Teaching Sequence

10 minutes – Part A: Activating Prior Knowledge
40 minutes – Part B: How Are We Connected To Agriculture And Farming?
10 minutes – Reflection

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

Part A: Activating Prior Knowledge

Step 1.

Engage students in a class discussion around the following questions (suggested answers included):

What is agriculture?
Suggested answer: Agriculture is the science of growing animals and plants for human consumption. This includes research and the study of genetics and breeding.
What is farming?
Suggested answer: Farming is the practice of growing animals and plants for human consumption. Farming is one aspect of agriculture.
Where does farming and agriculture happen? Does it mostly occur in or outside of cities? Why?
Suggested answer: Most agricultural activity occurs outside of cities because it requires space: space to grow plants, or to raise animals, or to process these products.
How are farming and agriculture related to the Show?
Suggested answer: The Show is run by an agricultural society with the purpose of showcasing agricultural practices and lifestyles to the broader community. The Show includes many activities and events relating to agriculture, including food, fibre, and animals.

As students answer each question, invite them to extend their thinking and justify their answers by asking:

How do you know?
What else do you know about this?
What else would you like to know about this?

Part B: How Are We Connected To Agriculture And Farming?

Step 1.

Now, break the class into groups of three or four. Write the following question on the board (also available on the Student Worksheet):

If The Show is all about agriculture and farming, and most of this happens outside of cities, why do we have the Show in the city?

Invite students to work in their groups to suggest answers to this question, recording their ideas on the space provided on the Student Worksheet. Although students should discuss their answers in their groups, each student needs to record their ideas in their own words on their own worksheet.

Once complete, invite a representative from each group to come up to the board and add their answers. Now, work together to sort their ideas into themes, such as 'More people in the city', 'Central location', etc. Ensure that 'We're all connected to agriculture' is one of the themes included on the board.

You can also remind students that there are many country Shows that take place outside of cities, however, these tend to be smaller and generally only attract local people and competitors.

Step 2.

Once complete, you can now explain to students that there are many reasons why the Show is held in the city, including the central location and the fact that there is a large audience who might attend the Show. However, one of the most important aspects of the Show is to demonstrate to all members of the community – particularly those in the city – that we are all connected to agriculture, and we all need agriculture.

Explain to students that in the rest of this lesson they will be examining the following question: How am I connected to agriculture?

Step 3.

Still working in their groups, invite students to access the following picture on the Student Worksheet:

Groups should spend a minute or two first discussing this picture, using the following questions as prompts:

What do you see in this picture?
How are the things picture connected to agriculture and farming?

Invite groups to annotate their copy of the picture by adding lines to the items, and describing how each item might relate to agriculture and farming.

Once complete, invite students to share their ideas with the class, considering the following:

Step 4.

Invite the class to reflect on this image by holding a class discussion on the following questions:

Does this image make you think differently about agriculture and farming and why?
In what ways do you think you are connected to agriculture and farming?

Step 5.

Explain to students that they will now work independently to create an A4 sized poster that describes how they are personally connected to agriculture and farming. The aim of this poster is to let their audience know that we are all connected to agriculture and farming. Students need to pick:

Two items of food they will have or have already eaten today (e.g. ham sandwich, cereal with milk, muesli bar, etc.)
One item of fabric (made from natural fibres) they are wearing or have come in contact with today (e.g. leather shoes, cotton towel, wool hat)

Note: The number of food and fabric items can be decreased or increased depending on age, ability and time available.

Invite students to draw or take a photo of the items they have listed and annotate them to describe how these items are related to agriculture and farming. Students may need to conduct research online or in the library to find out more about the items they have chosen. When conducting research online, remind students of the Search Strategies for Googling.

Students can use the Poster Assessment Rubric to help guide the presentation and content of their posters.

Step 6.

Work with students to create a gallery walk of posters. Use a gallery walk format to provide peer feedback on student work. Display the students' work around the classroom and place a piece of blank paper next to each work for writing feedback. Invite groups to rotate around the room and provide feedback to the creators of the work. As groups view the works they are required to record one thing they like about the work displayed. One thing they wonder about it, and one thing to improve the work or where to go next. Consider doing this before work is submitted to the teacher so that students can incorporate any feedback to improve their work.

Remind students to be kind, helpful and specific when providing feedback:

Be kind – it can be hard sharing your ideas with others, so make sure you are respectful and supportive.
Be specific – be clear about what you think and why. Rather than saying "I like the colours", say something like "I like the way those colours help create a mood that supports the message".
Be helpful – Try not to just say what is strong or weak but also make suggestions about how things could be improved.

Reflection

Invite students to work independently to answer the following questions (also available on the Student Worksheet):

What was most interesting for you in this lesson?
What did you learn about farming and agriculture that was new to you?
What was the most challenging thing for you in this lesson? How did you rise to this challenge?

Differentiated Learning

Extension: Invite students to consider why the Show might be important for the farmers and agricultural workers who participate in the Show. Students could write a short paragraph or a series of bullet points describing their ideas.

Take It To The Show

Distribute this Treasure Hunt Sheet to students and invite them to find two items at The Show that contain the ingredients on this sheet. Students need to take photos of these items and add them to the sheet, describing what it is and explaining what parts of this item contain the ingredients on the sheet (e.g. the bun contains flour which is made from wheat).

Teacher Reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:

What did you learn about your teaching today?
What worked well?
What didn't work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

The Show - Connections to Agriculture and Farming

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