Download: Introduction K-2 AG SEEDLINGS Reading Passage.pdf
Overview: In this lesson, students will learn about the importance of agriculture in Pennsylvania. They will learn about apple orchards and the key role pollinators play in apple production. Students will learn the process from apple blossom to fruit to harvest to distribution to table. The class will demonstrate and explain the farming process to the table. Students will then get to make their own apple pie cup using math fractions to demonstrate measurement skills. Finally, Students will get to enjoy their delicious treat while learning about the human impact in agriculture.
Overview: In this lesson, students will learn about open-source data and what it means to be a citizen scientist. Students will use the app, Seek by iNaturalist to collect data at the school’s local ecosystem. Students can take and upload photos of plants and insects found outside then collaborate with other citizen scientists to determine what type of species they found. Students can also find the migration patterns of these insects and species from other collected sources of data. Students will learn the importance of using technology as a tool and as a form of communication with other informal scientists from around the world.
Overview: In this lesson, students will learn how honeybees pollinate flowers. Students will also learn how different types of flowers have unique blends of pollen nutrition. Pollen provides bees with a blend of protein and lipids. Just like humans, our food sources are full of nutrients and give us energy throughout the day. Students will demonstrate understanding of bee pollination by embodying honeybees. The teacher will guide students outside to model bee pollination by playing the game, Pollinator Relay. Students will act as a colony of bees in beehives. There will be flower buckets acting as a cluster of different types of flowers. Each bucket will be full of pollen balls, (ping pong balls). The flower buckets will be located around the beehive. One bee at a time will leave the hive to collect pollen. The goal is for students to work together and to collect as much pollen as possible. Students will also receive “extra pollen points” when collecting different types of pollen that are enriched with high protein.
Overview: Students will learn about the invasive species, the Emerald Ash Borer, E.A.B.. Students will learn how this invasive species is responsible for the deconstruction of millions of ash trees, a key plant in Pennsylvania’s ecosystem. Students will learn of different ways to protect our ecosystem from this invasive species. Students will then make a Emerald Ash Borer decoy and design a trap to collect this specimen. Students will observe and collect data on their traps. Finally the class will have a discussion on possible variables and solutions to control this science experiment for future testing. For best trap results, a prism trap up in the tree is best. (Information on “best” traps is located in teacher resource videos.) The goal of this activity is not to collect the most E.A.B. but rather having students critically think and practice by making their own designs and finding solutions. Students should be given the opportunity to discuss and make their “ideal” trap.
Overview: In this lesson, students will learn about the Pennsylvania state hummingbird, The Ruby-Throated (R.T.) Hummingbird. Students will learn how this special hummingbird is a natural pollinator and its amazing annual journey through the United States. Students will work together to discover this pollinator’s migration route through North America. Students will receive 5 diary passengers written from R.T. Hummingbird who is migrating north for the summer months. Each diary passage has geological context clues. Students will use the clues and a physical region map as a key to help guide them into finding the correct 5 locations. Students will then connect the 5 location spots to observe the northern migration route of the R.T. Hummingbird. Students will also learn about different types of flowering plants that grow due to an environment and how animals adapt to change.