Companion Resources

This Stage 1, Let's-Read-and-Find-Out book shows young students how a pumpkin plant grows. The text clearly presents how the plant develops from seed to mature pumpkin as well as how it obtains and distributes water and nutrients. Three children join a farmer as he plants pumpkin seeds, waters them, and observes the plants as they grow. The last two pages give instructions for two activities, "Roasted Pumpkin Seeds" and "How Plants Drink Water." This is an excellent introduction to plant development in general and pumpkins in particular.

This is a fun and simple activity in which students will make a paper-plate model of the life cycle of a pumpkin.

If you lived in colonial times, what kind of clothes would you wear? What would you eat? Would you go to school? What would happen if you didn't behave? This book describes what it was like to live in the New England colonies during the years 1565 to 1776, providing illustrations of how people made their own clothes and furniture and more.

Right here on this spot, where today Grandpa drives a tractor in his cabbage field, Indians in ancient times lit their campfires, chipped stone into tools, and then moved on. Time passed, trees grew into a forest, and settlers came from across the ocean to clear the land again and make a new home. Years later, a Union soldier crossing that field lost a button. Grandpa was digging a ditch when he found that button... In graceful words and striking pictures, this book chronicles the changes the centuries bring to one field and offer young readers a vivid slice of history.

This Scholastic book illustrates what it was like to live at the time of the Civil War. Alternating pages are written from the point of view of the South and the North. Appropriate for Grades 2-6, this is a great resource to help tie lessons on cotton to social studies.

This website provides a variety of publications for teaching about cotton, including printable handouts on cotton and the consumer, what can be made with a bale of cotton, and the history of cotton from its first planting in the United States until today. An online presentation provides images and text to show your students how cotton goes from field to fabric.

This site provides a collection of educational online games exploring agricultural topics. Games are labeled with grade level (preK-K, K-2, and 3-5) and subject (math, health, science, geography, etc.).

This website provides a wide array of resources related to food, including videos, articles, and book reviews. The mission of the FOOD Museum is to research, collect, preserve, exhibit, and explain the history and social significance of the world's most important foods, and bring artifacts and programs to audiences of all ages.

Solid chocolates have only been around since the 1800s. 70% of the world's cocoa beans are grown in West Africa. See how raw ingredients are expertly combined to create delicious milk chocolate.

Using the pot of rice with chicken, Mama barters with her neighbors to create a bountiful meal. As she does so she also takes her granddaughter, Lucy, on a marvelous cultural tour of the neighborhood. Woven throughout the book are the Spanish names for a variety of foods.

Providing an early introduction to STEM education, this book uses simple text and labeled photographs to examine a wide range of exciting machines used on the farm, revealing how each machine solves a particular problem. Machines covered include tractors, combine harvesters, milking machines, hay balers, crop sprayers, and more!

Lilys grandparents move all the way across the country, but stay in touch with Lily by sending her plants and produce from their new home and through her garden. Each spread deals with a new month and garden challenge for Lily. Her grandparents advice helps her cope with the realistic challenges presented by managing a successful garden. This book is also a good exploration of seasonal changes.