Lessons

Students will explore strategies that can decrease food waste at home and school, design solutions for schoolwide food waste reduction efforts, and participate in food waste challenges that encourage sustainable shopping, correct food storage practices, and meal planning.

Students estimate the size and weight of pumpkins, sprout pumpkin seeds, and make pumpkin pie in a bag.

In this lesson students will learn that agriculture provides nearly all of the products we rely on in any given day by participating in a relay where they match an everyday item with its "source."

Students will evaluate the USDA grading system for whole cuts of beef and discuss consumer preferences and nutritional differences between grain-finished and grass-finished beef. Students will also distinguish various labels on beef products and discuss reasons for the government’s involvement in agricultural production, processing and distribution of food.

Students investigate the growth and production of citrus fruits and use observation and mathematical computation to compare and contrast grapefruits and lemons.

This lesson describes the role of fats in food and in the body, and how they serve as a source of energy. It provides information on different types of fats that are listed on the Nutrition Facts label – including total fat, saturated fat, and trans fat—and defines trans fat and cholesterol. The lesson also includes dietary guidance for fat consumption.

Students will observe the difference in bacterial count between a hamburger that’s left out at room temperature and a hamburger that’s kept refrigerated. The lab reinforces the concept that food must be properly chilled in order for it to remain safe to eat. This lab will be conducted as a teacher demonstration.

Explore agricultural career pathways from a lens of problem solving to recognize the challenges that will need to be addressed in the next generation of careers.

Students investigate a variety of aquaculture food products, discover how and where they are grown and raised, and explore their nutritional benefits.