Students identify the variety of soybeans uses for human consumption, livestock feed, and industrial products, explain how key historical events affected soybean production in the United States, and create a bioplastic made from soybeans.
Students diagram the life of President Abraham Lincoln, including his childhood, presidency, and role during the Civil War, and describe his agricultural legacy and impact on agriculture today.
Students will determine the presence of DNA in their food by extracting it from a strawberry. Then, students will compare and contrast GMOs and organic foods in order to evaluate the nutrition, safety, economic, geographic, and environmental impacts of these agricultural production practices.
Students explore the difference between inherited and acquired traits and discover why knowledge of inherited and acquired traits is important to agriculture.
Using wheat as an example, students explore how DNA determines the genetic traits of a plant and how plant breeders change the DNA of a plant to produce desired characteristics.
Students identify fruits that grow on a tree, bush, or vine, classify fruits as pome, drupe, berry, melon, or citrus, perform an experiment about the browning of fruit, and dry plums to make prunes.
Students will learn the concept of enzymatic browning and methods for decreasing enzymatic oxidation by observing three types of fruit. Students will also understand the relationship between oxidation and antioxidants and the role fruits play in health and nutrition.
Students explore the history of the Christmas tree, explain the life cycle of a conifer, identify types of trees and how they adapt, discover what it's like to work on a Christmas tree farm, and examine the ecology of conifer trees.
Students explore the life cycle of wild rice, compare the steps of the traditional Native wild rice harvest with a cultivated wild rice harvest, and create their own wild rice bowls.
Students explore peach production in various regions of the United States, describe how peaches are produced and processed from farm to table, and explain how internal and external structures of peaches support survival and growth.
Students explore tart cherry production in the United States and explain why producers and consumers are needed in the cherry industry.
Students design a green bean planter and explore planting specifications for green bean seeds.