Beef Education: Earth Day Toolkitminnesotacattlewomenassociation.weebly.com/uploads/2/0/5/... · 2018-09-09 · Beef Education: Earth Day Toolkit ... Many schools are just comple

Revision date: 2/20/13

Beef Education: Earth Day Toolkit

The Beef Checkoff presents:

Resources and tools to engage in the growth and development of the beef ca le community.

Revision date: 2/20/13 2

EARTHDAYTOOLKITCONTENTS

AN OVERVIEW OF WHAT YOU’LL FIND IN THIS RESOURCE

Earth Day event overview and objec ves

Volunteer roles and responsibili es

List of required materials

Links to templates for all required materials

Step‐by‐step outline of what tasks should be completed before, during and a er the event

Sugges ons for event evalua on process

Plan early for your Earth Day events!

Teachers need plenty of lead me to

work your lesson into their

curriculum plans.

TIP


EARTHDAYPROGRAMOVERVIEW

WHAT’S THIS EVENT ALL ABOUT?

This toolkit, funded by the beef checkoff, is designed to help Ca leWomen execute Earth Day beef educa‐

on events within their own states. Funding for each event is the responsibility of the organiza on(s)

who will host the event.

Earth Day was started on April 22, 1970 by Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin. It is celebrated in over

100 different countries every year to remind people to appreciate nature and learn ways to protect our

environment. Classroom events can be conducted to teach students the Three R’s: Reduce, Reuse and

Recycle and these ideas can be taught with links to the beef community!

Local Ca leWomen are needed to sponsor and conduct Earth Day events across the U.S. to meet the

following objec ves:

Engage youth in educa onal ac vi es which support the promo on of beef and the need to take care of the environment.

Highlight the environmental care prac ces of today’s beef community and link to the purpose of Earth Day.

Ignite an interest in youth to learn more about beef.

You’ll see the following icons throughout this toolkit:

Indicates a form or template is available.

Indicates a website to visit for more

informa on.

TOOLKITICONLEGEND


WHYHOSTANEARTHDAYEVENT?

WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU AND HOW MUCH OF AN INVESTMENT IS NEEDED?

What’s in it for Ca leWomen to host an Earth Day Beef Educa on event?

Connect with youth in your community to promote your favorite product: BEEF!

It’s FUN! This is your chance to be crea ve and to show your passion! To host an Earth Day event plan for the following meframes and volunteers:

Total me: Approx imate l y 8‐10 hours

Prep me: 6‐8 hours

Actual event me: 1 hour

Follow‐up me: 1 hour

Volunteers needed:

Ca leWoman educator #1

Ca leWoman educator #2

Visit h p://www.earthday.org/ to

learn more about the history of

Earth Day.

TIP


EARTHDAYEVENTMATERIALSNEEDED

CHECKLIST OF WHAT YOU’LL NEED TO HOST THE EVENT

Required Resources & Materials:

A fourth grade classroom

Review Earth Day informa on found at: h p://www.epa.gov/superfund/kids/earthday.htm

Review Earth Day informa on found at: h p://kids.britannica.com and search “Earth Day”

Ar cle: “The Remarkable Ruminant” found in Appendix

The Remarkable Ruminant worksheet*

Ruminants Recycle and Conserve worksheet*

More about Ruminants worksheet* Op onal Materials:

“Cow Chow” online game and videos: www.explorebeef.org (must have internet access)

Chew it Twice Ac vity: h p://oklahoma4h.okstate.edu/aitc/lessons/primary/chew.pdf

Chew Word Bulle n Board

Beef themed give‐away (think I Heart Beef bu on, pencils, s ck-ers, etc.)

Projector and screen (if you’ll have a PowerPoint to display)

Extension cord

Beef snacks for the class

Examples of beef by‐products (crayons, shaving cream, WD40, cake mix, dog food, lips ck, etc.)

Pictures of your ca le to display

Use the provided templates! You

can simply make a few changes to fit

your state and you’re good to go!

TIP

*Templates for all required

documents can be found

on the ANCW website

(ANCW is a contractor

for the Beef

Checkoff Program).


EARTHDAYEVENT:PLANNING

STEP BY‐STEP INSTRUCTIONS

Outline of what to do BEFORE event: 1) At least 60‐days in advance (or as soon as you can), reach out to fourth grade teachers in your area and offer

to conduct an Earth Day lesson for their students. Earth Day, April 22, is a globally recognized event. It is big enough and important enough that schools tend to look more favorably towards allowing me to recognize it. Many schools are just comple ng their tes ng, so it presents a nice break from the rigors of preparing for and taking tests. Earth Day lessons showcase the fact that using land to produce beef greatly increases the amount of food that can be produced on a limited amount of land, since most of that land is not suitable for raising crops for humans.

2) Find a dynamic partner to help construct and deliver your Earth Day lesson. It will be nice to have an extra pair of hands to help pass out materials and to help you co‐facilitate in the classroom.

3) Confirm with your teacher the amount of me you will have to present your Earth Day lesson. The me avail‐able will impact the number of Earth Day modules you can present. This toolkit offers several ideas. Use what will work best for the available me and what you like best! Have fun and be crea ve! Be sure to leave plenty of me for ques ons as you map out your strategy.

4) Create your specific Earth Day lesson plan. Create a fun tle...perhaps you can use the Three R’s: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle as a part of your theme, as the children may be familiar. Consider structuring your lessons around the defini on of a ruminant, the characteris cs of a ruminant and examples of ruminants. Help the students answer the following ques ons: 1) What is a ruminant? How do ruminants benefit humans? Do they help us to reduce, reuse and recycle? 2) How do ruminants affect our food supply? 3) People cannot eat grass (grass sandwiches are not tasty), how do cows u lize a renewable resource like grass in order to feed humans?

5) There are many ways too deliver an Earth Day lessons. Consider including an ac vity based on the theme of: Ruminants Recycle and Conserve. “The Remarkable Ruminant” informa on provided in Appendix and the associated “Remarkable Ruminant” ac vity worksheet walks you through key points for this lesson. (con nued on next page)

Bring pictures of YOUR ca le to the

classroom! The students will love to

see your animals.

TIP




Outline of what to do BEFORE event (con nued): 5) (Con nued from previous page)

Read the informa on with the class and then complete the worksheet. Using these tools will help to facilitate conversa ons about products humans get from cows, the materials cows eat that are consid‐ered waste and would otherwise end up in a landfill, and how ca le turn these materials into food for humans. See appendix for more ideas on how to present this module. Printable Remarkable Ruminant worksheets can be found online at www.ancw.org>Programs>Earth Day.

6) To further expand your lesson, consider including the “Ruminants Recycle and Conserve” and

“More about Ruminants” ac vity worksheets as a part of your lesson. Using these resources will allow you to highlight the concepts from the previous ac vity, including how the rumen works and various types of products beef ca le might eat and recycle into delicious meat for humans. Printable Ruminants Recycle and Conserve and More About Ruminants worksheets can be found online at www.ancw.org>Programs>Earth Day. See appendix for answers to Ruminants Recycle and Conserve ac vity.

7) To incorpora ng a fun game into your lesson, play the “Cow Chow” online game found on www.explorebeef.org. Students can view the videos and take the quiz provided at the end. You can have a compe on with the students to see who gets the highest score and/or this ac vity could be completed as “pre‐work” prior to your lesson.

8) Another op on for your lesson is to include a “Chew it Twice” ac vity. This ac vity focuses on how the rumen works and is a varia on of the Ruminants Recycle and Conserve ac vity. Visit h p://oklahoma4h.okstate.edu/aitc/lessons/primary/chew.pdf for the complete lesson. Module provided by Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom.

9) A neat visual module idea to further illustrate how the rumen works is to have the students create a CHEW Word Bulle n Board. Students will add words or pictures that represent the word “CHEW.” Examples: Bite, grind, eat, manipulate, mas cate, break down into bits, etc. To add another layer, consider a er‐two ac vity where words address: intes nes, cud, manure, bovine, rumen, etc.

10) Consider incorpora ng a “In Your Opinion” wri ng ac vity into your lesson. Prompt students to write a summary of what they’ve learned, concluding with a personal opinion statement about how it relates to them.

Note: If you conduct all lessons suggested above for a fourth grade class, you can let your teacher know the following core standards will be addressed (based on Oklahoma standards): ‐Reading Informa onal Text: RI 4.1‐4.10 ‐Speaking and Listening: SL 4.1 ‐Wri ng: W 4.2, 4.7, 4.10

Fourth graders are excellent targets

for Earth Day lessons.

TIP




Outline of what to do BEFORE event (con nued):

11) Consider how you might use content from www.factsaboutbeef.com into your lesson.

12) Schedule me to prac ce before you get into the classroom. Present your materials to your bathroom mirror or your family. Time each module and think of poten al ques ons your students might have.

13) Ask the teacher a week in advance how many handouts you should bring. Always print a few extra just in case. Consider prin ng each on a different color of paper.

14) Confirm what equipment the classroom has and what you will need to bring. (Projectors, pencils, markers, tape, etc.)

15) Ask the teacher if there are any details you need to know about the students that will help you to prepare.

16) Ask the teacher about any logis cal needs such as where to park, if you’ll need to check in at the office before heading to the classroom, etc.

17) If bringing snacks, confirm with your teacher that it is ok and if you need to plan for students with any food al‐lergies.

18) Consider the types of visuals you can bring into the room. What tools do you have that can be touched? What pictures can you show to help bring your lesson to life? Examples: Samples of what ca le eat, beef byprod-ucts, products from ca le, a model cow skull to show teeth, etc.

19) Add your unique story to the lesson. Help the class to see how you’re connected to the beef ca le community and show your passion for your way of life.

If you can’t present the lessons

yourself, consider sharing this toolkit

with a teacher and ask them to

present on your behalf.

TIP


EARTHDAYGUIDE:DURINGTHEEVENTSTEP BY‐STEP INSTRUCTIONS

Outline of what to do DURING event: 1) Arrive to classroom early. You’ll want plenty of me to prepare and not feel rushed.

2) Wear a nametag or write your name on the board.

3) Try to address students by name as you interact.

4) Smile!

5) Check for understanding o en by asking “What ques ons you do you have?” vs. “Do you have any

ques ons?”

6) Be sure to speak in a clear voice with the appropriate volume so all students can easily hear you. When someone asks a ques on, repeat it so everyone can hear what was asked before answering.

7) Deliver the lesson at a steady pace and pause o en. Don’t be afraid of the silence. Students need me to process the informa on you’re sharing.

8) Celebrate the contribu ons the students offer as you conduct the lesson.

9) When you’re done with the lesson, thank the students and teacher for allowing you to share this sec‐

on of the “Beef Story” with them today.

Send pictures of your event to the

ANCW office so they can be shared

with all Ca leWomen online and in

upcoming newsle ers.

TIP


EARTHDAYGUIDE:AFTERTHEEVENT


Outline of what to do AFTER event: 1) Write a thank you note to the teacher who allowed you to come into his/her classroom and offer to

come back next year.

2) Take note of a few “did‐wells” and “next mes” based on your experience and any feedback you re‐ceived from the teacher.

3) Complete a post‐event toolkit evalua on and an ac vity report (both can be found on the ANCW website). Be sure to share your best prac ces and include:

Number of students impacted Total number of volunteer hours contributed by Ca leWomen volunteers Pictures (if you’re allowed to take them in the classroom)

Encourage your students to share

what they’ve learned with their

families!

TIP


EARTHDAYAPPENDIX

OTHER USEFUL TIPS AND TOOLS

Materials acknowledgements: Special thanks to the Oklahoma Beef Council and Ca leWomen for sharing their ac vi es and worksheets.

Frequently Asked Ques ons Ques on #1: Is the Earth Day lesson for teachers to use on their own or for Ca leWomen to pre sent in the classroom? Answer: The Earth Day lesson is flexible. The ideal situa on is for Ca leWomen to present the lessons because of their knowledge and passion for the beef community, however, the materials are designed in a way that a teacher could access the content and present without assistance, if desired. Keep in mind these lessons can be presented in a variety of se ngs and audiences in‐cluding se ngs that have technology such as smartboards, or for non‐school groups like local civic groups, etc. Ques on #2: There are a lot of op ons on how to deliver an Earth Day lesson. What are the key messages that should be presented? Answer: The key messages include:

Grazing livestock on land that is not farmable nearly doubles the U.S. food supply. Human bodies are not able to digest things like grass and hay because they are not ru‐

minants. Ca le are ruminants and are able to eat grass and hay and turn them in to a high‐quality complete protein that is very nutri ous for human beings.

Ruminants are animals that have four‐chamber stomachs and their diges ve tract works very differently than humans.

Ca le are recyclers because they eat by‐products that would otherwise end up in land‐fills, such as citrus peelings, soybean hulls, beet pulp, rice hulls, etc.

Grazing ca le on the land improves the environment. Ca le grazing helps the soil and promotes growth of good grasses while protec ng against erosion and for‐est fires. In addi on, the same land that provides food and open space for raising ca le also offers a home for many types of wildlife. This includes threatened and endangered species of fish, mammals, birds and plants.

Add a children’s book to your lesson

for a fun twist!

TIP


EARTHDAYAPPENDIX

REMARKABLE RUMINANTS ARTICLE

The Remarkable Stomach of the Cow

The stomach of the cow is a remarkable organ. It has four compartments (rumen, re culum, omasum, and abomasum, each designed to perform cer‐tain func ons. By having this stomach, the cow is able to digest and effi‐ciently use feedstuffs that humans and non‐ruminant animals, such as the pig and chicken, cannot use. Examples of these feedstuffs include cellulose, which is used for energy, and urea, which is used to make protein.

When a calf is born the forestomach compartments (rumen, re culum and omasum) are not developed, therefore the calf is unable to u lize dry feed. Development includes growth in size and musculature, growth of the papillae of the mucosal (inner) surface to provide for absorp on of end products of diges‐on, and establishment of the microorganisms (bacteria, protozoa, fungi, etc.) that are responsible for

diges ng the feedstuffs. This development occurs only if dry feed is consumed, otherwise the forestom‐ach compartments remain small and undeveloped. Because dry feed cannot be used by the very young calf, it depends on milk for nutri on. As the calf grows it eats a small amount of dry feed at first, then consumes increasingly larger amounts, and the pro‐por on of nutrients from milk decreases. The nutrients in milk are digested in the fourth stomach compartment (abomasum) and intes nes, and it would not be desirable for milk to go into the forestomach. To make it possible for dry feed to go into the rumen but for milk to go into the abomasum the calf has what is called the esophageal groove. This groove is actually two folds of ssue that can be brought together to form a tube. When the calf drinks milk a reflex ac on closes the folds to form a tube which conducts the milk from the end of the esopha‐gus to the abomasum. When the calf eats dry feed the groove does not close and the dry feed is directed into the rumen and re culum. The above descrip on is actually an over simplifica on of a complex system and series of events that take place. It should be obvious that this system was designed by an all wise Creator and did not happen by chance. (Editor's Note: Morrill was on the faculty at Kansas State University for thirty‐three years and was involved in research that established some of the facts in

the above ar cle.)

Content from: h p://

www.doesgodexist.org/MayJun00/

TheRemarkableStomachOfTheCow.ht

ml

RESOURCE


EARTHDAYAPPENDIX

REMARKABLE RUMINANTS WORKSHEET SAMPLE

This worksheet template is available

online. Visit www.ancw.org

>programs>Earth Day

TIP

Side 1

Side 2


EARTHDAYAPPENDIX

MORE ABOUT RUMINANTS WORKSHEET SAMPLE



>programs>Earth Day

TIP

Side 1

Side 2


EARTHDAYAPPENDIX

RUMINANTS RECYCLE WORKSHEET SAMPLE



>programs>Earth Day

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EARTHDAYAPPENDIX

RUMINANTS RECYCLE WORKSHEET ANSWERS

Did you know that Earth Day is

ALWAYS celebrated on April 22 each

year?

TIP


EARTHDAYAPPENDIX

REMARKABLE RUMINANTS TALKING POINT IDEAS

Share: A bovine is: an animal of the family Bovidae, including ca le, buffalo and bison. A beef cow is a bovine.

Share: Some experts believe a cow’s diges ve system developed as it did for survival. Since bovine

animals are hunted animals in the wild, it must eat quickly, and eat as much as possible. The grasses the animal eats are stored in the second stomach un l it finds a place to eat. Then the animal brings up the food, the cud, to chew.

Ques on: What word in the following text means “to chew again?”:

The partly‐digested food that comes back into the cow’s mouth is called cud. The cow re‐chews the food with its powerful back teeth to break it down even more. This is what the cow is doing when it “chews its cud.”

Visual: Show a picture or video of a cow grazing. Ask students to list three things they no ce about

what it is doing (ea ng grass, chewing, walking in a pasture, etc.). Refer back to the text about how the cow’s diges ve system developed. To take it a step further, ask the following:

In your opinion, why is the cow walking AS it eats? (state your opinion and give reasons) What evidence do you have the supports your opinion? Restate your opinion.

The conclusion or opinion that the cow is trying to eat as much as it can, as fast as it

can, therefore walking while ea ng is key.

Once you’ve conducted your lesson,

share your best prac ces! Help

others learn from your experiences!

ACTION


EARTHDAYAPPENDIX

EARTH DAY ANTHEM

Joyful joyful we adore our Earth in all its wonderment Simple gi s of nature that all join into a paradise Now we must resolve to protect her Show her our love throughout all me With our gentle hand and touch We make our home a newborn world Now we must resolve to protect her Show her our love throughout all me With our gentle hand and touch We make our home a newborn world

Beef Education: Earth Day Toolkitminnesotacattlewomenassociation.weebly.com/uploads/2/0/5/... · 2018-09-09 · Beef Education: Earth Day Toolkit ... Many schools are just comple

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