Lessons

Students recognize their relationship to soil and model the connections between common objects and the soil.

Students investigate where food comes from, the parts of plants that we eat, and the difference between fruits and vegetables.

Students observe and explain the decomposition process and identify the methods and ingredients for making compost.

Students examine fruit and vegetable preparation and storage.

Students explore food prices and how they have changed over time as they perform mathematical computations, analyze data charts, and compare and contrast statistical information.

Students observe the interactions between living plants and other living and nonliving things in a small terrarium environment and discuss similarities between the terrarium environment and the farm environment.

Students discover the geographic regions where basil, oregano, and cilantro have cultural significance, understand the role of evaporation in herb drying, and recognize the different properties of dried and fresh herbs.

Students explore a variety of vegetables that can be stored through the colder months, including roots, alliums, cole crops, and winter squash and compare and contrast how families store food now with how they stored food long ago.

Students determine the water holding and draining capacities of different soils and investigate how organic matter affects the amount of water soil will hold.

Students discover what a soil profile looks like, investigate the composition of soil, and explore the five soil-forming factors and soil horizons.

Students evaluate the function of plant stems and identify edible stems belonging to certain plants.

Students investigate six kinds of simple machines—inclined plane, pulley, screw, wedge, lever, and wheel and axle, and determine that simple machines can be combined to form complex machines.