starters.co.
nz THE ONLINE TEACHER RESOURCE
BRIGHT
AGRICULTURE – A WAY OF LIFE WE ARE WORLD FAMOUS FOR
IDEAS
Years 4-8
Social Sciences Curriculum Links
• Identity, Culture and Organisation: Learning about our rural
societies and communities and their lifestyles.
• Place and Environment: Learning how farming families
interact with and respect their environment.
• Economic World: Learning how agriculture makes such
a large contribution to New Zealand’s economy.
Links to: English, Health, The Arts: Levels 2-4+
KEY IDEAS
• The majority of our school students live in cities and unlike 50
years ago, most of our families and students have never visited,
worked on, or had a holiday on a farm.
• Most students are vaguely aware of the animals found on our
farms and how farmers care for and respect their animals.
Students may not have a clear idea about the lifestyles of
farming families and the career opportunities available.
• The combined agriculture sector is the lifeblood our economy
and when it prospers, so too does New Zealand.
THE GREATEST DISCOVERY OF ALL TIME!
• Have groups discuss the following questions and report back:
- what is farming? - what do we farm? - why do we farm?
• Did students know that about 12,000 years ago, humans
discovered they were able to farm animals for food and
clothing and plant crops? What huge advantages did this
discovery have over the previously nomadic human lifestyle? eg
- now everyone did not have to be involved in finding, hunting
and preparing food all the time just to survive.
• Tell students that many historians say that farming of crops and • Have students brainstorm actions farmers take to ensure their
animals was the greatest ‘invention’ of all time. Have students animals are well cared for, based on this list, eg
speculate on how farming changed people’s lives.
• Conduct a class and school survey to find out how many
students have visited a farm. Display results in graphic form.
Have any students who have visited a farm share their
experiences with the class, including its location and what
was farmed. Can they locate the farm on a map using an atlas?
• Do the students know what agriculture is? What does the
dictionary say? Can they settle on a simple definition, eg
- agriculture is the farming of the land to grow crops and
raise livestock (animals) such as sheep, pigs and cows.
• In groups, challenge students to brainstorm a list of all the - how we treat animals used in research?
agricultural activities carried out in New Zealand. Did their
list include:
- poultry farming - pig farming - vineyards
- fruit and vegetables - bees - forestry?
Website www.teachingonline.org
Lessons for teachers, published by starters&strategies – the New Zealand Teacher’s Magazine
SOCIAL SCIENCES – YEARS 4–9
• Do the students know what farming activities are undertaken
locally or in other regions of New Zealand? Use the Agricultural
Regions of New Zealand web page for shared reading at:
www.mpi.govt.nz/agriculture/statistics-forecasting/agricultural-
production-survey
Explore the Horticultural and Pastoral subsections to find out the
agricultural activities thetat are suitable for and carried out in
each area? Why?
REASONS FOR FARMING AND ANIMAL WELFARE
• What do students know about the following agricultural industries:
pig farming; beef and lamb farming; poultry/egg farming; dairy
farming? Can they list important reasons for farming these
animals? What food and clothing items do we obtain from these
animals?
• Introduce the idea that all farmers choose their job because they
like working with the animals they farm. Have students imagine
that they are farmers. Can they give reasons why farmers take
great care of their animals? eg
- it is cruel not to
- their business is farming and keeping their animals healthy
and happy is good for their business.
• Did the students know that although we farm animals for
consumption, we also have very strict laws about how we must
treat farmed animals. Did they know that most countries around
the world have agreed on five ways that animals
should be treated (the five freedoms)? Can they list these?
- Freedom from hunger and thirst
- Freedom from discomfort
- Freedom from pain, injury and disease
- Freedom from fear and distress
- Freedom to express normal animal behaviour
- proper food and available water all year round, such as
water troughs in paddocks and feeding out in winter
- planting trees and hedges for shelter and/or providing
indoor housing for comfortable living
- calling in a vet for an injury and vaccination against disease.
• Visit: www.biosecurity.govt.nz/regs/animal-welfare/pubs
for a selection of resources for further study and discussion, eg
- how many farmed animals do we have in New Zealand?
- what damage and harm caused by introduced species
and feral species of animals?
GROUP WEB RESEARCH PROJECTS
• Divide students into four groups: beef and lamb, dairy, pig,
poultry/eggs. The group task is to carry out web research …
 … and report back on the tasks, concerns, variety of careers,
lifestyles, rewards and products of each farm type.
PIG FARMING
www. pigfarminginnewzealand.co.nz
www.teara.govt.nz/en/pigs-and-the-pork-industry/3
BEEF AND LAMB
www.beeflambnz.com > explore the ‘People’ section and check
out ‘Getting young people into farming’ and ’Training and Educa-
tion’.
www.teara.govt.nz/en/animal-farming > select beef farming
www.teara.govt.nz/en/animal-farming > select sheep farming
POULTRY/EGGS
www.pianz.org.nz > select farming and select ‘Myth Busters’
in the Industry Information Section
www.eggfarmers.co.nz
www.eggfarmers.org.nz/chook-book.asp (pdf download)
www.teara.govt.nz/en/poultry-industry/2 (meat)
www.teara.govt.nz/en/poultry-industry/4 (eggs)
www.teara.govt.nz/en/poultry-industry/5 (welfare)
DAIRY
www.godairy.co.nz > explore ‘Life on the farm’, ‘Dairy
Careers’, The Big Picture, Sustainability, TV Advertisement
ALL GROUPS VISIT:
www.farmday.org.nz > select current Farm Day. Choose area from
map > download Farm Day flyer which introduces the farmer and
details the activities that take place on the farm.

SAMPLE GROUP PRESENTATION IDEAS

- information pages on school/class website
- illustrated wall story including statistics
- act out ‘a day in the life’ scenarios
- prepare a seasonal calendar
- prepare ‘country life’ radio type interview with a farmer
- list pros and cons of each occupation and careers
- write a job description that best reflects each occupation
- supermarket survey of goods produced by farming sectors.

WHY FARMING MATTERS
• Explain that if we add up all the money that people earn from
what they do and sell, New Zealand earns about $185 billion
per year and this is what we call our economy.
• To help students understand why agriculture and forestry is so
important to New Zealand, have them estimate how much is
earned each year by these sectors – $22 billion or 12% of the
economy.
• Using the four sectors studied as an example, challenge
students to mind-map all of the people who make all or part
of their living from working in or helping these farmers, eg
- farm workers - scientists - feed suppliers
- local shops - veterinarians - meat workers
- wharf workers - bankers - shearers …
Did they know that agriculture employs about 216,000
people – nearly 12% of all workers? What does this say
about the importance of agriculture to New Zealand?

FACTS AND MATERIALS

• Additional information/videos/resources can be found at:
www.farmday.org.nz/facts.html

Lessons for teachers, published by starters&strategies – the New Zealand Teacher’s Magazine