Curriculum
Explore, download and share these proven real-world educational resources to help bring science and agriculture to life in your classroom. Relevant and engaging, you’ll find useful, easy-to-implement lesson plans and activities.
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Bioeconomy and soybeans: investigating challenges and exploring solutions
What is a bioeconomy? What is the role of soybeans in the development of bioeconomies in Spanish-speaking countries? International markets are very important to soybean farmers across the globe. In this unit, students in a Spanish language class will explore the idea of a bioeconomy and research case studies of …
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Water Windmill Challenge
How do engineers build strong support structures? This unit asks students to create a windmill structure using the Engineering Design Process. A farmer has hired your company, Wind Power Technologies, to engineer a derrick to support a …
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Gel electrophoresis basics
How might students identify patterns in samples of DNA or proteins? In what ways can we see if the gene(s) of interest are present? This unit leads students through the process of setting up gel electrophoresis chambers, understanding the mechanics, and experimenting with various aspects of running gels.
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Central dogma: an integration of science and art
How does DNA code become an expressed trait? Do your students struggle to understand the “central dogma” of biology? Are you looking for innovative teaching techniques? This unit is an integrated art and science project to teach transcription …
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Smart farming: using data to make decisions
What kind of data do farmers use to make decisions? Where does that data come from? Become a "farmer" on a journey from pre-planting to harvest to see what decisions farmers are making every year as they farm. Growers across the country are gaining access to more and more data about …
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Plenish® of ways to use oil
Can you transform fats in your diet? Current trends in consumer behavior show that people want to eat healthier and are looking for simple ways to transform their diets. High oleic soybean oil features lower saturated fat while …
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Making biodiesel from soybeans
How might we make and use renewable fuel? Make biodiesel and create a scale model of an anaerobic digester, while investigating bioenergy and how it is produced.
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Soy fresh, soy clean: Using aseptic technique for food safety
How clean is your lab station? About 48 million people (1 in 6 Americans) get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die each year from foodborne diseases, according to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and …
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Photoperiod: the floral initiator
What drives plants to flower and reproduce? In this lesson students will plant and care for soybeans under one of three different photoperiod regimes: First month: 16 hours; Second month: 14 hours; third month: 12 hours (control) 16 hours for …
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Nitrogen fixation and legumes: say what?
How do legumes fix nitrogen? If the atmosphere is about 80% Nitrogen (N2), but plants cannot use that form, how do they get nitrogen? In this unit, students plant and care for soybeans under one of five different …
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AFNR food science
What is food science? We are bombarded by new foods every time we go into a grocery store or watch television. Where are all of these foods coming from? Food science is the answer. This AFNR unit introduces several …
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AFNR plant systems
How do we develop and manage plant systems? Each plant is classified according to broad categories based on characteristics they share. New DNA technology has allowed us to be more specific in determining the “relatives” of plants. This …