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Programs/activities -- Adams County Ag Awareness
Agriculture is a huge industry. The programs outlined below take a broad look
at our food and fiber system – production, processing, marketing, distribution.
Participants begin to realize that agriculture has billions of customers,
including them. They also gain a new appreciation for our natural resources,
especially soil and water. A program typically includes some discussion time and
a related hands-on activity that incorporates science, math, reading, writing or
maybe social studies; sometimes there’s a nutrition component. Most programs
require 40 – 45 minutes and often can be tailored for different ages.
Recommended grade levels are indicated in parenthesis for some of the lessons.
There is no charge for these lessons; classroom sponsors help cover some of the
costs of providing programs.
Amber waves of grain. From tiny kernels to a loaf of bread, bag of pasta
or string of licorice, wheat has nourished people around the world for thousands
of years. ILS: 7, 12, 13, 16, 17, 22, 23.
r Illinois’ official snack. Can you name
Illinois’ official snack? If you guessed popcorn, you’re right. Do you know what
makes popcorn pop? Your students will after this lesson. ILS: 4, 7, 12, 17, 23.
r Yellow gold. Illinois farmers grow lots of
corn that we all use everyday. Making biodegradable plastic from cornstarch is a
favorite activity while we learn why it’s good for the environment. ILS: 4, 5,
7, 13, 17, 24.
r Field of beans. It’s like magic as we make
candles or crayons from soy oil flakes. Be amazed by the many things that
contain soybeans, like candy, ink and peanut butter. ILS: 4, 5, 12, 13, 17, 22,
26. (2nd or older)
An apple a day. We’ll make Johnny Appleseed proud while we do a
sequencing/writing project or a taste/compare/write activity. Older students may
cook up a treat. ILS: 4, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 22.
r P is for pumpkin. Surprise, Illinois is the
#1 pumpkin-producer and processor. Younger students will make a pumpkin book or
a mobile of a growing pumpkin; older students will fix a snack. ILS: 4, 9, 12,
17, 26.
One dip or two. Milk has a fascinating journey from farm to table. Teams
make ice cream in a plastic bag and observe what happens as heat transfers from
one bag to another. ILS: 1, 4, 5, 7, 12, 13, 15, 17, 21.
Curds & whey. We’ll have a mini cheese factory going as we discover how
milk is processed into cottage cheese. ILS: 4, 11, 13.
I can’t believe it’s butter. Observe the process of changing one food
form to another – whipping cream to butter. Of course, students will "churn" the
cream. ILS: 4, 5, 11, 12, 17, 21.
Revised Thin crust. Where do the
ingredients for one of our favorite foods come from? From farms near and far.
Students will make a pizza "book". ILS: 4, 12, 13, 15, 17, 22, 23, 24. (K –
early 3rd)
New Thick crust. A reading
comprehension activity that might make your students hungry for more. Plan for a
day when pizza’s on the menu for deluxe results. ILS: 1, 3, 5, 6, 10, 12, 13,
17. (Late 3rd – early 5th)
Career bingo. Introduces students to some of the many jobs that are
necessary to produce, process, market and distribute food and fiber, and the
education needed for those jobs. ILS: 1, 4, 15, 18. (Late 4th and
older)
Little sprouts. Students ‘plant’ seeds in plastic cups to watch
germination, then can measure, record growth. ILS: 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, 12. (3rd
and younger)
New Garden glove. Similar to the
Little Sprouts lesson. Small seeds are germinated using a plastic food safety
glove, cotton balls, water and a piece of yarn or string. ILS: 4, 5, 7, 10, 11,
12. (Popular at the pilot event!)
Water works. Does each person really use 80 - 100 gallons of water every
day? We build terrariums to watch the water cycle in action. Class needs to
supply 2-liter plastic bottles. ILS: 4, 5, 11, 12, 13, 17. (2nd and
older)
Water Jeopardy. Patterned after the popular television game show, this
activity will test students’ knowledge of water. ILS: 4, 5, 12, 13, 16, 17.
(Late 4th and older)
Crystal clear. We’re all responsible for helping keep our water supply
clean and safe to drink. A table-top demonstration helps students see many ways
that water can become polluted. ILS: 4, 12, 13, 17.
Soil, not dirt. Soil is what we need to grow food; dirt is what you sweep
off the floor. We learn about soil layers and why we need to protect soil. Who’d
like to taste soil? ILS: 4, 6, 12, 13, 16, 17.
r Mr./Ms. Soil. Grass hair gives all new
meaning to ‘bad hair day’. Creating soil people helps students learn about plant
needs. Older students can experiment with growing mediums, etc. ILS: 4, 11, 12,
13, 16, 17.
Baaaaa. Those cute, wooly creatures give us clothes, carpet and hand
lotion. We’ll do lots of touching and maybe a reading/writing activity about
sheep/wool. ILS: 1, 3, 4, 12, 17.
The chicken or the egg. We won’t figure out which came first, but we will
learn a lot of interesting stuff about poultry and eggs. ILS: 1, 4, 5, 7, 10,
11, 12, 13, 22. This lesson accompanies the chick-hatching activity.
r Cattle call. Beefo Bingo makes students
aware of a few items made from beef by-products, such as baseballs and bandages.
Pretend hamburgers make great prizes. ILS: 1, 4, 12, 13, 17, 23. (Late 2nd
and older)
r Everything but the oink. Pigs provide many
things besides meat – paint brush and medical supplies are a few. Younger
students make a feedbag; older students see a porcine heart valve. ILS: 1, 4, 7,
10, 12, 13, 23.
It’s all in the genes. Biotech, genetic engineering. Bread, cheese and
seedless watermelon were developed using biotech theories. We extract DNA from
wheat germ. ILS: 4, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16. (6th and older)
Mark your page. We’ll talk about the sun, soil and plants and make a bead
bookmark to help students understand how nature is one big circle. ILS: 4, 12,
17, 26. (Early 4th and younger)
Revised Scavenger hunt. Every day we
use items that originated from raw agricultural products. Our scavenger hunt
will have us inspecting ingredients labels for a variety of agricultural
products. ILS: 1, 4, 5. (6th and older)
r These programs are good complements to
lessons/units about Illinois.
ILS: Illinois Learning Standards
Contact:
Sharon Knorr, University of Illinois Extension, 330 S. 36, Quincy, IL
62301
(217) 223-8380; FAX: (217) 223-9368
knorr@uiuc.edu
August 2005
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign/U.S. Department
of Agriculture/Local Extension Councils Cooperating. University of Illinois
Extension provides equal employment opportunities in programs and employment.
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Adams
County Soil & Water Conservation District
