Each lesson was designed by a classroom teacher and tested in the Traverse City Area Public Schools. For either 2nd or 3rd grade students, this lesson allows children to identify helpful and harmful insects, learn the variety of ways food producers have to control pests, and make insects traps and key out their bugs just like in an orchard. Integrated pest management techniques used on real orchards are discussed. Insect and plant life cycles are taught. This is a 3rd grade lesson that can easily be adjusted for 2nd grade.
Seeds are the beginning of all food from plants and are essential for animal production.
Students will compare seed types, learn their parts, discover foods that grow from seeds and find out how farmers are able to raise food because of their expertise in seed and plant care. This lesson teaches about these products, where they come from and why they are good for the environment. This 4th grade lesson, students conduct an experiment using different materials and predict which will dissolve first. This 4th grade lesson asks students to make observations about various types of soil. They will learn about soil density and permeability and conduct experiments using different conservation methods.