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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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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Stick a fork in it: biodegradable products
Which biobased substrate will create a durable form of bio-plastic? Which biobased material has the least effect on the composition of compost and runoff through degradation? Compostable plastics are a new generation of plastics that are biodegradable through composting. They are derived generally from renewable raw materials like starch (e.g. corn, potato, tapioca etc), …
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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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High-oleic oil: What’s all the fuss?
How does chemical structure affect chemical performance? Trans fat is out, so back to the drawing board. In this unit, students will explore the chemical behavior of molecules related to the structure by 1) examining how the structure of high-oleic oil …
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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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Beans about water: soybeans and food science
What role do soybeans and soy products play in my everyday life? Are soybeans everywhere? Really? Check ingredient labels in a variety of cookies, peanut butter, soups, chips, chocolate candy, microwave popcorn and other processed snacks. Many of the foods we eat …
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Soy in food: What is that doing in there?
How does the chemical composition of soybeans impact the characteristics of soy-containing foods? Have you ever looked on a food label and seen soy products on it, even though it wasn’t made from soybeans? This unit explores the various uses of soy in foods and how soy can be used to accomplish …
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Plant oils matter: agricultural soap
What are the ingredients of products you use everyday like soap? Does it matter where they come from? Soap made from soybeans? Sunflowers? Olives? Plant oils have different “fatty acids” that determine the characteristics of your soap—is it creamy? bubbly? hard? soft? It is the oil in plants that …
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Henry Ford and George Washington Carver team up to make bio-based products
How do scientists and engineers work together to solve problems? Scientists and engineers work together to “industrialize” the use of agriculture products. Oil and protein from plants can be turned into many products. Design some new products using items from …
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Oh soy good! Milk types and food security
How might soymilk, and other types of milk, help ensure food security? Investigate various milk sources and their composition through core disciplines of Science, Math, Social Studies and Language Arts to discover the availability of milk types within multiple cultures …