Teacher Feature
Welcome to Teacher Feature: Celebrating Wisconsin's Community of Agricultural Literacy Educators
Welcome to Teacher Feature, your go-to blog for all things related to Wisconsin's Agriculture in the Classroom program! Here, we shine a spotlight on the dedicated educators who are cultivating a love for agriculture among their students. Our mission is to share inspiring stories, innovative teaching strategies, and valuable resources that empower teachers to incorporate agricultural education into their classrooms.
Whether you're an experienced educator or just starting your journey, Teacher Feature is here to support you in fostering a deeper understanding of agriculture and its importance in our everyday lives.
Travis works with students across multiple age levels and topics to integrate food, fiber, and fuel into curriculum to provide meaningful learning experiences for students. Image courtesy of Wausau School District.
Agriculture plays a fundamental role in shaping human lives and societies in ways that are often underestimated. Its influence extends beyond just the production of food; it impacts various facets of daily life, including clothing, medicines, and even the environment. It is deeply embedded in the food we eat and the water we drink, forming a crucial link between our daily lives and the environment that sustains us.
In my high school Natural Resources course, a lesson I utilized off the National Ag in the Classroom Matrix was Populations. This class of students has shown great interest in the growth of the human population and the resources we utilize across the country to feed the human population. This lesson kicks off with the students looking up the human population and watching it grow by the second. After researching the human population, we look at the available land and how we use it and move into how we are going to feed the population with the human population growing at a fast rate. We learned that by the year 2050, our human population will be over 9.5 billion. This brings up the discussion of having a global food crisis.
The final part of the lesson we talk about farming for the future. We learn that land use for agriculture is getting smaller and we need to think of new innovative ways to grow and produce food. In the final activity the students are put into groups of 3-5 and have to make farming decisions as a “village” determining what crops they want to grow in their 10 fields.
There are requirements on what type of crops can be grown; they need to be three different crops and two must be a protein source. They have to work through weather conditions and how it affects the village and other villages.
They look into the malnutrition side of the yield. They do it over a span of 2-3 years; once completed they have to look into solutions that reduce negative effects on human activities on the environment.
Understanding this connection helps us appreciate the importance of responsible agricultural practices and the need for continued innovation and sustainability in the sector. By recognizing and valuing the intricate relationships between agriculture, food, and water, we can better navigate the challenges of the future and work toward a more sustainable and equitable world.The effects of agriculture permeate many aspects of daily life, from the clothes we wear to the medicines we rely on. Its importance is evident in how it shapes economic structures, supports diverse industries, and affects environmental sustainability. Understanding and appreciating these connections helps underscore the significance of agriculture in our world.
7th grade students led elementary students in the all-school STEM Challenge based off the story, "PB & J Hooray!" by Janet Nolan.