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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Soy and world hunger
How can soybean products help solve world hunger? Have you ever heard students utter the words “What's the point? What does this have to do with anything?” This lesson is an engaging 3 part challenge in which students apply their knowledge to help …
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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 …
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Managing nutrient and pesticide needs in agriculture
Why do farmers spend time and money to apply chemicals to their fields? In this threaded PBL*, (an effort to integrate agricultural understandings into the normal sequence of an Environmental Science classroom) students will conduct several “close reads” (reading for …
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Biochar: producing bioenergy from waste
How can a waste stream become part of a cyclical system? Make biochar, a soil amendment, by making and using a model top light updraft (TLUD) pyrolysis kiln or oven.
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Soybeans as a chemical feedstock
Can agriculture provide greener, more sustainable products? Soybeans contain several components which innovators and entrepreneurs find valuable when creating greener products. What are the chemical building blocks in a soybean?
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Growing more food: biotechnology
How will we feed 9 billion people? Grow soybeans using Round-Up Ready seeds to illustrate how biotechnology can be used as a tool to increase production. Introduce students to different options for growing soybeans, investigate …
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Watersheds, wetlands and water quality data analysis
Why is water quality important? What factors impact water quality? This unit will discuss the importance of water quality, describe several impacts to water quality, and include a data analysis activity that students complete to determine how wetlands play a role in …
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Animal nutrition
Which macromolecules are found in animal feed? Animal nutrition focuses on the dietary needs of animals—not just those in agriculture and food production, but also in zoos, aquariums, and wildlife management. Pets need good nutrition, too. In …