Feeding the Planet

Lesson 4 - Sustainable Agriculture: Production

National Learning Standards:

• HS-ETS1-1 Analyze a major global challenge to specify qualitative and quantitative criteria and constraints for solutions that account for societal needs and wants.
• RST.11-12.7 Integrate and evaluate multiple source of information presented in diverse formats in order to address a question or solve a problem.

Grade Level: 9-12

Lesson Length: 60 minutes

Learning Objectives:

Participants will:

• Categorize agricultural commodities into the four uses of agricultural products – food, fiber, fuel, and shelter
• Define key terms related to food security
• Explore the food security on a global scale, including affordability, availability, quality, and safety of various farm outputs

Materials and Equipment Needed:

• Production Sustainability PowerPoint
• Butcher paper or tearsheet (1 per group)
• Markers and/or colored pencils
• Access to the internet
• Feeding the Planet Activity Sheets (1 per student)

Cross-Curricular Connections:

Use these suggested adaptations to make learning across the curriculum easy!

Science

Explore the impact of biological advancements in agricultural production methods. Suggested resource: Bringing Biotechnology to Life http://www.agfoundation.org/bringing-biotech-to-life/

 

Technology

Research the impact of planting and harvesting technology, such as GPS units in tractors.

 

Engineering

Create a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast the engineering design of a piece of production equipment used today, and in the past.

 

Mathematics

Evaluate production and price data provided by the USDA Economic Research Service: https://www.ers.usda.gov/