6th - 12th Grade Agriscience:
Animal Science
GENERAL ANIMAL SCIENCE
Agricultural Production Regions in the United States: Students will investigate U.S. crop and livestock production and analyze the relevance of land use models in contemporary agricultural production.
Bring Home the Blue, Not the Flu! (Grades 6-8): Using the context of a county fair livestock show, students investigate how diseases are spread. With a focus on zoonotic disease, students will complete simulations demonstrating the spread of illness and implementation of biosecurity measures as well as complete an online module to deepen understanding of specific diseases and their prevention.
Bring Home the Blue, Not the Flu! (Grades 9-12): Using the context of a county fair livestock show, students investigate how diseases are spread. With a focus on zoonotic disease, students will complete simulations demonstrating the spread of illness and implementation of biosecurity measures as well as complete an online module to deepen understanding of specific diseases and their prevention.
Farmland: Students will view the film Farmland, a documentary spotlighting six farmers and ranchers in the United States. The film portrays the business and lifestyle of a variety of farmers and ranchers. Perspectives on topics such as genetically modified (GMO) crops, animal welfare, organic and conventional farming practices, farm size, farming stereotypes, and more are presented.
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.
ANIMAL GENETICS
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.
Double the Muscle: Probabilities and Pedigrees: This lesson allows students to apply the concept of Mendelian genetics and learn about the double muscling trait found in cattle. Students will apply their knowledge of genetics and Punnett squares to calculate the probability of genotypes and use a pedigree chart.
Sheep See, Sheep Do: Students will explore the difference between inherited and acquired traits and understand why knowledge of inherited and acquired traits is important to agriculture. Activities in this lesson include: trait sorting, two short movies, a PTC taste test and student presentations.
Silky Genes: Students will simulate the process of gene splicing, understand the application of transgenic organisms in agriculture and see how goats can be used for the production of goods other than meat and milk through the use of biotechnology.
AQUACULTURE
Overfishing and Aquaculture: Students will discover the sources of various fish and seafood, compare wild-caught and farm-raised aquaculture systems and use a simulation to learn how overfishing can damage the ocean ecosystem.
CATTLE
Beef: Making the Grade: Students will evaluate the USDA grading system for whole cuts of beef and discuss consumer preferences and nutritional differences between grain-finished and grass-finished beef. Students will also distinguish various labels on beef products and discuss reasons for the government’s involvement in agricultural production, processing and distribution of food.
Carbon Hoofprints: Cows and Climate Change: Students will explore the carbon cycle and evaluate the carbon footprint of beef cattle. Using critical thinking skills, students will use the Claim, Evidence and Reasoning model to determine the effect of cows’ methane production on the environment and investigate the extent cattle contribute to climate change.
The Remarkable Ruminant: In this lesson, 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.
Think in Pictures: Like Dr. Grandin: Students will explore cattle flight zones and work as agricultural engineers to design a corral system that uses the research of Dr. Temple Grandin.
DAIRY
From Cow to Carton: Milk's Journey to the Consumer: Students will explore milk production in the United States and explain the benefits of homogenization, pasteurization, and fortification of milk.
EQUINE
Horse and Rider: The Pony Express: Students will explore the role that horses have played in culture and history by learning about draft horses in agriculture and mapping Pony Express stations across the state of Utah.
POULTRY
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.
Hen House Engineering (Grades 6-8): Students will use the Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning model to evaluate styles of housing used for hens that lay 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.
Hen House Engineering (Grades 9-12): 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.
Photoperiod Phenomena (Grades 6-8): Students will understand how photoperiodism impacts plants and animals in the environment and learn how egg farms use this science to manage the production of eggs by their hens.
Photoperiod Phenomena (Grades 9-12): Students will understand how photoperiodism impacts plants and animals in the environment and learn how egg farms use this science to manage the production of eggs by their hens.
Weighing in on Egg Labels, Supply, and Demand: Students will apply a basic understanding of the laws of supply and demand, learn about different types of egg laying farms and recognize the impact labeling has on consumer choices.