About Your AgMag
The AgMag is a great supplement to your social studies, science, or language arts curriculum. You will receive two issues per school year, October (Fall) and March (Spring).
AgMag K, Spring Issue Theme: From the Farm to YOU!
Features in this issue:
- From the Farm to YOU!
- Kidney Beans from the Field to YOU!
- Weather Watches
Integration Ideas
Math
Use the AgMag for counting and sequencing activities.
- Have students count how many plants or animals they see on each page.
- Practice sequencing by ordering the steps of how kidney beans travel from the farm to the store.
- Compare and graph different types of foods that come from plants or animals.
Science
Connect science lessons to what farmers do every day.
- Discuss what plants need to grow and how farmers help meet those needs.
- Observe daily weather patterns and predict how they might affect crops or animals.
- Grow bean seeds in small cups and track their growth.
English Language Arts
Use the AgMag to support reading and vocabulary development.
- Find and read sight words from your class list such as: grow, farm, you, eat, make.
- Encourage students to ask and answer questions about what they read.
- Write or draw a short story showing how food travels from the farm to their table.
GLOSSARY
Some words in your AgMag may be unfamiliar to your students. Many are defined in the articles. There is also a glossary on the AgMag website. Words you might wish to pre-teach are:
Agriculture: Growing plants and raising animals that people use for food, clothing and many other things every day. It’s also harvesting those farm products and getting them to us so we can use them. Agriculture is the industry that grows, harvests, processes, and brings us food, fiber, fish, forests, sod, landscaping materials, and more. It uses soil, water, sun, and air to produce its products. The process starts on farms, orchards, gardens, and ranches with the growing and the harvesting of crops and livestock, then moves to processing plants before finally traveling as finished products to stores, farm markets, lumberyards, greenhouses, and more where consumers buy the products. Agriculture is connected in some way with almost everything we eat, wear, and use.
Quote from an Unknown Source: “Agriculture is not simply farming. It’s the supermarket, the equipment factory, the trucking system, the overseas shipping industry, the scientist’s laboratory, the houses we live in, and much more. It has an effect on the air we breathe, the ground we walk on, the water we drink, and the food we eat.”
Crops: Plants that are grown and harvested to feed people and animals or to make other things people need.
Farm: An area of land where plants and animals are grown or raised for food, clothing, and more.
Farmer: A person who lives and works on a farm. Farmers are also called producers. Farming is a career; farmers make money by selling their farm products.
Harvesting: When crops are fully grown and ripe, they are removed from the field or garden for processing or consumption.
Plant: A living thing that grows in soil, needs sunlight and water, and can make its own food.
Processor: A place where food is cleaned, sorted, and made safe to eat. A processor can also be called a plant. A building or factory where food or products are made.
Minnesota Academic Standards Connection
| SUBJECT | STANDARD CODE | BENCHMARK |
| Social Studies | K.2.10.1 | Distinguish between goods (objects that can be seen or touched) and services (actions or activities). Identify goods and services that could satisfy a specific need or want. |
| Science | 0E.2.1.1.2 | Make daily and seasonal observations of local weather conditions to describe patterns over time. |
| English Language Arts | 0.2.1.1 | With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text. |
| English Language Arts | 0.2.3.3 | With prompting and support, describe the relationship between two or more events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text. |
AGMAG COVER: FROM THE FARM TO YOU!
Discussion Prompts
- Ask the students where they think a farm is.
- Ask them what they think grows on a farm. They may come up with things like corn and other vegetables, but they may be surprised to learn that things like trees, apples, and animals (livestock) are also grown on farms.
- Ask them what kinds of animals they might find on a farm. They might know about cows, pigs, or chickens, but could be surprised to learn about animals like goats and llamas.
Animal and Plant Activity
Students will learn the difference between animals and plants vocab terms. In this activity they will compare imagery of animals versus plants.
Answers:
- Plants: Apple, tree, potato, sunflower
- Animals: Chicken, pig (https://minnesota.agclassroom.org/matrix/lessons/146/)
PAGES 2-3: KIDNEY BEANS FROM THE FIELD TO YOU!
Discussion Prompt
- Where do beans come from?
- What do farmers do to help beans grow?
- What foods can we make with beans?
Teacher Background:
Minnesota farmers grow more kidney beans than any other state. The Huebsch family has been growing beans in north central Minnesota for more than 45 years. They plant beans in the spring, care for them all summer, and harvest them in the fall. Farmers use machines like a combine and a windrower to pick the beans. Then the beans are cleaned and sent to stores so families can eat them in chili, soup, or salad.
Beans provide important nutrients like protein for people and help keep the soil healthy too.
AGMAG ACTIVITY ANSWERS: BEAN STEPS
Have students number or draw the steps of how beans get from the field to their table.
- Cleaning – Step 4
- Transportation – Step 3
- Growing – Step 1
- At Home – Step 6
- Harvesting – Step 2
- Beans in the Store – Step 5
Activity: Counting
Questions: How many times is the word bean stated on the kidney bean pages?
Answer: 26 times
Do This At Home
Find a food at home that has beans in it, such as chili, tacos, or soup.
Ask: Where did these beans come from? (https://minnesota.agclassroom.org/matrix/companion-resources/1245/)
PAGE 4: WEATHER
Discussion Prompts
- Why is weather important to farmers?
- Answer: Too cold and plants will freeze. Too hot and plants could wither and die. Too little or too much rain can also cause plants to die. Farm animals can get sick if the weather is too hot or freeze if it is too cold.
Activity: Watch the Weather!
Have students note on each day what kind of weather that day had. Some days may have more than one. (https://minnesota.agclassroom.org/matrix/lessons/327/)
Optional Activity: Rain Gauge
Another way to make weather-watching a hands-on activity is to make a rain gauge. Simple instructions for creating a rain gauge can be found at Scholastic (https://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/wwatch/gather_data/raingauge.htm). This could be done in the classroom, or you could ask students to do it at home or both.
Additional MAITC Resources
Started in 1985, the Minnesota Agriculture in the Classroom program (MAITC) is a unique public and private partnership between the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and the MAITC Foundation. The program goal is to advance agricultural literacy to all learners, especially K–12 students and educators. MAITC’s mission is to promote understanding and awareness of the importance of agriculture.
