Ideas for Social Studies Lessons
![]() There are so many opportunities to link Social Studies with the garden: studying and making maps, learning the history of food and farm inventions, exploring what people in other countries eat and how they farm. In addition to the lesson plans offered on this page, here are some more ideas to connect the garden and agriculture to your social studies units.
Grades: PreK-5 Download the complete list. Where Does Your Candy
Come From? ![]() Pair your Valentine celebrations with some real learning by having your students investigate what their candy is made of and where it comes from. Your students no doubt will be surprised to learn that although their chocolate bar looks nothing like the green plant on the windowsill, almost all its ingredients come from plants! Encourage your students to trace the source of sugar to sugar beets in the Midwest and sugar cane in Louisiana, and chocolate to cacao beans in the rain forest. They will appreciate plants more when they take those sweet bites.
Grades: K-5 Download the complete lesson. Download the Where Does Your Candy Come From? power point presentation here. The Three Sisters
![]() In this lesson, students will plant corn, beans, and squash the way the Native Americans who lived in New Jersey planted these three major food crop. Students can compare different version of Three Sisters legends. The lesson includes a recipe for Three Sisters stew.
Grades: K-5 Download the complete lesson. Christmas Trees
Are Grown on Farms ![]() Do your students know where Christmas trees really come from? They are not cut from forests, they are grown on farms! This lesson teaches students about Christmas tree farming in New Jersey and also explains how coniferous trees are different from deciduous trees.
Grades: K-5 Download the complete lesson. Download the power point presentation Christmas Trees Are Grown On Farms here. Why People Need Plants
![]() This lesson teaches students how important plants are to people. We use plants for food, shelter, clothing, fuel, medicine, and many other things. In addition to learning how plants live and grow, it's vital for students to understand how much we get from plants.
Grades: K-3, can be modified for older students Download the complete lesson. Source Search![]() Do your students know where the things they eat and use everyday come from? Many of them come from the farm! Play this fast Source Search game to help your students realize that agriculture provides nearly all of the products we rely on every day.
Grades: 3-5 Download the complete lesson. Download Source Search game pictures here. Download Source Search game labels here. From Dirt to Shirt:
The World of Cotton ![]() This lesson is designed to get your students thinking about where the things they wear, use, and eat every day come from. Cotton is a versatile plant. Its fluffy bolls are used to make fabric for clothes, towels, sheet, and much more. Cotton seeds are used for animal feed. They are also used to make cottonseed oil that is part of many food products. The power point presentation will show your students the myriad of ways one plant can impact our world and will also walk your students through cotton's long growth cycle.
Grades: K-5 Download the complete lesson. Download the power point presentation From Dirt To Shirt - the World of Cotton here. Soy, the Super Bean
![]() Students make soybean ink and soybean lip balm in this lesson that shows them the myriad ways soybeans are used in our daily lives. It introduces legumes and their ability to enrich soil with nitrogen, and details soybeans abundant protein. And there's also a quick trip through the history of soybeans – including Henry Ford's soybean car!
Grades: K-5 Download the complete lesson. Download the Soy, The Super Bean power point presentation here. Jobs That Help Feed
the World ![]() If you ask your students “where does your food come from?” what will they answer? Will they say it comes from the grocery store? In this lesson, students will discuss not only where their food comes from, but who the people are who make sure there is food in the grocery store. From farmer to scientist to mechanic, your students will explore the jobs that help feed the world. Kindergarten, first, and second grade students look at pictures of people working in agriculture and decide which career is most interesting to them. Students in grades three through five play an agricultural careers race game that introduces them to 16 jobs in agriculture. Download the K-2 complete lesson. Download the K-2 lesson career pictures and descriptions only here. Download the 3-5 complete lesson. Download the 3-5 lesson career cards on race board only here. |
George Washington Carver,
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