Agmag Spring 2019 Lesson & Activity Ideas
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Lesson Ideas
Students will discover technologies that are used on farms to increase efficiency and yields and decrease costs and environmental impact.
Increasing Food Production with Precision Agriculture
This hands-on lesson teaches students how precision agriculture uses geographic information systems (GIS) to help farmers and manufacturers make smart, efficient, and responsible decisions about how and when they plant, grow, irrigate, harvest, and transport crops.
How Much Is Dirt Worth? (Grades 3-5)
Students will understand that topsoil is a limited resource with economic value. Activities include slicing up an apple to demonstrate the distribution of Earth’s soil resources and exploring scenarios involving the dollar valuation of soil.
Students will be able to demonstrate rain drop splash (splash erosion) and determine its impact on bare soil, ultimately being able to visually identify types of erosion.
Students will be able to understand the basic geography of a watershed, how water flows through the system, and how people can impact the quality of our water.
Students will observe and understand that water changes states as it moves through the water cycle.
Activity Ideas
- Take a field trip around your school grounds and/or community. Have students make observations about the natural resources present and how they are being protected as well as polluted.
- Brainstorm ideas for actions that your class can take to protect natural resources in your community. Use the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s Personal Action page for inspiration!
- Explore the videos and field stories at https://agcultures.com/fieldstories to follow grain from Minnesota, down the Mighty Mississippi River, and all over the world!
- Explore the online resources and game simulations at Journey 2050 . Students can virtually farm in Kenya, India, and Canada. As students interact with each family, they make decisions and work to balance social, economic, and environmental factors.
Additional MAITC Resources
Food for Thought Geography Resource and Interactive Maps
History of Minnesota Agriculture Timeline
