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 the key on a map
  • Locate and identify items on a map from the key
  • Discuss similarities and differences on the Wyoming Resources Map
  • Discuss what stewardship is
  • Identify what agriculture is like in Wyoming

Purpose:  Students will understand that we must be stewards of Wyoming. They will begin focusing on agricultural stewardship because of the important role that agriculture plays in Wyoming.

Required Materials/Resources:

• • Random pencils, crayons, scrap paper (These items need to be scattered around the room to look messy.)
  • Stewardship definition poster (will be used throughout the Agriculture in the Classroom Unit)
  • Poster paper for “Class Stewardship” poster
  • “What is Agriculture” poster
  • Video: https://youtu.be/GQ1pddhpQRk Agriculture in Wyoming: A Brief History (source 1) Video length: 5 minutes 34 seconds
  • Wyoming Resources Map

Suggested Teacher Preparation:

• • Make Class Stewardship Poster. (Write/print “Class Stewardship” in the middle of the poster paper.)
  • Post the “Stewardship,” “What is Agriculture,” and “Class Stewardship” posters on the wall
  • Ensure that the Agriculture in Wyoming: A Brief History video works and is ready to view.

Standards:

Social Studies: SS5.1.1 (Explicit), SS5.3.1, SS5.5.2 (Practiced/Encountered)

ELA:  3.RI.1, 3.RI.4, 3.RI.7, 3.SL.1 (Practiced/Encountered)

Vocabulary:

• • Agriculture – cultivating of the soil, producing of crops, and raising of livestock.
  • 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:

Part 1:

1. 1. 1. Walk around the room and deliberately drop paper wads of varying sizes throughout the room. Open cabinet doors, move things around from the normal organization of the classroom, scribble on the whiteboard, have a student go get a pencil, having the pencil box empty or only pencil “nubs” left, etc.

      2. Evaluation

         In this task, students will be engaged in the higher order thinking skill of evaluation by deciding how the messy room could potentially affect their learning. 
         Ask students, “What do you notice about the room? How does this environment affect your ability to learn? If we left the room in this condition, how would this affect you and students in the future? Why is it important to keep things nice, but useable?” Say: “We are entrusted and responsible for making sure our room is a place to enjoy and learn successfully.” 
      3. Introduce the Class Stewardship poster. Discuss and brainstorm examples of rights and responsibilities of a steward and write them on that poster or around it for students to reference throughout the year. Taking care of materials, respecting the space where we live and work, cleaning up after ourselves, creating a space where it’s easy to learn, etc.
      4. Instruct students to practice stewardship by being responsible for the resources of the classroom by cleaning up the mess, sharpening a supply of pencils, etc.

Part 2:

1. 1. 5. For student reference, display the “What is Agriculture” poster. Make note that agriculture encompasses both livestock and crops. Our focus for this unit will be livestock.
      6. Say: “Wyoming is unique because we are surrounded by agriculture every day. I’m going to show you a quick video that will give you a history of our state’s agriculture. Before we watch this, what do you picture when I say the word agriculture? Is it more than one thing? What do these things have in common?”
      7. Use the Agriculture in Wyoming: A Brief History video (https://youtu.be/GQ1pddhpQRk) as an introduction for what agriculture looks like in Wyoming.
      8. Give the students the Wyoming Resources Map.  This map will be used throughout multiple lessons in the unit, so make sure students put it in a safe place or collect it at the end of every lesson. Briefly go over the key parts of this map (Title, Key, and Compass Rose) to ensure they can effectively navigate the map.
      9. Have students begin to explore both sides of the map. Guide them at the beginning of the observations. Ask: “What features do you notice on the map?”  Students should notice the key, the different counties, and county lines. The backside might provide more new information or facts they find surprising. Ask the following questions about the county side of the map:

• • • • • “What are similarities you notice among the counties?”
        • “What are differences you notice among the counties?”
        • “What connections do you see among the counties?”
        • “What questions do you have after studying the map?”

1. 1. 6. Next, discuss the following additional questions:
   2. • • “Is there anything that stood out to you as interesting or surprising?”
        • “What is something new you learned?”
        • “What questions are still lingering for you?”
        • “What connections did you make to this map and something in your life?”
        • “Can you point to where we are on the map?”

Assessment: Check-in with the students during this share-out to notice what they are thinking. Some things to look for include the following: similarities between counties, and students’ ability to name “home county.” If students name something that is interesting or surprising, ask them to tell you why it was interesting or surprising.

Credits/Sources:

1. 1. 1. 1. Wyoming Agriculture in the Classroom.  (2018, February 6). Agriculture in Wyoming: A Brief History.  Retrieved February 6, 2018, from https://youtu.be/GQ1pddhpQRk