. Use this article to illustrate an example of hydroponics, the use of technology in agriculture, and/or urban farming.
Pulp as Biodegradable Plastic in Disposable Food Containers
Use this article when talking about alternative sources for creating a biodegradable plastic. Scientists working at the United States Department of Agriculture have created a type of plastic safer for the environment which is made from sugar beet pulp that is added to a biodegradable polymer.
Smartphones Enlisted to Battle Crop Disease
Is a smartphone really that smart? In this article a research scientists from Penn State and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology are joining together in an effort to develop a smartphone app that will diagnose a crop disease from an image. Healthy crops can become infected by thousands of pests and the first line of defense is the farmer. This is a good article for illustrating the use of modern technology to increase and encourage crop health.
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.
Weather-Tracking Tool Helps Track Migrating Insects
Farmers are faced with the potential of crop damage each year that stems from migrating insects such as the corn earworm. However, signals taken from the National Weather Service Doppler radar network has the potential for tracking insects that move through the night such as the corn earworm. This resource supports reasons why farmers are concerned with productivity in crops that can be completely devastated by migrating insects.
Wiki Watershed
A web toolkit designed to help teachers and students advance in their knowledge and stewardship of fresh water.
Worms Eat My Garbage
The book that started a backyard worm revolution over three decades ago continues to be the definitive guide to vermicomposting—the process of using worms to recycle human food and other organic waste into a nutrient-rich fertilizer for plants. This book provides complete illustrated instructions on setting up and maintaining a small-scale worm composting system. The topics covered include worm species, anatomy of the red worm, the worm bin ecosystem, the care and feeding of worms, setting up a worm bin, harvesting worm castings, and the benefits of castings to plants.
Yum! Fruit and Vegetable Wraps
Food scientists have a career in developing foods that are appealing to the eye and taste bud as well as being nutritious. Use this research article about fruit and vegetable wraps to highlight what a career in food science would entail.
Website
23andMe
A World of Cotton
This natural plant fiber is a globally important crop with many uses. But cotton growers are continually dealing with environmental challenges like drought and pests. Explore the content of this website to learn more about cotton, its wild ancestors, and some of the approaches scientists are using to study and improve cotton plants.
Ag & Food Careers
This website, put together by a partnership of agricultural organizations in Pennsylvania, has agricultural career resources that are applicable to all states. See over 50 careers in agriculture through videos, and infographics on the
Ag & Food Careers List. Additionally, there is an
Educator Resource section that includes 4 web scavenger hunts to guide students through the videos.
All About Corn: e-learning modules for educators and students
This website includes a series of interactive online modules with nearly five hours of programming on everything about corn, targeted to high school students.
An Unusual Snack for Cows, a Powerful Fix for Climate
One of the most powerful weapons in the fight against climate change is washing up on shorelines around the world, unnoticed by most beachgoers. It’s seaweed. Specifically, Asparagopsis taxiformis and Asparagopsis armata — two species of a crimson submarine grass that drifts on waves and tides all around the world’s oceans. See how seaweed is being researched as a feed additive to reduce methane production in livestock.
Before the Plate Website
The Before the Plate website contains information about the Before the Plate documentary and videos and explanations for each step of the farm-to-fork process for beef, potatoes, honey, milk, and sunflowers.
Buried Seeds, Buried Treasure
Over 100 years ago, a scientist named William J. Beal had a question: how long do seeds survive underground? To find out, he started an experiment. In 1879 he filled 20 bottles with sand and seeds from local plants. William buried these bottles and created a map to document their location, hoping that future scientists would continue to dig them up to test whether the seeds would still grow long after his death. Supplement a seed lesson with this fascinating story and science experiment.
Careers for Green Thumbs
Students interested in a plant science career can use this website to find information on specialized career paths in the fields of agriculture, horticulture and forestry. Discover the demand for nursery and greenhouse workers, horticulturists, florists, flower specialists, and more.
Corteva Grows Science: Outreach Career Paths
Cotton Campus
The Cotton Campus is a digital simulation of a college university all about cotton. Begin with how cotton is grown and harvested and then continue your "education" to learn how the fibers are processed into fabric, how to wash and care for cotton fabric, and other fun facts.
Cotton Counts Educational Resources
This website provides a variety of publications for teaching about cotton, including printable handouts on cotton and the consumer, what can be made with a bale of cotton, and the history of cotton from its first planting in the United States until today. An online presentation provides images and text to show your students how cotton goes from field to fabric.
Crop Science Career Profiles
The Crop Science Society of America promotes and encourages career opportunities in the agronomic, crop, soil and environmental sciences. The Career Placement webpage contains career profiles, salary survey reports, and career brochures for teachers and students who are interested in learning more about available jobs in these areas.
DNA Learning Center
The DNA Learning Center (DNALC) is the world's first science center devoted entirely to genetics education and is an operating unit of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, an important center for molecular genetics research. The DNALC website provides links to a family of educational Internet sites that cover broad topics, including basic heredity, genetic disorders, eugenics, the discovery of the structure of DNA, DNA sequencing, cancer, and plant genetics.
Dirt to Dinner
Looking for topics to engage students in critical thinking and argumentation? This site deals in "food matters" highlighting the relationship between producers and consumers using credible resources on the topics of global food production, sustainable agriculture, and nutrition.
Dirt-to-Dinner: Food Matters
The goal of Dirt-to-Dinner (D2D) is to educate the curious consumer on how food travels from the farm to our forks. Verified science is used to answer questions on our global food supply chain, sustainability in agriculture, the integrity of our food, and its nutrition. Information is focused on how and why countries are dependent on each other for a constant food supply, looks for the balance between feeding the world’s population today without compromising the environment or future generations of tomorrow, and examines the integrity of our food.
Discover Dairy
"Discover Dairy" is an educational website for teachers and students. The website includes elementary level videos about the dairy farm, lesson plans for teachers, and activities.
Eggs in Schools
The Eggs in Schools website has a variety of classroom resources and tools including virtual field trips, activities, games, cooking videos, and lesson plans.
Employment Opportunities for College Graduates in Food, Renewable Energy, and the Environment
This report describes projected job opportunities for U.S. college graduates in the food, agricultural, and natural resources system for the years 2020-2025. It highlights areas where graduating students are most likely to find jobs. The publication also describes factors that are driving trends in the job market, as well as characteristics of students graduating from U.S. Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Forestry, and Veterinary Medicine. Visit the website or download the printable PDF.
Esri GIS for Agriculture
This website from the creators of ArcGIS mapping software provides articles, interactive demos, and videos illustrating how GIS technology can be applied to agriculture.
Evolution of Corn
How did we get the familiar large yellow ear of corn today? Through the study of genetics, we know today that corn's wild ancestor is a grass called teosinte. Teosinte doesn't look much like maize, especially when you compare its kernals to those of corn. But at the DNA level, the two are surprisingly alike.
FAOSTAT: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Statistics Division
FAOSTAT provides free access to food and agriculture data for over 245 countries and territories and covers all FAO regional groupings from 1961 to the most recent year available.
Fight Bac! Food Safety Education
The Fight Bac website contains many helpful resources for teachers. You will find information about preventing foodborne illness, proper hand washing, kids games, activities, brochures, flyers, and video clips to enhance your lesson plans.
Food Security & Nutrition Around the World
This website contains the full report from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United States about food security and nutrition around the world. View numerous graphs showing trends over time for hunger, malnutrition, child stunting, and other related impacts of food insecurity.
GMO Answers
GMO Answers is an educational website to answer your questions about GMO's, or Genetically Modified Organisms. You will find infographics, images, videos, posters, and handouts to use as learning tools.
Genetic Science Learning Center
The Genetic Science Learning Center provides many teaching tools to supplement lessons on genetics, heredity, cells, cloning, and more. You will find virtual labs and simulations, graphics, and animations.
Growing a Nation Multimedia Timeline
This multimedia timeline pairs with Growing a Nation lesson plans using interactive technology to bring depth and meaning to historical events. The timeline includes stories and is linked to lesson plans that merge seamlessly with existing American history textbooks and high school history curricula. The program covers historical events such as the Dust Bowl, Great Depression, Civil War, and the impact of science and technological growth.
Hungry Planet Family Food Portraits
The Peter Menzel Photography website provides an archive of the photos included in the Hungry Planet book, which depict everything an average family consumes in a week along with the food cost. These portraits provide a glimpse into kitchens from Norway to China to Mexico, raising questions about how culture and environment influence the cost and calories of diets around the world.
Insect Herbivores and Plants
Visit this website to take a deeper look at the connection between herbivorous insects and the plants they eat, explore a gallery of insect herbivores, and discover methods and tools to keep insect herbivores from eating our crops.
Journey 2050
The Journey 2050 website focuses on the year 2050 as a key moment in time when the world's population is estimated to be 9 billion. Answer the question, "How will we sustainably feed 9 billion people by the year 2050?" Find four games and seven videos to learn about sustainable agriculture.
Journey of a Gene
This website engages students in the genetic engineering process in a problem and solution format. The video series describes a plant disease in soybeans and then illustrates the steps in genetic engineering that could be employed to develop seeds that are resistant to the disease.
Labels Unwrapped
The Labels Unwrapped project was launched to address the frustration and confusion caused by food labels. Laws and regulations that govern the labeling of food products are complex and, in some instances, ambiguous. Because everyone eats food every day, the creators of this site wanted to unwrap the law behind the labels on various types of food products and provide an accessible informational resource for anyone who wants to better understand the language and imagery that can both inform and confuse consumers.
Like Your Food? Thank a Trucker
Tired of higher food prices? The food industry is focusing on tighter cost controls to hold the line against future increases. But you might be surprised to see what worries food executives most. Explore the importance of transportation in the food supply chain using this article from Dirt to Dinner.
MyPlate
MyPlate is the USDA's food guidance symbol that illustrates the five food groups using the familiar image of a place setting for a meal. A wide variety of resources are provided on the associated MyPlate website.
National FFA AgExplorer
AgExplorer is a comprehensive career resource to help you explore the broad range of careers within the industry of agriculture. Careers may have you using advanced equipment, creating new hybrid seeds, raising animals, managing people, or designing new products and packaging. The industry of agriculture can open up a world of possibilities, and the demand for professionals in every agricultural area is high. Learn more about which career might be right for you by watching the videos, exploring the career pages, and completing the Career Finder interactive.
National Geographic: What the World Eats
Do you know which country in the world consumes the most daily calories? Which country consumes the most bread or meat? View a series of pie graphs representing countries throughout the globe to answer these questions and more. Each graph displays the typical diet from that country broken down into food groups such as produce, dairy & eggs, meat, sugar & fat, and grains. You can also see how diets have changed from the year 1961 until the present.
Nitrogen & Agriculture
This interactive site explores the importance of nitrogen for plant, animal, and soil health. Students are able to build amino acid and fertilizer molecules and calculate molecular weight in relation to nitrogen content.
Pathful Connect
Pathful Connect matches teachers and students with the right industry professionals virtually, without having to spend much planning time or leaving the classroom, while providing an effective way for companies to extend education outreach and create equity of access.
Phenomenon
Find a master list of phenomena and corresponding resources to implement as episodes in a phenomenon storyline. Resources are categorized by grade level and cover grades K-12.
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.
SOW Seeds of Wonder
In Project S.O.W., youth work together to investigate how to grow food, explore their relationship with the land and food system, and practice leadership in their communities. Youth discover the power of food gardening to provide their families and communities with fresh and affordable food, and experience firsthand the resilience, confidence, and connection that this time-honored practice brings. Resources can be paired with school gardening curriculum for ages 13-19.
Science in Your Shopping Cart
We pay less for food than citizens of other nations; the United States enjoys the cheapest food in the world. Each year, dozens of improved products and new varieties of fruits, nuts, and vegetables emerge from the laboratories and greenhouses of the Agricultural Research Service. But walking through the grocery store, do we ever consider where such an abundance and variety of food and products come from?
View the Science in Your Shopping Cart eReader or order copies from AgClassroomStore. (Fall 2024)
Learn about ARS research and how it affects your food using the
Science in Your Shopping Cart Factsheets and the
Science in Your Shopping Cart Podcasts.
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.
Sheep 101
The purpose of the Sheep 101 website is to teach 4-H and FFA members, students, teachers, beginning shepherds, and the general public about sheep, their products, how they are raised, and their contributions to society. The site uses simple language and pictures to illustrate the various topics.
Soil Health Education Resources
Soil Life
Soil Life is a website designed to change the way the world looks at soil—digging into what's dirty and calling into question what's clean. This website includes an interactive, graphics-based introduction to soil science, a media hub of soils-related content, and actionable ways to protect and promote soils and life.
Soil Science Society of America
The Soil Science Society of America website hosts dozens of soil resources specifically for educators. Find lessons, activities, maps, and helpful information aligned to NGSS standards.
State Fact Sheets
Visit this website and click on your state to see statistics from the Economic Research Service and United States Department of Agriculture. State fact sheets provide information on population, employment, income, farm characteristics, farm financial indicators, and top commodities, exports, and counties for each state in the United States.
Thanksgiving Maps and Posters
Visit this website to see maps and graphs to discover where your Thanksgiving dinner foods such as green beans, carrots, celery, sweet corn, cranberries, onions, pecans, potatoes, pumpkins, squash, sweet potatoes, turkey, and wheat were produced.
The American Dairy Industry
This online special collections exhibit from the USDA National Agricultural Library includes sections on the early history of the dairy industry, government contributions to dairying, and research in the private sector.
The FOOD Museum On-Line
This website provides a wide array of resources related to food, including videos, articles, and book reviews. The mission of the FOOD Museum is to research, collect, preserve, exhibit, and explain the history and social significance of the world's most important foods, and bring artifacts and programs to audiences of all ages.
The Food Timeline
Ever wonder what foods the Vikings ate when they set off to explore the new world? How Thomas Jefferson made his ice cream? What the pioneers cooked along the Oregon Trail? Who invented the potato chip...and why? Welcome to the Food Timeline! Food history presents a fascinating buffet of popular lore and contradictory facts. Some people will tell you it's impossible to express this topic in exact timeline format. They are correct. Most foods we eat are not invented; they evolve.
The Science of Cooking
Visit this website for an archive of webcasts, labs, videos, and other teaching resources that connect cooking and science. Candy, bread, eggs, pickles, meat, and seasoning are highlighted.
The Sugar Association
The scientific voice of the sugar industry, this website offers resources about real sugar from sugar beets and sugar cane with the goal of enhancing consumer understanding and confidence in the role that sugar plays in a nutritious, balanced, and enjoyable diet.
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.
Tractor Timeline- A History of Tractors
Use this interactive tractor timeline to learn about the history of tractors. Dive into the history of tractor development and see how the evolution of these farm implements has changed how we farm and made it possible to increase our crop yields.
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.
Web Soil Survey
The Web Soil Survey provides soil data and information for your specific area to help cater your soil lesson to your own community. Visit the website link below for instructions, then click on
"Start WSS" to find your soil data.
What's In My Food?
Would you like to learn more about the ingredients in your food? Common questions about our food include: Does it contain GMOs? Does the packaging contain BPA? and What are the ingredients? This website contains detailed information about these topics for common foods such as soups, sauces, juices, pasta, crackers, and cookies.
