Farmers faced tough times. While most Americans enjoyed relative prosperity for most of the 1920s, the Great Depression for the American farmer really began after World War I. Much of the Roaring '20s was a continual cycle of debt for the American farmer, stemming from falling farm prices and the need to purchase expensive machinery. When the stock market crashed in 1929 sending prices in an even more downward cycle, many American farmers wondered if their hardscrabble lives would ever improve.

This lesson gives students a better perspective as to how acreage is determined. Using the computer in their pocket students learn to calculate area in feet and acres. Using their results the can calculate biomass, board feet per acre, or even the amount of electrical fencing needed to protect a meadow.

The Agriscience/Intro to Agriculture course helps students acquire a broad understanding of a variety of agricultural areas, develop an awareness of the many career opportunities in agriculture, participate in occupationally relevant experiences, and work cooperatively with a group to develop and expand leadership abilities. Students study California agriculture, agricultural business, agricultural technologies, natural resources, and animal, plant, and soil sciences.

After identifying technology in agriculture, this lesson will address current agriculture technology that is of current public interest.

This lesson is designed to make future livestock producers understand what concerns the American consumer has when it comes to livestock production systems. Students will be given the opportunity to develop their own definition of "holistic livestock management" and learn the basics for utilizing these techniques. Students will also be brought up to speed on the most recent laws and regulations that impact the livestock industry and consumers.

This is the culminating lesson for Battle of the Seeds. In this lesson, students will evaluate the effectiveness of different types of weed control (none, manual and chemical) and different types of seed (genetically modified and non-genetically modified). They will then utilize the information from this lab to perform a cost-analysis and determine which type of seed and weed control gives the best outcome financially.

In this activity, kids will work on two fundamental early math skills – sorting/classifying, and graphing. There will also be some great fine motor skill practice! Includes place-based discussion questions, activity instructions, extension activities, songs, and student graph worksheets.NGSS: K-LS1-1, 1-LS1-1, partially meets K-ESS3-1 (book and discussion)Common Core: MP.4Time: 45 minutesMatierals: bag of dried beans ("16 bean soup"), paper bowls, glue, chart paper, the book "One Bean" or similar book about growing food plants, especially beans.

This curriculum builds upon many years of educating students in the garden and scales up content across grades and lessons for instructional scaffolding. It is designed as an interactive teaching tool to be co-taught with classroom teachers and garden instructors as leads. Each lesson connects directly to standards: Next Generation Science, Common Core State, Physical Education, and Environmental and Health Education. The concise and easy to-follow lessons are a packed 45 minutes for preschool through fifth grade. Flexibility is important, so some lessons include several activities that teachers can choose from to accommodate their lesson plans. Consistency is also important, so lessons follow themes and structures found in the Curriculum Map. 360 pages.

In this BrainVenture "Is Peanut Butter Made From Nuts or Legumes?" K-2, student learn how peanut butter is made.

In "Is Peanut Butter Made From Nuts or Legumes?" students discover how peanut butter is made from start to finish while answering the question: nut or legume.

***LOGIN REQUIRED*** This lesson will discuss the process of respiration. We will also compare the similarities and differences between respiration and photosynthesis.

This task was developed by high school and postsecondary mathematics and agriculture sciences educators, and validated by content experts in the Common Core State Standards in mathematics and the National Career Clusters Knowledge & Skills Statements. It was developed with the purpose of demonstrating how the Common Core and CTE Knowledge & Skills Statements can be integrated into classroom learning - and to provide classroom teachers with a truly authentic task for either mathematics or CTE courses.

The curriculum section provides over one hundred garden-based lessons to create, expand, and sustain garden-based learning experiences. It offers practical ideas and resources for every level of garden-based learning from sprouting seeds to understanding the food system.

This curriculum section was compiled by the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources Garden-Based Learning Workgroup. The content for this section was borrowed, with permission, from various resources. It was our goal to use existing resources as not to “recreate the wheel” and to give a broad example of the garden-based learning resources that are currently in print.

The section is divided into 12 theme areas with applications for primary and upper grade level students.

In this lesson students will learn about the five types of nutrients and their purposes. This lesson will also cover symptoms of nutritional deficiencies in livestock. I divide this lesson into two class periods. On the first day we talk about nutrients and the second day we talk about the importance of nutrients for body functions such as growth, reproduction, and maintenance. At the end, students will have to pass a quiz that covers most of the main information taught during these lessons as a means to exhibit proficient comprehension of the information and its importance.

With prior knowledge of food and organic matter decomposition, students will use industry and extension publications to learn the processes of composting, as well as the benefits and challenges of compost production (available nutrient levels, community perceptions, hazardous materials, smell, and storage).

Students will explore organic farming, conventional farming, and biotechnology farming methods through a close read approach. Then they will dive deeper into the different production methods by creating a video that discusses the merits and faults of each production method. Lastly, they will write an opinion piece for an agriculture journal that explains their stance as to the best farming practices.

Students will conduct a laboratory exercise that will examine the decomposition of organic household wastes from their home, and investigate which waste products can be composted and best utilized by plants.

This is lesson 3 of 4. Students will be creating an app for cell phones that will provide farmers with the opportunity to learn how different irrigation methods work depending on soil type.

Have you ever wondered what causes your sliced apples to brown? Is there a way to slow this process down or stop it completely? Through this mini lab activity students will be able to continue learning about scientific materials, collecting data, and the importance of research and innovation in agriculture, specifically the area of food science.

This lesson provides an overview of the major factors that affect plant growth including: water, air, temperature, light and nutrients. If sticking to the basics, the lesson can be taught using all factors except nutrients. However, nutrient information is provided for longer class periods.