Activity 1: Right This Very Minute

1. Pass out a Right This Very Minute Clock activity sheet to each student. Instruct the students to cut out the small product pictures and clock hands on page 2.
2. Allow the students to attach the clock hands to the clock face using a brass fastener.
3. Ask the students to pick 12 of the 16 product pictures that are mentioned in the book Right This Very Minute.
4. Discuss the product pictures with the students. Which 12 products did they choose?
5. Instruct the students to assign each of the 12 product pictures to an hour on clock.
6. Pass out a Right This Very Minute Map activity sheet to each student. You may want to laminate maps for multiple uses. Please note that the map only includes products that are discussed in the book. Challenge the students to think of other popular commodities grown in your state. Examples may include pumpkins, soybeans, avocados, pork, chicken, peaches, etc.
7. Explain to the students that each hour on the clock has three boxes. Students will need to fill in each box with the following information:
   • Box 1: Product picture (e.g. Dairy cow)
   • Box 2: List three states where it is grown/produced? (e.g. California, Idaho, Wisconsin)
   • Box 3: What are different ways we can eat and enjoy this product? (e.g. milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream) For fruits and vegetables, students can also include descriptions like fresh, canned, juiced, frozen, and dried.
8. Allow the students to read the map and fill in the three boxes about each of the 12 products on their clock.
9. Once the students have completed their clocks, take time to discuss each of the boxes for the different commodities and products.
10. Have the students take turns sharing a “time of the day” on their clock and what product is being grown at that time. For example, one student shares their clock and says, “At 1 o’clock, wheat is being grown in Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The flour from wheat is used for pancakes, bread, pasta, and pizza dough.”
11. Once each student has shared a time of the day on their clock, ask the following questions to lead a class discussion:
    • What can we learn from the map?
    • Why are certain products grown in specific areas?
    • Where is most of our wheat and corn produced? 
    • Why is California able to grow such a wide variety of agricultural commodities? 
    • What foods can you eat fresh?
    • What does it mean if your food is processed?
    • Why do we process some of our food?
12. Refer to the Background Agricultural Connections paragraph to discuss how agriculture varies from state to state, the technology farmers use to grow our food, and how food is transported across the United States.

Activity 2: Processed or Not?

1. Ask the students what it means to process something. Allow the students to share their ideas.
2. Refer to the Background Agricultural Connection paragraph and explain to the students that much of the food we eat is processed. Food that is not processed is referred to as whole, raw, or fresh.
3. Ask the students why we process food.
4. Pass out a Processed or Not? card to each student. Instruct the students to determine if the food on their card is processed or not.
5. Ask the students who are holding processed foods to stand on the left side of the classroom. Ask the students who are holding fresh or raw products to stand on the right side of the classroom.
6. Some products may be able to go on either side of the classroom. For example, milk is processed because it undergoes pasteurization and homogenization; however, some people do consume raw milk. The bread on the sandwich has been processed from wheat, but the lettuce and tomato on the sandwich could be fresh. Some eggs are pasteurized in the shell before consumption, or students might gather fresh, raw eggs from their own chickens. Allow students to think critically about their answers.
7. Once students have decided on which side of the classroom to stand, discuss their answers.
8. Ask students again why we process food. Students should be able to see from all the students standing on the processed side, that food processing gives us more options.
9. Ask the following questions to lead a discussion:
   • What would we have to eat if we didn’t process any food?
   • Is one side of the room healthier than the other? (Healthy diets include eating lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. Some of our food is safer to eat because of processing—like pasteurizing dairy and egg products.)
   • What are farmers and agriculturists doing right this very minute to grow and produce are food? 

Activity 3: Thank a Farmer

1. Ask the students to create and decorate thank-you cards that portray farmers, agriculture, or food production.
2. Allow the students to write a thank-you letter in their card and address it to local farmers/agriculturists in the community.
3. Instruct students on how to properly format a thank-you letter with correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar.
4. Ask students to include the following components:
   • Greeting (Dear…)
   • Express thanks (Thank you for…)
   • Add specific details (My family really enjoys eating fresh fruit…)
   • Restate your thanks (Again, thank you for…)
   • End with your regards (Sincerely…)