AgMag Ideas Issue 2

Lesson Ideas

Where Does Your Food Come From?: An Augmented Reality Lesson
Using an interest-based approach, students will create an augmented reality video using a smart phone application (app) to educate consumers about where their food comes from.
Go to the Where Does Your Food Come From? page.

Soybeans to Car Parts
Students investigate the collaborative work of an agricultural scientist and engineer to find new uses for an agriculture product (soybeans)
Go to the Soybeans to Car Parts page.

Heredity in Corn
Students will understand the importance of corn as a crop. Students will use corn to model plant reproduction and also plant heredity.
Go to the Heredity in Corn page.

Trading Favorites
Students explore global trade by assuming the role of an exporter and importer. True-to-life scenarios are given to students to research.
Go to the Trading Favorites page.

Activity Ideas

• Identify students’ favorite foods and research how each food or ingredient moves through the steps of the agricultural cycle (production, processing, distributing, marketing and consuming.
• Investigate how the agricultural changes listed on page 7 such as new technology, hybrid seeds, commercial fertilizers and crop protection chemicals have impacted corn and soybean production in Minnesota. The Minnesota Corn Growers Association and Minnesota Soybean Growers Association might be helpful in this investigation.
• Use Minnesota’s Global Trading Partners information from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture to learn more about the importance of exporting and importing and identify the agricultural goods that Minnesota exports to countries around the world as well as the products that we eat and use that are imported from other countries.

Additional MAITC Resources

• Minnesota School Garden Guide
• Food for Thought Geography Resource and Interactive Maps
• Minnesota Commodity Card Set
• Agricultural Products Poster
• History of Minnesota Agriculture Timeline