Activities for Grades 6 - 8

Ag in the Classroom: Serious Cereal Science

Through completing this lesson, students will develop an appreciation for the extensive materials and career fields provided by agriculture, specifically as related to cereal grain production, processing, and consumption. Activities include playing a game in which students become agronomy specialists, mapping the top grain-producing states, and watching videos about careers related to grain production.

KidsGardening: Bugs in Balance

Although gardeners may be tempted to classify insects as either pests or beneficial organisms, the reality isn’t so simple. Successful gardens mimic nature, where diverse organisms keep each other’s populations in check to create a natural balance. In this lesson, students explore the needs of insects as a step toward viewing their garden as a complex ecosystem and habitat for a multitude of life forms.

Berry Ink Painting

Take a step back in time and allow students to create their own watercolor paints using berry juice! This lesson can be used to teach ratios as students mix water and different types of berry juice to create new colors!

California Academy of Sciences: Flowers Seeking Pollinators

In this activity, students learn about plant reproduction and use real data to construct explanations about which flowers are the most attractive to different pollinators.  

• Flower Diagram (1 or 2 per group)
• Pollinator Profile cards (1 or 2 sets for class)
• Pollinator Data sheet (1 per student)
• Constructing Explanations sheet (1 per student)
• Imaginary Garden cards (optional – 1 or 2 sets for class)
• Imaginary Garden answer key (optional - 1 for teacher)
• Imaginary Garden flower tags (optional – 1 or 2 sets for class)

Ag in the Classroom: Understanding My Plate

Students will explore appropriate serving size and learn how to make good dietary decisions by understanding the components of nutrition as illustrated by MyPlate.

Kids Gardening: Object-Based Storytelling in the Garden

Objects evoke memories, emotions, and ideas and can be used as inspiration to express our thoughts and feelings. In this lesson, young gardeners use objects they find in the garden or in a natural space to help them create a story that shares a lived experience.   Consider having students create a gallery walk within the school that showcases the objects and the writing those objects helped to inspire!

Seeds to Success: Keep or Go

Students as the wildlife managers for their school. Due to recent student complaints, the school board has asked the wildlife management to determine if the "pest" in question is actually a pest at all. Through research, students must create an educational pamphlet for the board and weigh in on whether or not the insect should be kept or be removed from campus.   This lesson is intended to be used after completing the Bug Census, but can be done on its own. Teachers will need to identify potential insects in the garden so that they can be used as focus organisms for groups.

The Garden Classroom: Bug Census

In this activity, based upon the Bug Census activity outlined in The Garden Classroom, students survey specific areas in the school garden or other outdoor areas. Groups of students record and count the insect biodiversity in the area and then report their findings back to the class.   The class is challenged to use their data to generate tally charts, bar graphs, and a food web illustrating the relationships between the various insects observed in the garden. A follow-up activity that may be done after Bug Census is Keep or Go.   Student Page   Data Charts

Seeds to Success: Scribble Stones

Students plan, design, and contribute word rocks to the school rock garden. This very adaptable activity can be adjusted and used across all grade levels and subjects!

Seeds to Success: Ripe for the Searching

Louisiana Harvest of the Month word search. Use the word bank to find the hidden names of the harvest of the month items. Words can be going horizontally, vertically or diagonally.

Sixth Grade: Edible Schoolyard NYC

A full unit of lessons centered around seed-to-table pizza. These documents include seven to thirteen lesson plans per grade — that’s approximately one lesson per month of the school year. Most lessons are written to take place over two consecutive days in 50-minute sessions, with roughly equal time given to academic inquiry and hands-on learning.  

The Summer Garden (September): Students orient themselves in the garden using a map, noting how the garden has changed since they left it in the spring and learning about what vegetables are in season in late summer.  

Soil is Where Food Begins (October): Students study how soil is created from a combination of organic and inorganic material and begin the long process of making their own soil—which will be used to grow their pizza ingredients—through a “lasagna bed” (layers of cardboard, compost and straw).  

A Tale of Two Pizzas (December): Students compare the seed-to-table stories of an industrially produced pizza and one grown and made locally, noting the health and environmental impacts of each.  

Spring Vegetables and Herbs (January, lesson 1): Students study the foods they can grow and harvest in their garden in the spring. They examine and select some of the seasonably possible herbs for their pizza toppings.  

Choosing our Spring Vegetables (January, lesson 2): Students continue their study of seasonality, this time focusing on and selecting the spring vegetables that they can grow for their pizza toppings.  

Pizza Museum (February, lesson 1): Students explore a pizza museum that has been set-up in their classrooms, learning about the history and geography of pizza.  

Spring Kale Pesto (February, lesson 2): Students learn that pesto is a sauce made from whatever herbs or greens are available, and they make a seasonal version with kale, to be used on their pizzas.

American Farm Bureau: When I Grow Up: Discovering Ag Careers

There is a growing demand for recent college graduates entering the workforce in the agricultural sector. The resources in this kit are based on nine agriculture career focus areas:

1. Agribusiness Systems
2. Agricultural Education
3. Animal Systems
4. Biotechnology Systems
5. Environmental Service Systems
6. Food Products & Processing Systems
7. Natural Resources Systems
8. Plant Systems
9. Power, Structural, & Technical Systems

• One lesson that introduces students to the career focus area and associated career opportunities
• Three standards-based, interdisciplinary supplemental activities that each feature a different career from that area
• One take-home activity sheet that introduces students to another career from that area through a fun, engaging activity.

Drexel University: Go for the Green!

In this lesson students will describe the importance of vegetables in their diet and their relationship to health. Then, they will prepare and taste a healthy snack.