FARM AS ECOSYSTEM - · PDF fileThe Farm as an Ecosystem ... nonliving and once living. Living things differ from nonliving things. Organisms are classified into groups by using various

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The Farm as an Ecosystem

“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it

attached to the rest of the world.”

John Muir, American naturalist and conservationist

Description/Organizer:

Science curriculum for intermediate students

includes the study of various ecosystems. This lesson

provides the example of the farm as an ecosystem. How is a

farm a good example of an ecosystem?

Background Information:

When we hear the term “ecosystem,” we usually

think of oceans, forests, or desert ecosystems. But, what

about the farm as an ecosystem? An ecosystem is a group

of organisms, living and non-living, and their physical

environment in which they interact and exchange energy.

The difference between the farm ecosystem and other

ecosystems is that humans control many of the interactions

in the farm ecosystem.

Farmers care for their farm environment. They

work to reduce soil erosion, protect water quality, and

enhance wildlife habitat.

Academic Expectations:

2.1 Students understand scientific ways of

thinking and working and use those methods

to solve real-life problems.

2.6 Students understand how living and non-living things change over time and the

factors that influence the change.

Program of Studies:

Big Idea: Biological Change (Biological Science)

Primary Enduring Knowledge – Understandings

Students will understand that

• Most living things need water, food and air, while nonliving things can

continue to exist without any requirements.

• Plants and animals have features that help them live in different environments.

• Some animals are alike in the way they look and in the things they do, and

others are very different from one another.

Big Idea: The Earth and the Universe (Earth/Space Science)

Primary Enduring Knowledge – Understandings


•••• People use a variety of earth materials for different purposes because of their

different properties. All products that people use somehow come from the

earth.

LEVEL: Grades 3 - 5

SUBJECTS: Science

BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This

lesson provides the example of the

farm as an ecosystem.

STUDENT OBJECTIVES:

• Students will understand

the farm as an ecosystem

with interdependent

producers and consumers.


the role of soil in the farm

ecosystem.


the food chain and food

web of a farm.


the farmer’s role in

conservation.

ESTIMATED TEACHING

TIME:

Session One: 45 – 60 minutes

Session Two: 30 – 45 minutes

Session Three: 45 – 60 minutes

Session Four: 30 – 45 minutes

Session Five: 30 – 60 minutes

Session Six: 30 – 45 minutes

Session Seven: 30 – 60 minutes

RELATED LESSONS:

• Careers in Agriculture

• Trees

• Farms as Wildlife Habitats

KY Dept. of Agriculture The Farm as an Ecosystem

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•••• Raising questions about the earth and the universe and seeking answers to

some of them (by careful observation and/or investigation) is what science is

all about.

Big Idea: Biological Change (Biological Science)

Grade 5 Enduring Knowledge – Understandings


• Scientific investigations may take many different forms, including observing

what things are like or what is happening somewhere, collecting specimens

for analysis and doing experiments. The question being investigated

determines the form of the investigation used.

Big Idea: The Earth and the Universe (Earth/Space Science)

Grade 4 Enduring Knowledge – Understanding


• Classifying Earth materials according to their properties allows decisions to be

made about their usefulness for various purposes.

Big Idea: Interdependence (Unifying Concepts)


Students will understand

• Within every ecosystem are populations of organisms that serve specific

functions. Changes to any population may affect the other populations in that

ecosystem.

Big Idea: Interdependence (Unifying Concepts)



• All living things depend on their environment and other organisms within it

for their survival. Certain patterns of behavior or physical features may help

an organism survive in some environments yet perish in others.

• Beneficial and harmful are relative terms: any single action can be both

beneficial and harmful to different organisms in an ecosystem.

Core Content:

SC-EP-2.3.1 Students will describe earth materials (solid rocks, soils, water and

gases of the atmosphere) using their properties.

Earth materials include solid rocks and soils, water and the gases of the atmosphere.

Minerals that make up rocks have properties of color, luster and hardness. Soils

have properties of color, texture, the capacity to retain water and the ability to

support plant growth. Water on Earth and in the atmosphere can be a solid, liquid

or gas. DOK 2

SC-04-2.3.1 Students will: classify earth materials by the ways that they are used;

explain how their properties make them useful for different purposes.

Earth materials provide many of the resources humans use. The varied materials

have different physical properties that can be used to describe, separate, sort and

classify them. Inferences about the unique properties of the earth materials yield

ideas about their usefulness. For example, some are useful as building materials

(e.g., stone, clay, marble), some as sources of fuel (e.g., petroleum, natural gas), or

some for growing the plants we use as food. DOK 2


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SC-04-2.3.2 Students will describe and explain consequences of changes to the

surface of the Earth, including some common fast changes (e.g., landslides, volcanic

eruptions, earthquakes), and some common slow changes (e.g., erosion, weathering).

The surface of the Earth changes. Some changes are due to slow processes such as

erosion or weathering. Some changes are due to rapid processes such as landslides,

volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. Analyzing the changes to identify cause-and-

effect relationships helps to define and understand the consequences. DOK 3

SC-EP-3.4.2/SC-04-3.4.2 - Students will understand that things in the environment are

classified as living, nonliving and once living. Living things differ from nonliving things.

Organisms are classified into groups by using various characteristics (e.g., body

coverings, body structures).

SC-EP-3.4.3 Students will describe the basic structures and related functions of

plants and animals that contribute to growth, reproduction and survival.

Each plant or animal has observable structures that serve different functions in

growth, survival and reproduction. For example, humans have distinct body

structures for walking, holding, seeing and talking. These observable structures

should be explored to sort, classify, compare and describe organisms. DOK 2

SC-04-3.4.1 Students will: compare the different structures and functions of plants

and animals that contribute to the growth, survival and reproduction of the

organisms; make inferences about the relationship between structure and function

in organisms.

Each plant or animal has structures that serve different functions in growth,

survival and reproduction. For example, humans have distinct body structures for

walking, holding, seeing and talking. Evidence about the relationship between

structure and function should be used to make inferences and draw conclusions.

DOK 3

SC-EP-3.4.4 Students will describe a variety of plant and animal life cycles to

understand patterns of the growth, development, reproduction and death of an

organism.

Plants and animals have life cycles that include the beginning of life, growth and

development, reproduction and death. The details of a life cycle are different for

different organisms. Observations of different life cycles should be made in order to

identify patterns and recognize similarities and differences. DOK 2

SC-04-3.4.3 Students will compare a variety of life cycles of plants and animals in

order to classify and make inferences about an organism.

Plants and animals have life cycles that include the beginning of life, growth and

development, reproduction and death. The details of a life cycle are different for

different organisms. Models of organisms’ life cycles should be used to classify and

make inferences about an organism. DOK 3

SC-EP-4.6.1 Students will describe basic relationships of plants and animals in an

ecosystem (food chains).

Plants make their own food. All animals depend on plants. Some animals eat plants

for food. Other animals eat animals that eat the plants. Basic relationships and

connections between organisms in food chains can be used to discover patterns

within ecosystems. DOK 2

SC-04-4.6.1 Students will analyze patterns and make generalizations about the basic

relationships of plants and animals in an ecosystem (food chain).

Plants make their own food. All animals depend on plants. Some animals eat plants


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for food. Other animals eat animals that eat the plants. Basic relationships and

connections between organisms in food chains, including the flow of energy, can be

used to discover patterns within ecosystems. DOK 2

SC-04-4.7.2 Students will: describe human interactions in the environment where

they live; classify the interactions as beneficial or harmful to the environment using

data/evidence to support conclusions.

All organisms, including humans, cause changes in the environment where they live.

Some of these changes are detrimental to the organism or to other organisms; other

changes are beneficial (e.g., dams benefit some aquatic organisms but are

detrimental to others). By evaluating the consequences of change using cause-and-

effect relationships, solutions to real-life situations/dilemmas can be proposed.

DOK 3

Concepts:

ecosystem, photosynthesis, producer, consumer, chlorophyll, erosion, conservation

Essential Questions:

1. Why do some soils produce better than others?

2. Why is controlling erosion important?

3. Why is it important for a farmer to be both a farmer and a conservationist?

Teach:

Pages four through six provides background information about the seven parts of the farm

ecosystem.

1. Soil

Some farmers consider soil to be the most important thing on their farm. It is where life

on the farm begins. Soil provides nutrients that crops need to grow to begin the food chain,

filters wastes, produces and absorbs gases, and is a home to many organisms. Soil is constantly

being formed and destroyed. It takes 500 years for nature to create one inch of topsoil! Soil is

created by sun, air, water, and other environmental forces that erode rocks.

Soil is made up of clay, silt, sand, and gravel. When soil is heavy, it has a lot of clay.

When it is light, it has a lot of sand or silt. The size of the particles that make up the soil is what

determines what the soil will be like. Gravel is made up of the largest particles in soil; and clay

particles are the smallest. Most soil is only half mineral; the rest is air, water, and some organic

animal and plant residue. Why is it so important for farmers to know what is in their soil?

Farmers need to understand soil characteristics (e.g., what kind of particles are in it, how

thick the layers are in their fields) to decide how deep to plow or irrigate, the pH level of acidity,

to determine if they need to add chemicals, to predict how fast water will move through it, its

potential to store water and to keep plants growing through a drought, the right combinations of

chemicals so plants will grow properly, and how to filter wastes.

Organic material in soil consists of dead plants and manure that are plowed under by the

farmer to be converted by earthworms and bacteria into humus. Humus contains the important

nutrients of nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium. Farmers may add nutrients to the soil or

change the pH by adding chemicals.

Erosion and compaction are problems farmers face. Compaction occurs when heavy

tractors and combines make the soil hard by compressing the air and water spaces in the soil, and

erosion occurs when water and wind carry bits of soil away.


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2. Animals

Livestock animals, such as cows, sheep, hogs, goats, and chickens, have many roles in

the farm ecosystem. They eat corn and hay grown on the farm; they provide milk, eggs, wool,

and meat for humans, and their waste can fertilize the soil. Animal manure contains many

nutrients that plants can use to grow. Some farmers collect the manure and spread it on their

fields.

Animal waste can be a problem, however. Bacteria in manure can cause diseases. If

livestock are near streams, their waste may enter the water that other animals (including humans)

may want to drink.

Wild animals are also important to the farm ecosystem. Deer and raccoons may eat a

farmer’s corn crop, while groundhogs can dig in their ponds and fields, causing erosion.

Scarecrows may scare away wild birds stealing grain out of farmers’ fields, but they also scare

away birds that may eat the harmful insects. Skunks and frogs also help the farmer by eating

harmful insects.

Farmers allow cows or sheep to graze for their own food in pastures of grass and clover,

while spreading their waste over the field as fertilizer. Then the farmer frequently moves the

animals between areas of the pasture. This gives the livestock a chance to graze on young, juicy

plants in a different field, and to give the plants in the other areas of the field a chance to grow

back after being eaten. This allows different kinds of plants to grow in the pasture, makes an

even distribution of fertilizing manure, and keeps plants from being trampled.

3. Water

Water is necessary for all life on the farm. Most of the water comes from rain, and rain

water not absorbed by the soil and plant roots goes into streams and rivers. When there is not

enough rain for crops to grow, farmers sometimes irrigate their fields. This is moving water

from underground or streams to their fields by means of pipes and ditches. Most of the drinking

water for livestock comes from streams or underground wells. Animals that drink from streams

may also leave their waste in the streams, causing bacteria that may result in humans becoming

sick. (Note: Eighty gallons of water are used to grow and process one ear of corn!)

Another concern is that after a heavy rain, chemicals that farmers apply to their fields to

kill insects and weeds can wash into streams and rivers. Eroded soil particles can destroy the

homes of the fish and other animals that live there.

4. Soybeans

Many farmers grow soybeans. Soybeans are legumes that have bacteria on the nodules

on their roots. The bacteria on the nodules take nitrogen from the air and fix it into the soil so

that other plants that need nitrogen can use it as well. This is called a nitrogen cycle, and farmers

use soybeans and other legumes in rotation with grass crops such as corn or wheat. Grass crops

are not able to take their own nitrogen from the air, so they need either the nitrogen in the soil

that legumes provide or a chemical fertilizer containing nitrogen. Many farmers do both. For

example, a farmer may plant a rotation of soybeans (legume), corn (grass), alfalfa (legume), then

wheat (grass).

5. Insects

There are thousands of insects living on a farm, some helpful, some harmful. The honey

bee is helpful because it pollinates the farmer’s crops while gathering its food. Pollination

allows the plant to create its seeds, such as grains of wheat or kernels of corn. Spiders, ladybugs,

wasps, dragonflies, and praying mantises are also helpful because they eat harmful insects.


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Some harmful insects are corn earworms, aphids, grasshoppers, spider mites, and rootworms.

They can damage crops and reduce the farmer’s yield. Insects may eat grains, roots, or leaves

and weaken plants. They can also land on livestock and bite them. Many farmers control these

harmful insects with chemicals called insecticides. Some farmers plant crops that have insect-

resistant genes.

6. Corn

The center of many farm ecosystems is corn. It uses the nitrogen produced by soybeans

and other legume crops and absorbs water and other nutrients in the soil through its roots. Then

it is eaten by animals on the farm, including humans. Farmers must understand how corn grows.

Like all other plants, it produces its own food from the air, water, and sunlight through

photosynthesis.

After corn is planted in the soil and gets enough water, the seed (kernel) sprouts. The

plant photosynthesizes and grows taller, then the tassel blooms and is pollinated by bees or other

insects. The plant then produces ears of corn the farmer can harvest.

There are many types of corn, and different corn has different genes that control

characteristics like the height of the corn, how sweet it is, and what color it is. Farmers choose

corn that has genes that will produce the kind of corn they want (e.g., feed corn for cattle,

popcorn, sweet corn). They also choose corn that has genes that will do best in the soil and

weather conditions on their farms. A plant geneticist may help the farmer make these decisions

(see the related “Careers in Agriculture” lesson).

7. The Farmer

The farmer is the most important part of the farm ecosystem because of the way he/she

chooses to manage the animals, plants, water, and soil on the farm. He/she needs to know how

these parts interact in order to make wise choices.

Session 1: Best Soil Prepare:

This activity can be done as a whole class or small group. Discuss with students

background information on soil (see Soil at beginning of lesson). First obtain samples of sand,

clay, humus, local soil, and ryegrass seeds (enough for each small group or whole class).

1. Discuss properties of each (color, texture, odor, thickness, etc. Sand is the largest particle

and is gritty; silt is medium, soft and silky; clay is smallest, sticky, hard to squeeze).

Place the sand, humus, clay, and local soil in containers (one type material in each

container). Plant rye grass seeds (about 20) in each container. Mist or lightly water soil

until damp. Place in sunny location. Keep seeds moist and observe daily. Remember to

keep other variables constant by using the same size/type containers, the same amount of

soil, sand, humus, or clay, and the same amount of water.

2. After seeds have grown a few inches, discuss which type of material produced the best

“crop” of grass and why. Students should explain the effects of the different variables.

Clay is thick and sticky. Sand may do OK but will not hold water in as well. Your local

soil may or may not have been the best depending on its richness. Humus should do well

because of its richness in nutrients and texture. Particles need to be loose enough for roots

to grow, but not so loose water will run through too rapidly and not have time to soak

roots.


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3. Discuss what soil is made of and how it’s made (from weathered bits of rock over time

containing remains of plants and animals).

Session 2: Soil as a Filter

Prepare:

Gather a soil sample, small rocks, a lidded glass jar ¾ full of a mixture of soil and water,

a paper towel, a clear plastic bottle, black marker, and scissors.

1. Cut off the top third of the clear plastic bottle and turn it upside down in its bottom

section, forming a funnel. Line the funnel with a paper towel and layer first the rocks,

then the soil in the funnel.

2. Hold up the glass jar and shake.

3. Tell students the dirty water in the jar represents rain mixing with loose soil. Remove the

lid and slowly pour half the dirty water into the funnel. As you do so, explain that this is

what happens when a rain-soil mixture soaks into the ground.

4. When the water is finished dropping, label the top of the plastic bottle “filter,” the bottom

“after” and the jar “before.”

5. Have students compare the water before and after it was filtered (water after filtering

should be noticeably cleaner).

6. Conclude that the soil acts as a filter by cleaning and storing water as it soaks into the

ground.

Session 3: Farm Food Chain

1. The farm is an ecosystem, just as a desert or ocean. Review the seven parts of a farm

ecosystem and its definition. Make a T-chart and have students list as many farm animals

and plants they may see on or near a farm (e.g., chickens, cows, sheep, horses, pigs,

ducks, goats, birds, insects, trees, corn, soybeans, peppers, beans, squash, grass, wheat).

(Sample pictures can be found on pages 12 and 13.)

2. Ask students to draw a simple food chain starting with a producer and at least three

animals, ending with a decomposer. As an alternative you could also place names of

each plant/animal on a card and have students hold a card representing that plant or

animal standing in the correct order of the food chain. An extension of this activity

would be to build a food web. Provide a ball of yarn and have the first student (producer)

hold on tightly to the end of the yarn then pass the ball to the next consumer in the food

chain. That consumer holds on tightly to the yarn and continues passing the ball until the

web is completed.

Session 4: Parts of a Corn Plant

1. Review or explain photosynthesis: when plants produce their own food from air,

sunlight, and water = producers. The green chemical called chlorophyll, traps energy

from the sun. Plants provide us with food, clothing, medicines, building materials, and

oxygen. Find illustrations of both photosynthesis and chlorophyll in a science textbook.

2. Explain that corn grows from a kernel (seed) and has a root, stalk, leaf, and tassel. The

seed soaks up water, bursts through the pericarp (covering), sprouts, and begins to grow.

The embryo grows down into the soil where the root picks up water and minerals to

support the plant and provide nutrients from fertilizer and/or crop rotation which

preserves nutrients in the soil. Part of the plant pushes through the soil and forms a stalk


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with leaves. Photosynthesis begins. When the plant matures and begins to produce ears,

the pollen from the tassels on top fall on the silks to produce corn kernels. Pollination

occurs by falling pollen, wind, or being transferred by birds or insects to the silks.

3. Have students draw and label the parts of a corn plant (or bring in a real one, or draw one

on the board to do together). Label the tassel, kernel, silk, ear, husk, stalk, and roots.

Discuss the function of each part. To find the parts of a corn plant, go to

http://www.enchantedmaze.com/pdf/k-4-worksheet.pdf .

Session 5: Corn in the Food Web

Prepare:

Explain that corn is a producer (it makes its own food through photosynthesis) and

consumers eat the corn. Pop at least two cups popcorn and place in 12-15 sandwich bags. Have

students brainstorm about animals from the farm ecosystem that are grain eaters and meat eaters

and make tags to hang around necks (6-10 grain eaters such as a pig, 3-6 meat eaters such as a

hawk, 12-15 corn plants, and one sun).

1. Play the Web Game. Spread out around the gym or outdoors wearing tags. The sun

begins by distributing one bag of corn to each corn plant.

2. The plants now eat half the bag of corn to produce energy for growth.

3. Each grain consumer takes a bag from TWO plants and eats half the remaining corn.

4. Each meat consumer takes a bag from TWO grain consumers and eats the rest of the

corn.

5. Debrief by having students write or orally explain how this food web works.

Session 6: Edible Organizer

1. Display a list of the following common food items: apple, green onion, peas, pepper,

radish, corn, peanut, spinach, cucumber, beans, pumpkin, sweet potato, lettuce, carrot,

broccoli, onion, celery stalk, asparagus, garlic, tomatoes. Title the group of food items

“Plant Parts.”

2. Have students use a graphic organizer to arrange the list into the following categories:

flowers, seeds, roots, bulbs, leaves, fruits, and stems. You could also write the plant parts

on Post-it notes and stick on the board above the matching food items.

Answers:

Roots: carrot, radish, sweet potato

Bulbs: onion, garlic

Stems: asparagus, green onion, celery stalk

Leaves: spinach, lettuce

Flowers: broccoli

Fruits: apple, cucumber, pumpkin, tomatoes, pepper

Seeds: peas, beans, corn, peanut

3. Read Tops and Bottoms! (see “Teacher Resources” on page 10).

Session 7: Soil Conservation

Prepare:

Explain the term “conservation” (the controlled use and systematic protection of natural

resources such as forests, soil, and water). Inform students that farmers must be conservationists

and find ways to care for the soil and water on their farms to produce the best crops, provide

clean water for their livestock, and assure that ground water remains clean.


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One thing farmers do to help protect soil is to sow “cover crops,” non-food crops that are

sown to prevent erosion, boost the soil, nutrients, and provide habitat for beneficial insects. The

cover crops decompose and provide nutrients for the next crop. (To complete this activity, you

should plan ahead for planting grass seeds for step 3.)

1. Erosion: Explain to students that erosion is wearing away of the land by wind or water.

2. Place some local soil in a large container such as a 9”x13” pan. Tilt pan and have a

student gently sprinkle water, starting at top of soil. Watch what happens as the water

carries bits of soil along with it. Discuss what effects erosion has on plants, why

farmland is usually flat land, and how to prevent erosion (by planting)!

3. Plant grass seeds in the container and repeat process to demonstrate how plants help

prevent erosion. After the grass has started growing and produced roots, the amount of

soil washing away (eroding) should be visibly reduced.

Assessment:

For Session 5, have students draw a flow chart or web of the Corn Web game. You may

also use the Open Response Questions (below).

Open Response Questions:

1. Use a graphic organizer to describe properties of sand, clay, and silt.

Category Student Descriptors

4 List all properties: Clay: heavy, small particles, sticky, hard to squeeze;

Sand: light, large particles, gritty; Silt: light, medium particles, soft/silky

3 At least 2 properties from each

2 At least 1 property from each

1 1-2 total properties

2. List four functions of soil.


4 Provides all 4 functions: 1) provides nutrients for crops; 2) filters wastes; 3)

produces/absorbs gases; and 4) home to organisms

3 Lists 3 of the 4 functions

2 Lists 2 functions

1 Lists 1 function

3. Draw one to two food chains containing corn as a producer.


4 Lists 2 food chains containing corn. Either 1) corn, mouse, hawk; 2) corn, human; or

3) corn, pig, human

3 Correctly draws 1 food chain containing corn

2 One mistake (left out one part, wrong order)

1 Incorrect order or consumers

Connect: 1. LITERATURE CONNECTION: Have students read one of the books below (or read

aloud to the whole class). Ask students to explain how their books’ topics play a role in

the farm ecosystem.


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2. SCIENCE CONNECTION: Start a compost pile outside your school or a small one in the

room adding earthworms to see how they can make soil rich by helping decomposition

and thereby making the soil richer.

3. COMMUNITY CONNECTION: Contact a local farmer or county extension agent and

arrange a field trip to a farm in your area.

Teacher Resources:

• Brother Eagle, Sister Sky (Susan Jeffers) Speech by Chief Seattle in 1850s (“All things

are connected like the blood that unites us. We did not weave the web of life, we are

merely a strand in it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.”)

• Farming (Gail Gibbons) Each season brings specific chores, its own crops, and its own

food. Farmers cope with the elements and forces of nature.

• From Cow to Ice Cream (Bertram Knight) Shows the complete process of turning raw

materials into ice cream.

• Gift of the Tree (Alvin Tresselt) Life cycle of an oak tree; interdependence of plant and

animal life cycle through the seasons and the years.

• Hooray for Beekeeping (Bobbie Kalman) Workings of a farm and the helpful pollination

by bees.

• Life in a Bucket of Soil (Alvin Silverstein) Ants, worms, snails, etc. and how they live

and the effect they have on soil.

• Magic School Bus Food Chains (Patricia Relf) A class trip to the beach is a lesson about

food chains. Kids discover what a tuna sandwich and pond scum have in common.

• Magic School Bus Food Chain Frenzy (Anne Capeci) Chapter book about Arnold’s

adventure through an ecosystem and food chain.

• McBroom’s Wonderful One Acre Farm – Three Tall Tales (Sid Fleishman) McBroom

thought he was cheated in a deal, but then the bottom of his muddy little pond dried up,

leaving an acre of rich soil. The seeds grew into full-grown plants, and nickels grew into

quarters.

• Reason for a Flower (Ruth Heller) Plant reproduction and purpose of flower in poetic

form.

• Tops and Bottoms (Janet Stevens) Lazy Bear sleeps through every planting season, so

conniving Hare makes deals with Bear to receive either the tops or the bottoms of the

plants.

• Tortilla Factory (Gary Paulsen) Cycle of a corn seed into a tortilla.

• What are Food Chains and Food Webs? (Bobbie Kalman) Starting with the sun, food

chains link together plants and animals in various ecosystems to help them survive.

• What is a Life Cycle? Science of Living Things (Bobbie Kalman) Birth-to-adult

reproduction of plants and animals including humans; photos show sheep giving birth.

Web Sites:

• www.yahooligans.yahoo.com/science_and_nature/the_earth/farming. Yahooligans Web

site offers links to farming.

• http://soils.gsfc.nasa.gov/app_soil/hmsoil.htm. “An Apple as the Earth” activity.

• http://www.kycorn.org/. The Kentucky Corn Growers Association collects and allocates

check-off funds to promote corn use, educate members and consumers, represent growers

to legislature, conduct production and utilization research, and provide direct tangible

benefits to producers and members in Kentucky.


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• http://www.kycorn.org/kycgaprojects/education/education.htm. - The Kentucky Corn

Growers Association works to bring educational resources to teachers and students and

across the Commonwealth, as well as consumers around the world.


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Farmer

Cow

Pig

Sheep

Corn

Goat

Chicken

Soybeans

Honeybee

Worm

Soil

Grass

Corn Flakes

Milk

Sweater

Steak

Cotton

Shirt

Honey


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Consumer

Wheat

Squash

Beans

Peppers

Vegetable

Oil (made from

soybeans)

Trees

Flowers

Eggs

Cheese

Compost

Beetles

Flies

Bacteria

Bacon

FARM AS ECOSYSTEM - · PDF fileThe Farm as an Ecosystem ... nonliving and once living. Living things differ from nonliving things. Organisms are classified into groups by using various

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