L1:
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

Algaculture and Biofuel: Students will use the scientific method to learn about the growth properties of algae and how algae production may be a possible solution to address the global energy crisis. Students will utilize the engineering design process to apply their knowledge about algae growth to create a bioreactor for algae production and discover if biofuel can be made from algae.

Growing a Nation Era 1b: Cotton’s American Journey: Students investigate the impact of cotton on the history and culture of the United States. Students discover the growth and processing requirements for cotton, recognize how the invention of the cotton gin affected slavery, explain how the plantation system was organized, and ultimately understand the role of cotton in the Civil War.

Growing a Nation Era 5b: Playing by the Rules: Students will explore the major events and changes in agriculture related to science, technology, and policy in the era of 2001 to the present, taking an in-depth look at how these elements have impacted American families and communities through the passage and enactment of government programs and policies.

MyPlate, MyWin: Students will explore the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines, compare and contrast historical food guides, and discover how to apply principles of MyPlate into their diet to create a “MyWin.”

Say Cheese for Protein: Explore protein, discover the role of amino acids, identify dietary sources of complete and incomplete proteins, and make fresh mozzarella cheese—a food science experience where students will observe the protein in milk (whey and casein) separate from water in the creation of cheese.

Stacking Up Milk and Milk Substitutes: Students will compare and contrast milk and plant-based milk substitutes by learning their source from farm-to-table and discovering how they "stack-up" in nutritional value. Students will also explore food package labeling laws and consumer trends in milk consumption to think critically about the impact of labels in marketing and consumer perceptions of food.

The Cattle Drive and Westward Expansion: Students will gain a greater understanding of the historical context and purpose of the cattle drives that took place in the mid 1880s. Students will be able to explain the cause and effect relationships of life on the frontier including: population growth, and later, the invention and use of barbed wire, refrigeration and railroads.

L3:
Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.

Chain of Food: Students will explore the path food takes along the Farm-to-Table Continuum. They will begin on the farm and investigate food safety issues during processing, transportation, at restaurants and supermarkets, and finally, in their own homes. Teams will identify how food can become contaminated along the continuum and develop and present strategies for preventing contamination at each step.

Fertilizers and the Environment: Students will recognize that fertile soil is a limited resource, describe the role fertilizer plays in increasing food productivity, distinguish between organic and commercial fertilizers, describe how excess nutrients are harmful to the environment, and identify different sources of nutrient pollution.

The Environmental Footprint of Livestock: Explore modern livestock farming practices and the ecological footprint of meat, milk, and egg production. Evaluate the contributions of the livestock industry and weigh the challenges related to environmental and economic sustainability of animal-source foods in comparison to plant-source foods.

L4:
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by using context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting general and specialized reference materials, as appropriate.

A Recipe for Genetics: Selective Breeding and Bioengineering: Students identify technologies that have changed the way humans affect the inheritance of desired traits in organisms; compare and contrast selective breeding methods to bioengineering techniques; and analyze data to determine the best solution for cultivating desired traits in organisms.

Design ‘Y’er Genes: This lesson introduces students to the relationships between chromosomes, genes and DNA molecules. Using the example of a strawberry, it also provides activities that clearly show how changes in the DNA of an organism, either naturally or artificially, can cause changes.

Enzymes and Bacteria are Whey Cool!: Students study the science of amino acids, protein, enzymes, and beneficial bacterial bacteria to explore the phenomena, “Why does each variety of cheese taste different when the ingredients are the same?”

Geography and Climate for Agricultural Landscapes: Students will discover how geography and climate influence the crops that are grown and the livestock that are raised in each state.

Growing a Nation Era 5a: Growing Technology: Students will be introduced to technologies currently used on farms by engaging in an AppQuest to discover how farmers use mobile apps to manage farm production systems, marketing options, and make timely decisions.

Hen House Engineering: Students will use the claim, evidence and reasoning model to evaluate styles of housing used for laying hens in the production of eggs. Using critical thinking skills, students will compare housing styles, determine which system meets their animal welfare standards, and engineer their own hen house model to meet the needs of laying hens.

Lactose Lab: Some Don’t Like It Sweet: Students will learn the chemistry and composition of milk, identify the difference between a monosaccharide and disaccharide, and carry out a laboratory activity testing the effect of the enzyme lactase on various milks.

Looking Under the Label: Students will evaluate food package labels, determine their meaning, and use the claim, evidence and reasoning model to determine the value of the label in relation to food production practices, nutrition, health, and food safety. Students will engage in critical thinking to recognize the impact of food package labels in relation to marketing, consumer perceptions of food and farming practices.

Melons, Mitosis and Meiosis: Students will apply the steps of mitosis and meiosis to learn about the production of both seeded and seedless watermelon. Students will learn about the discovery of colchicine, which made seedless watermelon possible, and use modeling clay and beans to model meiosis and mitosis.

Nutrition Across the Lifespan: Students will trace the energy and nutrition requirements of the human lifecycle from beginning to end and identify the physical and cognitive growth happening in each phase of life.

Surrounded by Plants: Students identify the importance of plants to human life by surveying their home and neighborhood for plant products used for medicine, aesthetics, fuel products, fiber and food.

The Big Deal About Big Ag: Discover how technological advances and economic forces influence the size of farms in the United States. Evaluate the pros and cons of large-scale agriculture for the production of our food, fuel and fiber and identify the similarities and differences in commercial vs. subsistence farming.

The Water Footprint of Food: Explore concepts of sustainability by evaluating the water footprint (WF) of food. Students are introduced to irrigation practices throughout the world, consumptive and non-consumptive water use, and investigate the water requirements for various food crops.

Tracing the Agricultural Supply Chain: Explore the complexity of global commodity chains that link the production and consumption of agricultural products. Discover how economics, politics, infrastructure, and other conditions affect the distribution of food throughout the world.

Where Does it Grow? The Science of Climate and Food: Students will discover the connection between climate and our food supply as they answer the question, "Where does it grow?" They will also explore the consequences of climate change on our food supply and discover how advances in science can help farmers adapt to climate change.

L5:
Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships and nuances in word meanings.

Plant Nutrient Deficiencies: Students will recognize that plants—like people—require essential nutrients to be present in the right amounts in order to be healthy, use reference materials to diagnose plant nutrient deficiencies, define fertilizer as a type of food for plants, and appreciate that fertilizers are used to replenish nutrients in agricultural soils.

L6:
Acquire and use accurately general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.

A Closer Look at Fats: This lesson describes the role of fats in food and in the body, and how they serve as a source of energy. It provides information on different types of fats that are listed on the Nutrition Facts label—including total fat, saturated fat, and trans fat—and defines trans fat and cholesterol. The lesson also includes dietary guidance for fat consumption.

Energy and Biofuels: Through a series of activities, students explore fermentation and ethanol production, observe the role of enzymes in fermentation, analyze nutrient values of dent corn, and discover how biofuels are made from plant oils.

Fast-Food Footwork: Students will explore how retail foodservice establishments ensure that food is safely stored, prepared and served. Through inquiry, they will also learn about local health regulations and how the 4 Cs of Food Safety apply to all aspects of foodservice.

Fighting Food Waste: Strategies and Solutions for Home and School: Students will explore strategies that can decrease food waste at home and school, design solutions for school-wide food waste reduction efforts, and participate in food waste challenges that encourage sustainable shopping, correct food storage practices, and meal planning.

Fruits and Vegetables: The Right Pick for Vitamins and Minerals: Students will describe the farm-to-table process of common fruits and vegetables, recognize the nutrients fruits and vegetables provide, and evaluate methods of food storage and preparation for preserving nutrients.

Journey 2050 Lesson 7: Technology and Innovations: Students will explore new technologies that will impact the future of farming, understand the role of developing countries in food security, and explain how consumers influence the production of food.

Kiss the Ground: Students will view the documentary Kiss the Ground to consider the concept of regenerative agriculture as a tool to improve soil health and overall environmental sustainability.

Mastering Mindful Eating: Students will explore hunger, satiety and mindful eating to discover how our eating habits are impacted by our awareness to physiological signals of hunger or fullness. Students will also practice mindful eating practices and explore portion sizes as they sort foods, create meals using portion-size food models and track their food using mindful eating practices.

Methods of Crop Modification: Explore six scientific processes that can be used in plant breeding to modify the genotype of a plant in the pursuit of desired characteristics.

Nutrients to Get More Of: Students will plan a healthy meal—breakfast—using the Percent Daily Value (%DV), and will use the Nutrition Facts label to evaluate and compare foods as they plan their meals.

Pig Power: Creating Biogas and Renewable Energy: After exploring the science of energy and energy conversion, students will evaluate some environmental impacts of hog farming and explore technologies that minimize negative human impact by creating biogas energy from animal waste.

Properties of Soils: Students examine different types of soil that have been mixed with water and allowed to settle. Next, they work with a soil model to investigate its components (sand, silt and clay) and learn how the properties of these components affect the passage or retention of water through the soil and the amount of air in the soil.

A Search for the Source: In this lesson students will learn that agriculture provides nearly all of the products we rely on in any given day by participating in a relay where they match an everyday item with its “source.”

Strawberry Breeding and Genetics: Students learn about DNA by extracting it from strawberries. Students also analyze the similarities and differences of their extraction process to those on “Genetic Engineering: The Journey of a Gene.” Students learn how genetic testing (including DNA extraction) is useful in breeding new varieties of strawberries.

The Carbon Cycle and Climate Smart Agriculture: Students will explore the carbon cycle, evaluate natural and human-induced activities that drive the carbon cycle, and discover climate smart agricultural practices that can be used to produce our food.

The Science of GMOs: Students will map the scientific process of creating a bioengineered (GMO) plant, compare bioengineered soybean seeds to conventional soybean seeds, describe the impact weeds have on plant growth, and understand how a bioengineered seed can help farmers manage weeds.

The Social and Environmental Impacts of Food Waste: Students will explore the origins of food, describe how food waste affects natural resources and the environment, and identify potential solutions to mitigate food waste’s carbon footprint.