Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Tune In: What is regenerative agriculture?

25 minutes

Find Out: Different farming practices

25 minutes

Take Action: Social media campaign

5 minutes

Reflection

Tune In: What is regenerative agriculture?

Step 1.

Pose the questions to the class:

have you heard of the term ‘regenerative agriculture’?
what do you think it might mean? (Tip: Break down the term and focus on what ‘regenerative’ might mean and how this might be applied to agriculture)

Step 2.

Share the following videos with the class. As they watch, invite students to take notes on what regenerative agriculture is and what sets it apart from other farming approaches:

Video 1:

Regen Farming - Introduction Password: RF_EDU (https://vimeo.com/841106919)

(Note: This video comes from the documentary Rachel’s Farm, which explores the journey that a farmer - Rachel Ward - takes when shifting her farm from conventional practices to regenerative practices.)

Video 2:

What is Regenerative Agriculture? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSEtiixgRJI)

Step 3.

Once complete, briefly invite students to share what they observed in this video. Through your discussion, explain to students that a useful definition of regenerative agriculture is:

regenerative agriculture is a type of farming that balances food productivity with environmental health.

Tip: You could add this definition to your class glossary or students could keep a record of it to refer to throughout this lesson and in other lessons in this unit.

Step 4.

Give each student a copy of the Student Worksheet. Direct them to the 5 main principles of regenerative agriculture:

don't disturb the soil
keep the soil surface covered
keep living roots in the soil
grow a diverse range of crops
bring grazing animals back to the land.

Note: If you are planning on completing further lessons in this unit, ask students to record these principles in their workbooks where they can refer to them in these other lessons.

Step 5.

Now invite students to work independently to look closely at these principles and to respond to the following (also available on the Student Worksheet):

what questions do you have about these principles?
is there one principle that makes sense to you? Explain your answer.
is there one principle that is particularly confusing to you? Explain your answer.

Students should record their answers and then team up with a classmate to share and discuss their questions and answers.

Tip: If you intend on completing other lessons in this unit, students can refer to their questions or queries at a later date to see if they can answer their questions. If you are not planning on completing other lessons, these questions or queries can be used to guide further independent inquiry.

Find Out: Different farming practices

Step 1.

Students are to break into 5 groups. Assign each group with one of the following farming approaches.

Differentiated learning

Students can be assigned to mixed-ability groups. Alternatively, students requiring support could be assigned either traditional or regenerative farming as they can use the knowledge they have learned as a class in this and the previous lesson as a basis for their understanding.

Farming approaches:

Traditional
Permaculture
Organics
Intensive farming
Regenerative farming

Step 2.

Each group needs to research their assigned farming approach to answer the following questions (also available on the Student Worksheet):

What is your farming practice (in a nutshell)?
What is a day like on the farm under your farming practice?
What are the best crops that can be grown using this method?
Are there crops that cannot be effectively grown using these methods?
What soils are these methods best used for?
What are the benefits of this agricultural approach? Consider key themes like productivity, climate change or water management.
What are the arguments against this approach to farming?
What are the environmental ramifications of this farming approach? Consider key themes like climate change, biodiversity loss or water management.
Is this method of farming expensive for the farmer?
Is this a lucrative method of farming (crop yield and financial)?
Is this method sustainable in the future?
How does the general public view this method of farming?

This research will be used in the Take Action section of this lesson.

Some resources to start students' research:

Permaculture Principles - Explore the principles of permaculture
Agriculture and food - Going organic
Solar Impulse Solutions - Sustainable agriculture
Sentient Media - Intensive Agriculture
Farming for a Better Future - Regenerative Agriculture
Solid Science - Aboriginal Farming
One Plate - Sustainable Farming
DAFF - A Snapshot of Australian Agriculture

Take Action: Social media campaign

Step 1.

In this activity, students will make a TikTok video about the farming method they researched.

This does not have to be a posted TikTok video. If you are uncomfortable with students potentially using real social media accounts or are unsure about the cohort that you are working with, the video can be mocked up on camera and sent to the teacher. This can also be transferred to 2 - 3 Canva-made posts for social media that can be screenshotted and submitted.

In pairs, students are to create a short TikTok video with a particular audience in mind to teach them about their chosen farming approach. Canva can assist in this process, or students may have their own additional apps or techniques for creating posts.

Students need to consider:

who is your target audience?
how can you make your video engaging and entertaining for your audience?
how can you best showcase your knowledge about your farming technique?

Step 2.

Each group is to show their video to the class.

Students are to:

take notes on the 5 different farming techniques, adding to their notes as other students might add new or interesting facts to their knowledge base.
reflect on each presentation by writing down 2 stars and a wish (two things the pair did well and one thing they could work on in future), which can be given to the students as feedback after their presentation.

Reflection

Note: if you plan on completing multiple lessons from this unit, students should use a separate document for reflections throughout these lessons to track their changing views on agricultural practices in Australia.

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

Were you aware there were so many different methods of farming? Which methods were you already aware of, and what did you know about them?
Now that you have an understanding of the different agricultural practices, do you think differently about the food you eat? Why or why not?

Take it further

Students who complete the work early can engage with the separate ongoing lesson on Space Agriculture, which has been written and designed specifically for this purpose.

Differentiated learning

We trust that teachers are the best equipped to know how to cater to the diversity in their classes. At Cool, we incorporate a variety of differentiation strategies into each lesson. Firstly, each lesson in this unit appeals to an array of different learning preferences. Learning activities can be completed in a number of different ways - if a student feels more comfortable speaking rather than writing, there are opportunities to accommodate this.

In lessons that feature group work or learning stations, we trust that teachers will use their discretion in knowing how to best organise their students in accordance with positive working relationships and ability. Graphic organisers and scaffolds are often included so students can ‘visually think’ and keep a record of their work. While our lessons are designed to be 55 - 60 minutes in length, we trust that teachers will manipulate lesson and segment times according to the needs of their students.

Tuning Into Regenerative Farming Practices

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Summary

Learning intentions:

Students will...

Success criteria:

Students can...

Lesson guides and printables

Lesson Details

Skills

Curriculum Mapping

Resources Required

UN Sustainable Development Goals

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In this lesson