Circle Time: Crops Grow

1. Read the book, Apples by Gail Gibbons.
2. After reading, review the Vocabulary Development Photo Cards. 
   1. Show the cards to the children and say the name of each photo on the card. Encourage the children to repeat the vocabulary words after you. 
   2. Ask the children to identify the object or action on the card and describe what it is or does.
   3. Possible prompts:
      • Orchard: An orchard is a place where lots of trees stand in rows. It is where farmers plant and tend fruit and nut trees like apples, peaches, and almonds. What are some other crops that grow in an orchard?
      • Field: A field is a big open space of land where farmers plant seeds and grow crops like corn, wheat, and vegetables, and it's an important place where plants get the sun, rain, and nutrients they need to grow big and strong. What are some other crops that grow in a field?
      • Blossom: Blossoms are the small flowers that appear on fruit or nut trees. When trees have blossoms, bees visit the flowers to collect nectar, and while doing so, transfer pollen from one flower to the next, helping the tree produce fruits or nuts. What sweet food do we get from bees?
      • Grocery Store: A grocery store is a place where we can buy foods and drinks that are grown or made on farms, such as fruits and vegetables from orchards and fields. What grocery stores are in our community?
      • Transport: Transport means moving crops and animals from farms to different places like grocery stores or factories where they can be made into the foods we love to eat. This can be done by trucks, trains, ships, or planes. Have you ever seen trucks moving crops or animals? What were they carrying?
      • Dormant: This word describes when a tree is alive but not actively growing. What do you notice about this photo of a dormant tree?
3. Complete the Crops Grow Anchor Chart. Teacher note: Prior to the lesson create a framwork on an easel pad using the Crops Grow Anchor Chart template. As you review the key points and interact with students, draw and write their ideas on the anchor chart. Hang the chart in a prominent location in the classroom where students can easily refer to it throughout the unit.

Literacy: Harvest Time! Three-Step Sequencing

1. Introduce the concept of three-step sequencing. Tell the students they are going to practice putting a series of events in the right order. Introduce the terms first, next, and last. Give some simple examples, such as getting ready for school or making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
2. Show the students the apple. Invite them to come up with a three-step sequence for apple production. For example, first they are grown on a tree, next they are harvested, and last they are transported to a grocery store.
3. Use the Harvest Time! Sequencing Cards to practice three-step sequencing for a variety of agricultural crops. Students can work independently, in pairs, or as a larger group. After they put the cards in the right order, ask them to orally tell the story on the cards.
4. Invite the students to give an example of a three-step sequence they saw today or one they can think of on their own. Remind them that crops provide us with food and that farmers work hard to produce food for us to enjoy.

Math: Farm Stories

1. Show the students the Farm Story Mats (orchard and field) and the counters. Explain that the mats represent different kinds of farms and the counters represent crops growing on the farms. Invite the students to discuss the similarities and differences between the two scenes.
2. Give each student a turn to pick a counter from the pile and place it on the mat wherever they like. Encourage them to imagine what kind of crop they are planting, and to place the token in a spot that would be suitable for that crop to grow.
3. Once all the students have placed a token on the mat, explain that you will be giving instructions for them to add or remove counters from the mat. Encourage them to listen carefully and follow the instructions.
4. Use the Farm Story Problem Cards to guide the students through the activity. Once the students get the hang of it, encourage them to suggest their own story problems.

Science: Desktop Crops

1. Explain to the students that farmers take care of plants so that they can grow big and healthy. Farmers take care of lots of plants, sometimes even thousands of plants, which we call a crop. The crop needs food, water, and light. Farmers work really hard to make sure the plants are healthy, and when the plants are ready, they harvest the crop. For example, farmers might grow corn as a crop to sell as food for people or animals. Or they might grow cotton as a crop to make into clothing.
2. Tell the students that they will plant a desktop crop to see what plants need and how they grow from seeds.
   1. Take a clean lid from a peanut butter jar or use a plastic soup-cup lid.
   2. Fit the paper towel into the lid, covering any tiny holes.
   3. Moisten the paper towel with a spray bottle filled with water. You don't want it too wet.
   4. Sprinkle seeds on the paper towel.
   5. Cover the lid with a thick piece of aluminum foil to block the light and allow seeds to germinate.
   6. Check your garden every day until you see little shoots growing, then remove the cover. Once the seeds have sprouted, place them in a sunny location and water regularly.
3. Have the students record their observations on Days 5, 10, and 15 on their Desktop Crop Observation Sheet.