Teachers and Administrators
Teachers and administrators can help make the connection between the cafeteria and the classroom. Listed below are resources including lesson plans and other educational activities that teachers and administrators are encouraged to use in order to help engage school children in the adoption of Farm to School.
Education Resources
- USDA Resources for Educators
- Growing Healthy Habits: A gardening and nutrition education curriculum provided the University of Maryland.
- Nutrition Nuggets: Nutrition lessons for children provided the University of Maryland.
- Dollars and Sense: Demonstrates how food dollars are distributed through the food system.
- Local Food Economy Game: Illustrates the factors that impact consumer decisions in choosing between local vs. global food and stores, organic vs. conventionally-produced produce, and convenience vs. quality.
- Your Favorite Meal: Introduces the idea of a food system, using young people's favorite meals as a way to start thinking about where our food comes from and how it is produced.
- Agriculture in the Classroom: The Agriculture in the Classroom National Resource Directory is an online searchable database that lists hundreds of educational resources designed to help educators locate high quality classroom materials and information to increase agricultural literacy among their Pre-K through 12th grade students.
- Make a Rainbow on Your Plate: This lesson plan introduces students to the concept of eating a variety of fruits and vegetables for better health by incorporating fruits and vegetables of different colors into their diet.
- What is Agriculture?: a lesson plan developed by the Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation (MAEF)
- Farm to Table - a unit about Food Systems: a lesson plan developed by the Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation (MAEF)
Curriculum Resources
Grade Level |
Food Item or Subject |
Lessons and Activity Ideas |
Additional Resources |
Pre-K |
Food, Produce
|
The
Farmer Grows a Rainbow
SKILLS: Object Recognition, Making Healthy Decisions, Counting, Learning
Colors, Using Visual Aids
Source: North Carolina Ag in the Classroom |
|
Pre-K - Kindergarten |
Farm |
Pop Open Farm
SUBJECT: Art
SKILLS: Creativity
|
|
Kindergarten |
Plant Parts, Growth, Farm |
Farm to School- Kids
SKILLS: Labeling, Locating, Sequencing Events
|
|
K - 2 |
Cow |
When
is a cow more than a cow?
SUBJECT: Reading
SKILLS: Using Visual Aids, Unscrambling Words |
|
K - 2 |
Farms, Produce, Animals, Agricultural Products |
My Farm Web
SUBJECT: Social Studies
SKILLS: Concept Mapping, Relating Ideas
|
|
K - 2 |
Animals, Alphabet, Fruits, Vegetables |
Maryland Agricultural Alphabet
SUBJECTS: Writing, Reading
SKILLS: Writing, Reading, Matching, Spelling
|
|
K - 2 |
Agricultural Products |
What is Ag?
SKILLS: Listing, Brainstorming |
|
Elementary |
Jobs, Farmers |
How many hats does a farmer wear?
SUBJECTS: Language Arts, Social Studies
SKILLS: Critical Thinking |
|
Elementary |
Recipes, Activities, Puzzles, Produce |
"There's a Rainbow on my Plate"
Activity Book
1. Cover
2. Red Fruit Word Search
3. Red Veggie Word Jumbles
4. Strawberry Smoothie Recipe
5. Apple Maze
6. Carrot Crossword
7. Corny Jokes
8. Banana Matching Game
9. Potato Poem
10. If I were a…
11. Fruit Salad
12. Melon Mysteries
13. If I were a… (2)
14. Color by Numbers
15. Pepper Snack Cups
16. Finding "Berried" Treasure
17. "Berried" Treasure 2
18. Trivia Challenge
19. Trading Cards
20. Vegetable Dip Recipes
21. Fit Kid Fun
22. Shopping List
|
|
Elementary |
Packing Local Food for Lunch, Consuming Different Color Fruits & Veggies |
Overview
Coloring Page
Coloring Page
Activities and Puzzles
Activities and Puzzles
Activities and Puzzles
Activities and Puzzles
|
|
1 - 2 |
Watermelon |
A Slice of Fun
SUBJECT: Math
SKILLS: Counting Money, Subtraction, Comparing Numbers, Counting
|
|
1 - 2 |
Watermelon |
Watermelon + Friends = A Sweet Time!
SUBJECT: Math
SKILLS: Addition, Subtraction, Telling Time, Comparing Numbers, Counting
|
|
1 - 2 |
Watermelon |
Watermelon Spells Fun!
SUBJECTS: Reading, Language Arts
SKILLS: Creative
Writing, Learning Adjectives, Spelling |
|
1 - 2 |
Watermelon |
Watermelon Spells Fun!
SUBJECT: Reading, Language Arts
SKILLS: Creative Writing, Learning Adjectives, Spelling
|
|
3 - 4 |
Watermelon |
Watermelon: Super Sweet Treat
SUBJECT: Math
SKILLS: Solving Word Problems, Addition, Subtraction, Recognizing Patterns, Graphing, Understanding Fractions and Decimals
|
|
3 -4 |
Watermelon |
Watermelons Add up to Lots of Fun!
SUBJECT: Math
SKILLS: Addition, Subtraction, Subtracting Fractions, Counting
|
|
3 - 4 |
Watermelon |
Wacky for Watermelon
SUBJECT: Reading, Language Arts
SKILLS: Analyzing Passages, Making Compound Words, Understanding Suffixes, Using Adjectives
|
|
3 - 4 |
Watermelon |
Recipe for Fun: Combine Watermelon and Friends!
SUBJECT: Reading, Language Arts
SKILLS: Alphabetizing, Paraphrasing, Ordering Events
|
|
3 - 4 |
Plants, Weeds, Pests |
What's in a Field?, pg 1
SUBJECT: Science
SKILLS: Critical Thinking, Analyzing Circumstances
|
|
3 - 4 |
History of Agriculture, Agricultural Technology, Improvements in Farming |
Agriculture: Then and Now, pg 1
SUBJECTS: History, Social Studies, Math
SKILLS:
Activity 1: Converting from Percentage to Fraction, Understanding Graphs, Interpreting Data and Statistics
Activity 2: Matching, Critical Thinking
Activity 3: Comparing and Contrasting
|
|
3 - 4 |
Agriculture- General |
Agriculture- What is it?, pg 1
SUBJECT: Science, Social studies
SKILLS:
Activity 1: Understanding Relationships, Categorizing, Brainstorming, Matching
Activity 2: Defining, Critical Thinking, Reasoning
|
|
3 - 4 |
Land Preservation, Farming |
Farmers and Land- A Partnership, pg 1
SUBJECTS: Social Studies
SKILLS: Critical Thinking, Analyzing, Categorizing
|
|
3 - 6 |
Agriculture Recipes |
Biodegradable Packing Peanuts, pg 5
Biodegradable Plastic from Corn, pg 6
Soy Crayons, pg 7
SUBJECTS: Science, Art
SKILLS: Measuring, Following Instructions |
|
4 - 5 |
Biofuel, Energy |
Growing Our Fuels, pg 1
SUBJECTS: Science, Social Studies
SKILLS:
Activity 1: Analyzing, Critical Thinking, Discussing
Activity 2: Categorizing, Defining, Comparing & Contrasting
A Place
and Time, pg 6
SUBJECTS: History, Social studies, Language Arts
SKILLS: Reading maps, Analyzing geography, Comparing & Contrasting
|
|
4 - 5 |
Agricultural Ecosystems |
A Farm Ecosystem, pg 6
SUBJECTS: Science, Art
SKILLS: Working in a Group, Understanding Relationships in Agriculture, Presenting Ideas to Others
Farming Cycle, pg 9
SUBJECTS: Science, Social Studies
SKILLS:
Activity
1: Caring for a Plant, Understanding Cause and Effect, Observing Results
Activity 2: Ordering Events, Sequencing, Critical Thinking |
|
4 - 5 |
Economics, Prices, Supply & Demand |
Economics
of Agriculture, pg 8
SUBJECTS: Social Studies
SKILLS:
Activity 1: Categorizing, Relating Agriculture to Everyday
Life
Activity 2: Comparing and Contrasting, Graphing
A
Slice of Soil, pg 11
SUBJECT: Social Studies
SKILLS:
Activity 1: Doing Demonstrations, Conceptualizing the Earth's Productivity
Activity 2: Critical Thinking, Analyzing Sentences, Relating data |
|
4 - 5 |
Satellite Technology, Biotechnology, Food Cost, EPA, Pesticides, Risks of Chemicals |
Technology of Agriculture, pg 4
SUBJECTS: Science, History
SKILLS: Defining, Comparing past and present
Crop Protection, pg 10
SUBJECT: Science
SKILLS: Analyzing risks and benefits, Using visual aides to come to a Conclusion
|
|
4 - 6 |
Grazing, Food Production |
Amazing
Grazing
SUBJECTS: Social Studies, Nutrition,
Environmental Science
SKILLS: Analyzing, applying, comparing similarities
and differences, concluding, critical thinking, evaluating,
interpreting, mapping, map reading, observing, reading
data, synthesizing, reasoning, solving problems, understanding
cause and effect |
|
4 - 6 |
Food |
Growing
Food
|
Center for Food and the Environment |
4 - 6 |
Farms, Produce, Health |
Fruits and Vegetables for Health
California-Based Curriculum Adaptable to Maryland
SUBJECTS: Geography, Language Arts, Science, and Math
SKILLS: Learning Agricultural Processes, Formal and Creative Writing, Editing, Analyzing Nutrition Values, Graphing, Completing Scientific Experiments
|
|
5-8 |
Multiple, Cereal, Food and Shopping Choices |
Aisle
Hopping
SUBJECTS
social studies, language arts
SKILLS
gathering (listening, recording, brainstorming),
organizing (prioritizing, listing, charting),
analyzing (comparing and contrasting,
calculating, discussing), interpreting (summarizing,
identifying cause and effect), applying
(decision making), evaluating
(establishing criteria, testing, assessing)
TIME: one or two sessions |
|
5 - 6 |
Biotechnology |
Benefits of Biotechnology, pg 8
SUBJECTS: Social Studies
SKILLS:
Activity 1: Listing, Organizing, Critical Thinking, Analyzing, Brainstorming
Activity 2: Communicating ideas, Group work, Voicing Opinions, Critical Thinking
|
|
5 - 6 |
Pest Management |
Integrated Pest Management, pg 12
SUBJECT: Social Studies, Science
SKILLS: Analyzing, Problem Solving
|
|
5 - 6 |
Biofuel, Energy |
Positive Energy Supply, pg 10
SUBJECT: Science, Social Studies
SKILLS:
Activity 1: Charting, Analyzing Relationships, Comparing & Contrasting
Activity 2: Researching, Presenting to the Class, Using the Internet
What's Driving Biofuels, pg 14
SUBJECTS: Social Studies, Language Arts
SKILLS:
Activity 1: Analyzing Cause & Effect Relationships, Critical Thinking
Activity 2: Forming Opinions, Expressing Opinions, Drafting an Argument, Improving Writing Skills
|
|
5 - 6 |
Biotechnology, Agricultural Advancements, Cost of Production, Satellite Technology |
Abilities of Technology in Agriculture, pg 16
SUBJECT: Science
SKILLS: Understand Cause and Effect of Technology on Agriculture
|
|
5 - 6 |
Watermelon |
Watermelon- Seeds, Sun and Fun!
SUBJECTS: Math
SKILLS: Long Division, Word Problems
|
|
5 - 6 |
Watermelon |
A Slice of Watermelon Really Satisfies!
SUBJECT: Math
SKILLS: Calculating Percentages, Understanding Fractions, Adding Fractions
|
|
5 - 6 |
Watermelon |
The Sweetest Veggie Treat
SUBJECT: Reading, Language Arts
SKILLS: Understanding Similes, Comparing and Contrasting, Using a Venn Diagram, Analyzing Passages
|
|
5 - 6 |
Watermelon |
Watermelons- More than Meets the Eyes!
SUBJECT: Reading, Language Arts
SKILLS: Analyzing Passages, Creating Analogies, Reading and Interpreting a Data Chart
|
|
5 - 6 |
Food Resources, Population, Relationships in Agriculture |
Food
for All, pg 14
SUBJECT: Social Studies
SKILLS: Analyzing Cause and
Effect, Brainstorming, Critical Thinking |
|
6 |
Cereal, Fiber |
Fit with Fiber: Graphing Cereal
Oklahoma-Based curriculum Adaptable to Maryland
SUBJECT: Science and Math
SKILLS: Graphing, Analyzing Data, Learning about Fiber
|
|
6 |
Corn |
Corn Field Math
SUBJECT: Math
SKILLS: Solving Word Problems, Multiplication, Division, Comparing Numbers, Finding Percentages
|
|
6 - 8 |
Agricultural Data |
A Look at Maryland Agriculture
SUBJECTS: Social Studies
SKILLS: Interpreting Data
|
|
6 - 8 |
Watermelon |
Cell-icious! An Edible Cell Activity
SUBJECT: Science
SKILLS: Identify and Understand Cell Organelles and their Functions
|
|
6 - 8 |
Watermelon |
The "Incomplete" Details on Watermelons
SUBJECT: Science
SKILLS: Identifying Plant Parts, Understanding Plant Reproduction and Pollination, Dissecting a Plant
|
|
6 - 8 |
Watermelon |
The Science of Watermelon Seeds
SUBJECT: Science
SKILLS: Understanding and Implementing the Scientific Method, Estimation based on Observation
|
|
6 - 8 |
Watermelon |
Watermelons Quench the Great Thirst Intro
Watermelons
Quench the Great Thirst Worksheet
SUBJECT: Geography
SKILLS: Understanding
and Describing Climates, Locating Places on a Map |
|
6 - 8 |
Watermelon |
Watermelon Vines Spread Across the U.S. Intro
Watermelon Vines Spread Across the U.S. Worksheet
SUBJECT: Geography
SKILLS: Locating Places on a Map, Distinguish between U.S. Regions, Learn Topography of U.S. Regions
|
|
6 - 8 |
Watermelon |
The World-Traveling Watermelon Intro
The World-Traveling Watermelon Worksheet
SUBJECT: Geography
SKILLS: Identifying Continents, Reading a Map, Understanding lines of Longitude and Latitude and their Coordinates
|
|
6 - 8 |
Watermelon |
Worldwide Watermelons Intro
Worldwide
Watermelons Worksheet
SUBJECT: Geography
SKILLS: Understanding Societal Customs of the Watermelon, Learning the Production of Watermelons Worldwide
|
|
7 - 9 |
Agricultural Careers |
Exploring Living Science Careers
Utah-Based Curriculum Adaptable to Maryland
Cover
SKILLS: Matching, Defining, Exploring Careers and Science Fields, Brainstorming, Planning for the future
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