Grade Level: 3rd Grade

Time: 30 minutes

Essential Question:  How can we be stewards of Wyoming’s agriculture to benefit current and future generations?

Objectives: Students will:

• • Identify livestock in Wyoming by circling them on the Wyoming Resource Map
  • Identify what products are livestock and which are not
  • Identify two different types of livestock found in Wyoming

Purpose: Students will know what livestock is raised in Wyoming.

Required Materials/Resources:

• • Wyoming Agriculture Resources Map
  • “What is Agriculture?” handout
  • Pencils
  • “What is Agriculture?” PowerPoint
  • 3 index cards per student

Suggested Teacher Preparation:

• • Load PowerPoint on your Smart Board
  • Print Wyoming Resource Maps and be ready to hand out
  • Have enough index cards available for three per student.  Either leave blank for students to label themselves, or prior to lesson, label them with “livestock,” “crops,” and “other.”

Standards:

Science: 3-LS4-3 (DCI) – (Practiced/Encountered)

Social Studies: SS5.5.2 (Explicit), SS5.5.1 (Practiced/Encountered)

ELA: 3.RI.1, 3.RI.4, 3.SL.1 (Practiced/Encountered)

Vocabulary:

• • Crop – a cultivated plant that is grown for food, fiber, medicine, or livestock feed
  • Farmer – a person who cultivates land for crops and may also raise livestock
  • Livestock – animals kept for use and profit
  • Rancher – a person who raises livestock and may also cultivate the land for crops
  • Stewardship – As Wyoming citizens, we are stewards entrusted with the responsible development, care, and use of our resources to benefit current and future generations.

Instructional Procedure/Steps:

1. 1. 1. Display the “What is Agriculture?” PowerPoint on your Smart Board. Introduce the definition of livestock, crops, farmer, and rancher to your students through this PowerPoint. Reference the “What is Agriculture?” poster from the previous lesson, so students can see that livestock and crops are part of agriculture. Prior to starting the PowerPoint, pass out three index cards to each student and have them label them “livestock,” “crops,” and “other” (if you did not already pre-label them.) Say: “Wyoming has a variety of livestock that are raised by ranchers and crops that are cultivated by farmers. Throughout this PowerPoint, you will see several examples of crops and livestock. These slides will ask you to identify if a picture is an example of livestock, a crop, or not either.” There are a few photos of wildlife and plants within the PowerPoint that won’t fit in either the livestock or the crops categories. For each slide, have students hold up the card that they think the image represents. This should open up a discussion about why a deer could be found on a ranch but isn’t an example of livestock.

• After going through the PowerPoint, pass out the Wyoming Resource Map that was used in the previous lesson, or have students get it out if you had them keep their maps. Students need something to write with for the next step. Lead students in a map key review. As you go through the map key, have students circle the examples of livestock.

• Analysis

  In this task, students will be engaged in the higher order thinking skill of analysis by recognizing trends and analyzing patterns.
  Ask: “Find the county we live in.”  Check to make sure everyone is on the same county. Also, have students identify what part of the state your county is in directionally. Say: “Our county is in the _________ part of the state.” As a class, circle the types of livestock within your county. After doing this example together, have students begin circling the examples of livestock within the entire state, one county at a time. After students have finished circling the examples of livestock, have them complete questions 1-4 on the back of their map.

• Analysis

  In this task, students will be engaged in the higher order thinking skill of analysis by recognizing trends and analyzing patterns.

  Application

  In this task, students will be engaged in the higher order thinking skill of application.
  Once the students complete the four questions, bring the class back together for a group discussion. Ask students:

1. 2. • • “What similarities did you notice between the counties?”
        • “What differences did you see?”
        • “What do all the counties have in common?” They all produce cattle, sheep, and hay.
        • “What differences do you notice about the northern part of the state versus the southern part of the state?”
        • “What do you notice about the eastern part of the state versus the western part of the state?”
      5. Revisit the last slide of the PowerPoint that talks about cattle and sheep being the two main livestock produced.  Say: “Sheep and cattle are the types of livestock that are produced most in our state.  Cattle and sheep are found in every county. Hay is the crop that is produced most in Wyoming. It is produced in every county in the state.”

Assessment:

At the end of the lesson, have students list two types of livestock and one crop that is produced in Wyoming. Accept any type of livestock or crop from the map or PowerPoint to illustrate the variety of livestock and crops in Wyoming. This could either be a verbal check or written check (possibly on a sticky note).

Credits/Sources:

1. 1. 1. FarmCentric. (2018, July 12). Top 10 States with the Most Sheep & Lambs. Retrieved August 2, 2018, from http://beef2live.com/story-top-10-states-sheep-lambs-0-117992
      2. FarmFlavor. (2018). Wyoming Agriculture. Retrieved August 5, 2018, from https://www.farmflavor.com/wyoming-agriculture/
      3. United State Department of Agriculture. (2018, July 31). Wyoming Agriculture. Retrieved August 5, 2018, from https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Wyoming/About_Us/
      4. United State Department of Agriculture. (2017). 2017 State Agriculture Overview: Wyoming. Retrieved August 5, 2018, from https://www.nass.usda.gov/Quick_Stats/Ag_Overview/stateOverview.php?state=WYOMING
      5. Photo credits are listed in the Power Point presentation.