Embedded Files
Tomatosphere
Tomatosphere
Year after year I do the Tomatosphere project because the concept is so abstract, but has so many meaningful connections. Students will get to use their hands to plant their seed then will track and observe their tomato grow. Later, we will submit our results to see what seeds spent time in space and whether that implicated the growing ability of the seeds.
Program of Studies
Program of Studies
Science- Living Systems, Lifecycles of plants, Plant needs
Math- Fractions, Measurement, Data Collection
Social- Global connection of agriculture
Health- Where healthy food comes from, Nutrition
Language Arts- Communication of observations, Documenting observations
Charter Lessons:
How to do an experiment (ask a question, make a guess, test it, record results)
How seeds grow and what plants need to survive
germination, photosynthesis, and plant parts/functions.
How space might change seeds and how scientists study this
Why growing food is important — on Earth and in space
How to work together and share ideas
How to look closely at things, record what happens, and learn from it
Charlotte's Web Ag Lessons
Charlotte's Web Ag Lessons
This year I tried something different with the novel study, Charlotte's Web. Students thoroughly are enjoying the characters and the story within the book. We read a chapter each day and do the typical "reading response" questions, journal response, and word work. On the last day of the week, instead of reading the book, students delve into an agriculture themed lesson using concepts introduced in the book.
Connections to the Charter/Program of Studies
Connections to the Charter/Program of Studies
Health- Financial literacy, Kindness, Relationships
Mathematics- Financial literacy, Addition, Subtraction, Counting money
Charter
Animal Husbandry
Past and Present farming practices
Interconnectedness of animals and ecosystems
Lessons:
Farm Life in Charlotte’s Web: comparison of farming in the past and present
Wilbur’s Dream Pen: designing the ideal pen based on descriptions from the book
The Science of Animal Care: understanding animal nutrition
Web of Kindness: creating webs to promote kindness
The Cost of Raising Wilbur: determining costs/expenses associated in raising Wilbur
Connections to the Charter/Program of Studies
Connections to the Charter/Program of Studies
Health- Financial Literacy, Healthy Living
Math- Subtraction, Addition, Multiplication, Money skills
Charter-
the cost of raising animals i.e. feed, supplies etc.
purchasing and selling animals
promoting home raised products
budgeting
real-life scenarios i.e market crashes, unexpected illnesses
where does our food come from
You Bought a Farm
You Bought a Farm
Our student teacher, Ms. Gitzel, created this activity where students are going to learn about the trials and tribulations of owning a farm. Students will tier their learning and build upon skills throughout this learning adventure. The premise is that students will be given a budget of $2000 dollars to purchase what they need to start their farm. They can use different math skills like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and money skills to keep record of their spending or earnings.
Students will purchase animals that they feel will give a positive impact to their farms. In the past we have talked about the different purposes of animals so students will apply that knowledge to their plan. Students will also be in charge of buying food and materials for their animals to survive.
We will host a market day where students can create their own Farmer's Market stands to sell goods to one another. Again, students will be in charge of documenting and tracking their spending and earnings.
Along the way we will provide students real-life scenario cards where they will experience costly problems i.e. unexpected illness, drought, floods, etc.
In the end, students should understand the costs associated with a farm and the unpredictability of agriculture. Students will understand the concepts of buying/selling as well as saving money.
Some extension activities that we will do are:
watching a real local cattle sale
visit our local 4-H Show Day
STEM: build real representations of our farms using recycled resources
Soil My Undies
Soil My Undies
This is a science experiment that I have been doing for the past 4 years. Each year the experiment changes. In short, this experiment is great to test soil over a period of time. As a class we evaluate the previous year's results and science experiment (i.e. scientific method and scientific question). Together, we create a new scientific question using the former year as a building block. Next, we take a pair of undies and bury them in a safe area that is undisturbed. Use a marker to identify where they are located. I start this in the fall and revisit the experiment in the spring. If the soil is healthy, you will see decomposition of the cotton underwear. This is evidence that microorganisms live in the soil which are indicators of a healthy soil. To take this a step further, complete soil sample tests to determine the type of soil that you are investigating.
This year, the Grade 3's are testing the NHCS garden and comparing it to my garden to determine which garden has healthier soil. Some key words that were mentioned in our hypothesis were: compost, manure, established garden, organisms, and more! You can visit last year's experiment here.
Materials
Materials
-Shovel
-Cotton underwear
-flags (markers)
Other Lessons
Other Lessons
-testing different soils
-PH of soil
-Vermicomposting
-edible soil (Earth's Layers)
- Soil art
Charter/Program of Studies Connections
Charter/Program of Studies Connections
-Care and concern for the environment
-plant needs
-Soil health and crop production (agriculture)
-Grade 3 Science (Earth Systems and Scientific Methods)
Cattle Research Project
Cattle Research Project
If you have been following the Grade 3's Week at a Glance, you would see that we adopted a dairy calf in Pennsylvania and a beef calf from my farm. There are many similarities and differences between dairy and beef cattle . In this project students have been assigned either a beef or dairy breed to research and find information on. After the have found appropriate information on their breed, students will learn how to use Google Slides to make a presentation to share with the class. This is a great lesson because students started out with only a small portion of knowledge on cows but this has grown significantly throughout the months.
To help students become more interested in cows, I have been using a classroom management tool where students purchased a cow as a team from a budget. Now in order to keep their cow healthy, they have to work hard, get their tasks, and keep our classroom space clean. Students were interested to watch a cattle sale and then they learned how multiplication is a huge factor to the cattle industry! We practiced calculating market prices as cattle are typically sold by the pound.
Materials
Materials
Adopt a Calf-website
Research Graphic Organizer
Other Lessons
Other Lessons
The Purpose of Different Animals
Financial Literacy- Costs to looking after cattle
Cattle Life Cycles- birth to death
Charter/Program of Studies Connections
Charter/Program of Studies Connections
Science-
Life Cycles
Animal Husbandry
Health-
Where does food come from?
Language arts-
research
creating presentations
public speaking
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