W1:
Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

Enlightened Concessions: Through project-based learning, students conduct surveys with their peers at school about healthy food products they think will be marketable for school concessions. Based on surveys and research, they choose an in-demand product to test in class and then present to a guest panel as a healthy choice.

Food Safety Sleuths—Food Safety Specialist: Students will learn about foodborne illness, its prevention, and the people and organizations that are involved in food safety. Students will conduct an experiment to learn how hand-washing affects the presence of bacteria on their hands.

Mix It Up! Food Scientist: Students will model the responsibilities of a food scientist by working in product development teams to create a new food product. Tasks will involve market analysis, economics, food chemistry and safety, graphic design, and communication.

Plant Parts and Functions: Students will learn about plant parts and how they function in plant growth and reproduction.

What? No Soil?: After learning the five basic requirements of plant growth, students discuss terms related to hydroponics. Students then build and maintain hydroponic units from soda bottles.

W2:
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization and analysis of content.

Can We Have Too Much of a Good Thing?: Students will understand that plants require nutrients in the proper concentrations. Students will discover that plants can be damaged or killed by either too many or too few nutrients.

Drones in High-Tech Farming: Students will discover the science behind how a drone works, explore how drones are used in agriculture, and program and operate a drone for the purpose of monitoring grazing sheep.

Enlightened Concessions: Through project-based learning, students conduct surveys with their peers at school about healthy food products they think will be marketable for school concessions. Based on surveys and research, they choose an in-demand product to test in class and then present to a guest panel as a healthy choice.

Food Safety Sleuths—Food Safety Specialist: Students will learn about foodborne illness, its prevention, and the people and organizations that are involved in food safety. Students will conduct an experiment to learn how hand-washing affects the presence of bacteria on their hands.

FoodMASTER Middle: Cheese: Students will learn about the Law of Conservation of Mass by exploring environmental factors that can impact protein coagulation in milk (cheese-making process). By making qualitative and quantitative observations, they will test three possible methods of making curds and whey.

FoodMASTER Middle: Eggs: Students will learn the anatomy of eggs and the concept of forming colloidal dispersions called foams as they learn the anatomy of an egg, create a foam by whisking egg whites, investigate the effect of whisking time on foam, and compare and contrast the effect of different substances on the stability of foam.

FoodMASTER Middle: Energy Balance: Students will identify the importance of a healthy diet, examine how to meet current Dietary Guidelines, and determine the potential energy (kilocalories) of a peanut through measurements obtained during teacher use of a bomb calorimeter. Students will make comparisons to the actual nutrition facts label and identify possible sources of error.

FoodMASTER Middle: Fats and Oils: Students will explore the fat content of commonly consumed foods, observe physical properties of lipids (margarine, butter and vegetable oil) to distinguish between saturated and unsaturated fat, and observe the action of emulsifiers in heterogeneous and homogenous mixtures.

FoodMASTER Middle: Food Safety: Students will understand water-based state changes that occur at varying temperatures, recognize the importance of the proper hand washing technique for general health and disease prevention, understand the factors that impact mold growth and their application to food safety, and explore ways to prevent foodborne illness.

FoodMASTER Middle: Fruits: Students will learn the concept of enzymatic browning and methods for decreasing enzymatic oxidation by observing three types of fruit. Students will also understand the relationship between oxidation and antioxidants and the role fruits play in health and nutrition.

FoodMASTER Middle: Grains: Students will learn the physical components and nutritional composition of a grain, understand the function of the protein gluten in the structure of bread products, and investigate how mechanical and chemical digestion begins with salivary amylase in the mouth.

FoodMASTER Middle: Milk: Students will understand the nutritional components of milk (carbohydrates) as they test three types of milk for the sugar glucose before and after adding the digestive enzyme lactase to determine which milk(s) contain the sugar lactose. They will also explore the nutritional composition and health benefits of consuming milk, research food sources of calcium, vitamin D, and phosphorus and devise ways to add bone-strengthening food to their diet.

FoodMASTER Middle: Protein: Students will examine dietary sources of protein and generally understand the relationship between protein synthesis and amino acids, while completing an activity to use beads as a representation of amino acids to construct proteins (polypeptide chains). Students will identify complete and/or incomplete proteins found in both animal and plant food sources.

FoodMASTER Middle: Sugar: Students will learn the concept of simple carbohydrates (sugar) in the diet and their role in providing energy to the body, compare saturated sugar solutions, and evaluate the sugar content of common beverages and sugar consumption within their own diet.

FoodMASTER Middle: Vegetables: Students will learn the concept of pH and the impact of acids and bases on plant pigments, explore the impact of acids and bases on plant cell structure, and discover the health benefits of consuming vegetables.

FoodMASTER Middle: Weights and Measures: Students will use common household measurement tools and scientific measurement tools and various methods of measurement to compare for accuracy. Students will also calculate percent error by comparing their measurements to actual values and apply these principles to analyze and decipher the components of a food as indicated on the nutrition facts label.

FoodMASTER Middle: Yogurt: Students will learn the role of bacterial fermentation and evaluate the effect of fat content, sugar content (lactose), and temperature in bacterial fermentation as they make yogurt.

High-Tech Farming: Students will discover technologies that are used on farms to increase efficiency and yields and decrease costs and environmental impact.

Mix It Up! Food Scientist: Students will model the responsibilities of a food scientist by working in product development teams to create a new food product. Tasks will involve market analysis, economics, food chemistry and safety, graphic design, and communication.

Robots in High-Tech Farming: Students will discover the four main components of robots, explore how robots are used in agriculture, and program and operate a robot to address a farming challenge.

The Geography of Thanksgiving Dinner: Students will identify common Thanksgiving foods and their farm source, determine if those foods can be produced locally, and locate the common origins of their Thanksgiving day dinner.

The Remarkable Ruminant: Students will follow the farm-to-fork process of producing beef, learn how cattle and other ruminants convert grass into nutrient-rich foods such as milk and meat, discover ways cattle recycle food waste, and identify careers in the beef cattle industry.

W3:
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.

Hungry Pests: This lesson teaches about invasive species: what they are, the threats they pose, and damages they can cause. Students will identify individual pests and invasive species and discover what they threaten, where they live, and the pathways hungry pests use to enter new locations. Finally, students move into action and explore what they can do to prevent the spread of invasive species.

W4:
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose and audience.

Drones in High-Tech Farming: Students will discover the science behind how a drone works, explore how drones are used in agriculture, and program and operate a drone for the purpose of monitoring grazing sheep.

Eggs on the Menu: Students will learn the versatility, function, and nutritional benefit of eggs in a healthy diet; identify the function and role of eggs in a recipe; identify forms of technology used on an egg farm; and understand how eggs are classified by size.

Fertilizers and the Environment: Students will recognize that fertile soil is a limited resource to produce food for a growing population, describe the role fertilizer plays to increase food productivity, distinguish between organic and commercial fertilizers, and recognize how excess nutrients are harmful to the environment.

High-Tech Farming: Students will discover technologies that are used on farms to increase efficiency and yields and decrease costs and environmental impact.

Horse and Rider: The Pony Express: Students will explore the role horses played in the settlement and expansion of the American West by mapping Pony Express stations.

Hungry Pests: This lesson teaches about invasive species: what they are, the threats they pose, and damages they can cause. Students will identify individual pests and invasive species and discover what they threaten, where they live, and the pathways hungry pests use to enter new locations. Finally, students move into action and explore what they can do to prevent the spread of invasive species.

Plant Parts and Functions: Students will learn about plant parts and how they function in plant growth and reproduction.

Robots in High-Tech Farming: Students will discover the four main components of robots, explore how robots are used in agriculture, and program and operate a robot to address a farming challenge.

The Geography of Thanksgiving Dinner: Students will identify common Thanksgiving foods and their farm source, determine if those foods can be produced locally, and locate the common origins of their Thanksgiving day dinner.

W6:
Produce and publish grade-appropriate writing using technology, either independently or in collaborating with others.

The Right Diet for Your Plants: Students will learn how to read a fertilizer label, understand the components of fertilizers, and explore factors for choosing the appropriate fertilizer for a given situation. Students will use their knowledge and conduct research on one type of soil supplement to design a persuasive product advertisement.

W7:
Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

Aeroponic Engineering and Vertical Farming: Students will use the Engineering Design Process to develop and construct an aeroponic garden to grow a food crop. Students will develop and apply an understanding of plant anatomy and physiology related to plant growth and ultimately discuss the possibilities and limitations of using vertical farming to produce our food.

Eggs on the Menu: Students will learn the versatility, function, and nutritional benefit of eggs in a healthy diet; identify the function and role of eggs in a recipe; identify forms of technology used on an egg farm; and understand how eggs are classified by size.

FoodMASTER Middle: Eggs: Students will learn the anatomy of eggs and the concept of forming colloidal dispersions called foams as they learn the anatomy of an egg, create a foam by whisking egg whites, investigate the effect of whisking time on foam, and compare and contrast the effect of different substances on the stability of foam.

FoodMASTER Middle: Energy Balance: Students will identify the importance of a healthy diet, examine how to meet current Dietary Guidelines, and determine the potential energy (kilocalories) of a peanut through measurements obtained during teacher use of a bomb calorimeter. Students will make comparisons to the actual nutrition facts label and identify possible sources of error.

FoodMASTER Middle: Fats and Oils: Students will explore the fat content of commonly consumed foods, observe physical properties of lipids (margarine, butter and vegetable oil) to distinguish between saturated and unsaturated fat, and observe the action of emulsifiers in heterogeneous and homogenous mixtures.

FoodMASTER Middle: Fruits: Students will learn the concept of enzymatic browning and methods for decreasing enzymatic oxidation by observing three types of fruit. Students will also understand the relationship between oxidation and antioxidants and the role fruits play in health and nutrition.

FoodMASTER Middle: Grains: Students will learn the physical components and nutritional composition of a grain, understand the function of the protein gluten in the structure of bread products, and investigate how mechanical and chemical digestion begins with salivary amylase in the mouth.

FoodMASTER Middle: Milk: Students will understand the nutritional components of milk (carbohydrates) as they test three types of milk for the sugar glucose before and after adding the digestive enzyme lactase to determine which milk(s) contain the sugar lactose. They will also explore the nutritional composition and health benefits of consuming milk, research food sources of calcium, vitamin D, and phosphorus and devise ways to add bone-strengthening food to their diet.

FoodMASTER Middle: Sugar: Students will learn the concept of simple carbohydrates (sugar) in the diet and their role in providing energy to the body, compare saturated sugar solutions, and evaluate the sugar content of common beverages and sugar consumption within their own diet.

FoodMASTER Middle: Vegetables: Students will learn the concept of pH and the impact of acids and bases on plant pigments, explore the impact of acids and bases on plant cell structure, and discover the health benefits of consuming vegetables.

FoodMASTER Middle: Weights and Measures: Students will use common household measurement tools and scientific measurement tools and various methods of measurement to compare for accuracy. Students will also calculate percent error by comparing their measurements to actual values and apply these principles to analyze and decipher the components of a food as indicated on the nutrition facts label.

The Remarkable Ruminant: Students will follow the farm-to-fork process of producing beef, learn how cattle and other ruminants convert grass into nutrient-rich foods such as milk and meat, discover ways cattle recycle food waste, and identify careers in the beef cattle industry.

The Right Diet for Your Plants: Students will learn how to read a fertilizer label, understand the components of fertilizers, and explore factors for choosing the appropriate fertilizer for a given situation. Students will use their knowledge and conduct research on one type of soil supplement to design a persuasive product advertisement.

W8:
Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.

Source Sleuth: Investigating Credible Sources About Beef: Students will discover why it is important to use credible sources, learn strategies for identifying credible sources, identify primary sources of information, and practice citing sources.

Taming the Wild Aurochs: Students will read about and research the domestication of animals to better understand why and how they are raised on a farm. They will create a timeline of animal domestication.

W9:
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection and research.

Aeroponic Engineering and Vertical Farming: Students will use the Engineering Design Process to develop and construct an aeroponic garden to grow a food crop. Students will develop and apply an understanding of plant anatomy and physiology related to plant growth and ultimately discuss the possibilities and limitations of using vertical farming to produce our food.

Fertilizers and the Environment: Students will recognize that fertile soil is a limited resource to produce food for a growing population, describe the role fertilizer plays to increase food productivity, distinguish between organic and commercial fertilizers, and recognize how excess nutrients are harmful to the environment.

Taming the Wild Aurochs: Students will read about and research the domestication of animals to better understand why and how they are raised on a farm. They will create a timeline of animal domestication.

The QUEST for the Whole Enchilada: This lesson utilizes a process learning model to recognize how the Columbian Exchange and early Spanish explorers impacted the culture and cuisine of the Southwest United States. Students will participate in a food lab to make enchiladas and learn about the production of each ingredient.