Young Farmers Club
FARMING: Food Production and Sustainability
Description: The Young Farmers Club is a series of lessons centered around the Top Foods that kids eat (as stated by NHANES 2005-2006; **see “Top 25 Sources of Calories Among Americans Ages 2 Years and Older, NHANES 2005–2006”). Students will learn the ingredients of these commonly eaten foods and more importantly how these ingredients are farmed and their sustainability. This unit is flexible and teachers can choose which lessons best meet their students’ needs. Furthermore, there are social studies and science connections, so teachers could teach some of these lessons during another science/social studies unit. Learning Targets:
- Students will understand the plant and animal based sources of the Top 25 Foods.
- Students will understand plant cycles of fruits and vegetables.
- Students will be able to describe how plants store food.
- Students will understand the biology and life cycle of farm animals.
- Students will be explain an ecosystem and food web.
- Students will be able to describe how technology is used in agriculture.
- Students will be able to discuss the importance of farmers in our food web.
Top Foods List** :
Food
Essential Questions
Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Grains
- Sugar
- From grain to flour: How does a farmer harvest wheat and turn it into flour?
- Grasses and photosynthesis: What do cookies, macaroni, and a lawn have in common?
- Peanut butter cookies: Do peanuts grow from a peanut tree?
- Chocolate chip cookies: Where does chocolate grow?
Pizza
- Grains
- Tomatoes
- Plant Cycles
- Dirt
- How do you grow a pizza?
- What is the life cycle of the tomato plant?
- What lives in handful of dirt (organic and inorganic)?
Soda
- Sugar
- Farm Technology
- How do you grow a teaspoon of sugar?
- How much corn is in your can of soda?
Chicken Nuggets
- Chicken
- Food chains
- How do you raise a chicken?
- Vital role of insects in the food chain: What does a chicken eat for breakfast?
Macaroni and cheese
- Grains
- Cheese
- From grain to flour: How does a farmer harvest wheat and turn it into flour?
- What do cows eat for lunch and how does that become a slice of cheese?
Milk
- Dairy
- Farm Technology
- Why does a cow produce milk?
- How does a dairy farmer use technology to bring milk from cows to your refrigerator?
Tacos
- Corn
- Salsa
- Lettuce
- Beans
- What do a can of corn and a taco have in common?
- Does salsa grow from a salsa tree?
- Why are there leaves on my tacos?
- How many types of beans can you name?
- What is a harvest calendar?
Apple Juice
- Fruit
- Pollination
- Why does an apple tree grow apples?
- What is the life cycle of an apple?
- How do bees help make apple juice?
Burgers
- Cows
- How does a cattle farmer spend the day?
- What do cows eat for lunch?
French fries
- Potatoes
- Tubers
- Dirt
- How do you grow a french fry?
- Composting and fertilizers: How do worms help grow potatoes?
- How do farmers stop bugs from eating their potatoes?
- Does a potato bug or potato beetle eat potatoes?
Hot Dogs
- Pigs
- How do you raise a pig?
- What does a pig eat for dinner?
Scrambled Eggs
- Eggs
- Describe one day in the life of a chicken
- How does a chicken make fertilizer?
** of the top 25 sources of calories among Americans Children and Adolescents, Ages 2-18 yrs, NHANES 2005-2006