Lesson Plans IV

1. A Day on the Farm.

Subject(s):

• Science/Agriculture
• Social Studies/Careers

Duration: 45 minutes

Description: Students will learn about the importance of farming and the responsibilities
that a farmer has. Students will plant bean seeds and monitor the growth of their plants for
six weeks.

Goals: Students will be able to explain how a farmer's job is different from that of a
businessman.

Objectives:

1. Students will be able to discuss different farm animals.

2. Students will be able to compare and contrast the work a businessman does and the
work a farmer does.
3. Students will be able to discuss what is needed for crops to grow.
4. Students will name farm products that can be found at the grocery store.

Affective Objectives:

1. The students will discuss what animals they would like to see if they were able to
visit a farm.
2. The students will discuss what farm grown foods they like most and why.

Psychomotor Objective:

1. Each student will plant a bean seed and monitor its growth for six weeks.
Materials:

• Down on the Funny Farm by Alastair Graham (illustrator) and Patrick E. King
• potting soil
• bean seeds
• styrofoam cups
• drawing paper and art materials (crayons, markers, paint, etc.)
• writing paper and pencils

Vocabulary:

1. farmer - Someone who raises animals and plants crops.

2. farm - A farm is where a farmer raises his/her animals and plants crops.
3. soil - Soil is like dirt. Crops need soil to grow.

Procedure:
Ask students what they know about farms and the job of a farmer. Explain that farmers do
more than take care of animals. They must also plant food and help produce dairy products
that we drink and eat. Read the story, Down on the Funny Farm. [This book is about all of
the animals you usually see on a farm. One day the farmer goes out to start his daily chores
only to discover that all of the animals are acting differently. The cow is acting like a
chicken, and the horse is on the roof acting like a rooster. The farmer has to get everything
back in order.]

After reading the story, discuss the events that took place in the book. Ask students to share
their comments. Discuss the differences between the jobs of a businessman and a farmer.
Ask, "What does a farmer wear to work? What does a businessman wear to work? What is
a farmer's main job? What are some things a businessman does?"

Inform students that they will get a chance to be "farmers" by planting bean seeds. Give
each student a styrofoam cup and a bean seed to plant. Over the next six weeks, students
will keep a daily journal to record information about their plants (how high the plant has
grown, illustrations of what the plant looks like, etc.) Students can take turns watering and
measuring the plants. After six weeks, students can take the plants home.

Assessment: Ask students to draw a picture of a farm, using any art materials that they
wish. Students will write a short story about a day on their farm.

Useful Internet Site:

* Welcome to Farm School
http://www2.kenyon.edu/projects/farmschool/
Learn about family farming, where food comes from, the history of farming, and much
more.

Author: Submitted by: Melissa Maust

Email: neve_73@hotmail.com
2. Create an Alphabet Book
Grade Level(s): Kindergarten, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Subject(s):

• Interdisciplinary
• Language Arts
• Arts/Visual Arts

Overview: Making an alphabet book on any topic is a fun learning experience for students
K-12. The idea can be used in many subjects.

Purpose: To help students learn a topic through research, drawing, and the production of a
finished product.

Objectives: As a result of this activity, the students will be very familiar with their topic
and will have used some thinking skills, research skills, art skills, and cooperative skills.

Resources/Materials: Alphabet books or access to library, dictionaries, encyclopedias,

paper, pencil, crayons or other media.

Activities and Procedures:

1. Look at alphabet books, specifically Animalia by Grahame Base.

2. Assign letters of the alphabet to individuals, partners, or groups. Topics could be:
invertebrates, chemicals, compounds, toys, countries, adverbs, adjectives, cities,
plants, people, etc.
3. Do research, if need be, to find the core word for the page. Brainstorming could be
done for this.
4. Create a sentence for the page that includes a noun, verb, adjective and adverb plus
other words if wanted. Brainstorm and do research to find these.
5. Design a page for the book putting as many pictures of items beginning with that
letter as appropriate plus the sentence.

Additional Activities: Exchange pictures and have someone else list all the words with
that letter, make an index for the book, write authors of alphabet books, compare and
contrast alphabet books, present the finished books to the library and other classes, lower
grades share their books with upper grades, secondary students share their books with
elementary students if appropriate or with other classes, posters made by students instead of
a book, lists made by students for each letter and posted.

Tying It All Together: Enjoy and discuss the finished product.

Author: Carolyn Creger
School or Affiliation: Natrona County School, Casper, WY
Endorsed by: These lesson plans are the result of the work of the teachers who have
attended the Columbia Education Center's Summer Workshop. CEC is a consortium
of teacher from 14 western states dedicated to improving the quality of education in
the rural, western, United States, and particularly the quality of math and science
Education. CEC uses Big Sky Telegraph as the hub of their telecommunications
network that allows the participating teachers to stay in contact with their trainers
and peers that they have met at the Workshops.