Food from the Farm to Your Table Unit

 

Visit to the Farm

MMSD Standards Addressed:
Social Studies
  • Behavioral Sciences: Identify people who help them in the community and school.
Health
  • Communication: Identify and use listening skills.

NCSS Standards Addressed:
  • People, Places, and Environment
  • Individual, Groups, and Institutions
  • Production, Distribution, and Consumption

Goals of Lesson:
  • Students will begin to understand the processes and functions of a farm.
  • Students will experience a part of the food industry process in real life.

Essential Question:
  • What happens on a farm to produce food?

Materials Needed:
  • field trip permission slips returned from each student
  • notebooks (for teacher and each student)
  • writing utensils (for teacher and each student)
  • contact information and location of farm
  • bus or transportation
  • chaperons for field trip
  • camera
  • students' journals
  • white board
  • dry erase markers

Procedures:
  1. The teacher should have a field trip permission slip from each student, as well as chaperons, the contact information and location of the farm, and the transportation to the farm previously prepared and on hand.
  2. In a large group, students will brainstorm a list of questions to ask the farmer.  The teacher will write these questions down in a notebook and take the notebook on the field trip to remind the students of questions to ask the farmer.  Take a camera to the farm to take pictures of the field trip experience.
  3. Students should each take a notebook and writing utensil along on the field trip to record information.  Remind students that they should be listening to the farmer, teacher, and other peers who are asking questions.  This means raising your hand and waiting to be called on if you want to say something, listening with your ears, keeping your body in control, and watching with your eyes.
  4. Go on the field trip to the farm.  Students and the teacher will ask questions and record information.  The teacher will take pictures.  Post the pictures in the classroom when they are developed.
  5. When back from the field trip, students will write in their journals about their experience.  Students should include what they learned, what was surprising, what was their favorite part, etc.
  6. Wrap up with a large group discussion, sharing about the field trip.
  7. Ask students if, after touring the farm, there are ways we can make the food industry process easier.  Can we eliminate steps?  Decrease mileage to get food?  Ask students what eating local means and define it as eating food that has been grown and remained in the local community and its surroundings.  Jot down their responses on the white board.

Assessment:
  • I will collect and read students journals and listen to their responses during the discussion about the field trip to assess their understandings of the processes and functions of a farm.
  • The assessment of the goal that students will experience a part of the food industry process in real life will merely be that students go on the field trip and are attentive listeners.