Teaching Sequence

10 minutes – Part A: Activating Prior Knowledge
10 minutes – Part B: What Is The Show?
30 minutes – Part C: What Happens At The Show?
10 minutes – Reflection

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

Part A: Activating Prior Knowledge

Step 1.

Begin this lesson by inviting students to form groups of four or five. Give each group a blank piece of paper (butcher's paper is fine) and ensure each student has a pen or pencil.

Invite groups to write the following sentence starter at the top of a blank piece of paper:

'When I hear the words agriculture and farming, I think of…'

Groups have two minutes to brainstorm and record as many ways they would complete this sentence as they can.

Once complete, invite students to share their completed sentences with the class. Record students' sentences on the board and engage students in a discussion about the words they have chosen. Through your discussion, invite students to consider the following questions (suggested answers have also been provided where relevant):

Have you ever visited a farm? What sort of farm was it?
What different types of farms and farming can you think of?
Suggested answers: Dairy, beef, sheep, pigs, chickens, fish, wheat, vegetables, fruit, cotton, worms, snails, to name a few.
Where is the closest farming activity to you?
Suggested answers: Crops, a community garden, beehives, aquaculture, etc.
What does the word 'agriculture' mean? How does it relate to farming?
Suggested answer: Agriculture is the science of growing animals and plants for human consumption. This includes research and the study of genetics and breeding. Farming is the practice of growing animals and plants for human consumption. Farming is one aspect of agriculture.
What are some ways that people in the city can come in contact with farming practices and farmers?

Lead students to the idea that the Show (in your state) is one way that farmers can share what they do with people from the city. Many rural towns also hold their own smaller agricultural shows that farmers and the community attend as well the large city shows.

Part B: What Is The Show?

Step 1.

Work as a class to create a mind map on the board of all the things that come to mind when students think about the Show. Suggestions may include rides, animals, show bags, woodchopping, fireworks, food, etc.

Once complete, invite students to compare their farming words with the words recorded on the mind map and consider which words appear on both mind maps.

Engage students in a discussion around their ideas, and through your discussion explain that the Show will typically include:

Animal judging, including cows, sheep, horses, alpacas, poultry, pigs, as well as dogs and cats.
Farming demonstrations and activities, such as sheep shearing, working dogs, milking animals, brushing, patting and feeding farm animals, planting seeds, and grinding wheat to make flour.
Food judging, as well as food from the farm to try and buy.
Arts and crafts displays and judging, as well as demonstrations, such as spinning, weaving and creating.
Rides and entertainment, including circus, music, horse riding, motorbikes, and fireworks.

Part C: What Happens at The Show?

Step 1.

Break the class into groups and invite each group to investigate the features of farming and agriculture included in the Show in their capital city. Students will need to conduct online research on a website for the Show in their capital city:

Royal Melbourne Show https://royalshow.com.au/
Sydney Royal Easter Show https://www.eastershow.com.au/
Ekka (Royal Queensland Show) https://www.ekka.com.au/
Perth Royal Show https://www.perthroyalshow.com.au/
Royal Adelaide Show https://theshow.com.au/
Royal Canberra Show https://www.canberrashow.org.au/
Royal Hobart Show https://hobartshowground.com.au/royal-hobart-show/
Royal Darwin Show https://www.darwinshow.com.au/

Each group needs to conduct the research necessary to answer the following questions (also available on the Student Worksheet):

How long has this Show been running?
What features of farming and agriculture appear at this Show? In what way do they relate to farming and agriculture?
Which of these features of farming and agriculture are you already familiar with and why?
What elements included in this Show do you believe are not related to farming and agriculture? Justify your reasoning.

Step 2.

Allow students the time to answer these questions. Once complete, invite groups to team up with another group to compare answers. You could also invite students to share their ideas with the class.

Step 3.

Finally, engage students in a class discussion around what they found out about the Show in their capital city. In addition, you could also invite discussion around the following questions:

What did you find out about the Show that was surprising or interesting?
What aspects of farming and agriculture do you think are missing from the Show? Why do you think they are not included?
What aspects of farming and agriculture at the Show are most appealing to you and why?
If the Show is all about farming and agriculture, why do we have the Show in the city?

NOTE: This final question will be explored in depth in the following lesson: Connections To Agriculture And Farming – Years 5 & 6.

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 that was new to you?
What other things would you like to know about farming and agriculture? What do you want to know about the Show?

Take It To The Show

Invite students to visit the Show and take six photos. Three of these photos should show things that are clearly related to farming and agriculture, such as farm animals, and three should show things that the students feel are related to farming and agriculture but are not so obvious, such as cakes in the arts, crafts and cooking pavilion. Students can share their images with other students, explaining why they have chosen these images.

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 - Farming, Agriculture and The Show

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