Megan FortgangPage 101/13/2019

Microfarming Unit: Multi-Disciplinary Centers

Unit Essential Question: What led up to people being able to eat foods from all over the world?

Goals: SWBAT…

Use both in speech and writing the critical terminology about farms, the chicken, and the poultry industry.

Construct a story for the origin of a food product.

Locate a city/country on a map.

Use the scale on a map to find the approximate distance between 2 points.

Create and access an informational Venn diagram.

Create and access an informational web.

Materials:

Center #1: Computer access & “On the Trail” worksheet.

Center #2: “Food Stories” worksheet & “Food stories” game cards.

Center #3: A selection of nonperishable food items, “miles…” data table, rulers, blank world map, & atlas.

Center #4: “What are the ingredients” cards & blank paper.

Center #5: Informational writing on the three different breeds of chicken & a 3-circle Venn diagram template.

Center #6: eight chicken worksheets & 2 level articles.

Folders for each child (to contain completed work).

Folders for each center containing the instructions, worksheets, and other necessary materials.

Center Disciplines:

Center #1: Science

Center #2: Science

Center #3: Geography & Math

Center #4: Social Studies

Center #5: Science

Center #6: Multidisciplinary Spelling/Vocabulary Terms, Math, & Science.

Introduction

Explain that these independent centers will be open for students to work in over the course of our microfarming unit and can be worked on not only today but during any extra time after lessons in any discipline in the classroom.

Present students with the location of and instructions for the new centers.

Provide each student with his or her own folder for containing completed work.

Center #1: “On the Trail” – students log on to the trails and virtually visit Church Farm. They will then explore the following places to answer these questions:

  1. How many habitats can you see in this picture of church farm?
  2. Church Farm Meadow
  3. List three examples of consumers shown in the meadow.
  4. Why are humans called omnivores?
  5. Barley Meadow
  6. Are mice prey or predators?
  7. Willow Meadow
  8. What does a food chain show us?
  9. The Hedge
  10. Which animal is at the top of the food chain in the hedge?
  11. Why are hedges called “wildlife corridors”?
  12. The River Thames
  13. Name three animals that pike eat.
  14. The Pond
  15. What problem is there in many farm ponds?

Center #2: “Food Stories” Game – for each food (apple, bread, yoghurt, potatoes, chicken, & sausage) the students need to put the pieces of the “story” together in the correct order. On their worksheets, students need to…

  1. Record the correct order.
  2. Record any patterns that they notice in the food production process.
  3. Make a hypothesis as to another food “story” for a food item of their choice.

Center #3: “Miles and miles and miles” – students will be given a grocery bag of food containers.

  1. They will find out (using the packaging) and record the data on their table:
  2. What is the name of this item?
  3. What food group does it fall into?
  4. Where did this food item come from?
  5. Students will use their maps to identify where each food is located, mark it on the map, and using a ruler draw a line out from the country to the edge of the map where they can draw the food, write its name and work out how far it has traveled.

Center #4: “What are the ingredients” – students will be given cards with each of the components of Spaghetti Bolognese. They will reconstruct a web showing the production of Spaghetti Bolognese. The cards will have pictures of…

  1. A cow
  2. Cheese
  3. Milk
  4. Tomato
  5. Tomato Puree
  6. Cow
  7. Ground beef
  8. Carrot in the ground
  9. Chopped carrot
  10. Wheat
  11. Flour
  12. Spaghetti

Students will then add hypotheses to their web of what buildings/places each of these items can be found or is produced in (there are a few possible solutions – so students will need to write a rationale in a sentence or so explaining their choices):

  1. Factory
  2. Dairy Farm
  3. Cattle Farm
  4. Vegetable Garden
  5. Wheat field
  6. Pasteurizing Factory
  7. Processing Plant
  8. Farmers Market
  9. Grocery Store
  10. Farm Stand

Center #5: Chicken Comparison – students will investigate the question – are all chickens the same? To do so they will compare diagrams and short informational pieces about three different breeds of chickens (Andalusian Chicken, Rhode Island Red, Leghorn). After reading, students will fill in a Venn diagram to identify the similarities and differences between the types of chickens.

Center #6: Poultry Industry Reading – students will read one of two articles on poultry farming on the east coast (one for more advanced and one for more developing readers). Using their articles, they will complete 2 worksheets of their choice (at least one must be a vocabulary activity)…

  1. “A Chicken Grows Up” (coloring and informational activity about chicken diet)
  2. “Match and Scratch” (vocabulary matching)
  3. “I am Chicken” (t/f statements about chicken life)
  4. “Out of Place” (vocabulary association)
  5. “What’s the Word?” (fill in the blank vocabulary)
  6. “Scrambled Eggs” (word scramble)
  7. “Go Figure” (word problems)
  8. “Do Count Your Chickens” (math problems)

Conclusion: Status update (record student progress on chart to ensure that students are completing each activity).

Center #2

Apples / Bread / Yoghurt / Potatoes / Chicken / Sausage
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Step 5
Step 6

Questions (record your responses on the back):

1. Do you notice any patterns in the food production process?

2. Make up your own food story. Use the food stories you figured out to help you make a hypothesis about the story behind another type of food.

Center #3

Name of Item / Food Group / Where does
it come from?

Center #5

Chickens

Chickens are domestic (farm) birds that cannot fly. The adult female chicken is called a hen, the adult male is called a rooster, and the young are called poults. There are many different breeds of chicken that are different sizes and colors. Bantams are miniature chicken breeds. A group of chickens is called a flock. The scientific name of the chicken is Gallus domesticus (genus and species).

Anatomy: The rooster is larger and more brightly colored than the hen; he also has a larger comb. Roosters make a very loud crowing sound and can be quite aggressive. Hens lay eggs that range in color from white to pale brown and other pale colors.

Diet: Chickens have a varied diet. They eat insects, worms, fruit, seeds, acorns, grains, slugs, snails, and many other foods. They have a well-developed gizzard (a part of the stomach that contains tiny stones) that grinds up their food.

Predators: Many animals eat chickens, include skunks, owls, raccoons, hawks, snakes, opossums, bobcats, and people.

Classification of the Chicken

Kingdom Animalia (the animals)

Phylum Chordata

Subphylum Vertebrata (animals with backbones)

Class Aves (Birds)

Order Galliformes

Family Phasianidae

Genus Gallus

Species - G. domesticus

Rhode Island Red

Rhode Island Red Chickens are excellent farm birds. The adult female chicken is called a hen, the adult male is called a rooster, and the young are called chicks. Roosters are larger than hens; roosters weigh about 8 1/2 pounds, hens weigh about 6 1/2 pounds. A group of chickens is called a flock.

The Rhode Island Red has red-brown feathers, a red comb and yellow skin. Hens lay brown eggs. This chicken was developed from Malaysian stock that was refined in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

Leghorn Chicken

Leghorn Chickens are white domestic (farm) birds. The adult female chicken is called a hen, the adult male is called a rooster, and the young are called chicks. A group of chickens is called a flock. Leghorn hens lay white eggs; the incubation period (the time it takes for an egg to hatch) is 21 days.

Center #5

Label each circle with a different type of chicken. Use the information from your articles to compare the different breeds of chickens. Find what is unique about each breed and what they have in common.