Every year, Canada exports food products to more than 180 countries around the world.
Grade 3 Tours
- investigate ways in which humans use plants
- identify parts of the plant used to produce specific products for humans
- investigate the farm setting for growing crops
- describe ways in which plants and animals depend on each other
- compare requirements of plants and animals
- consider how farmers care for plants
- describe the components within a sample of soil
- describe the differences between sand, clay and humus
- identify living things found in the soil
- compare how different plant roots grow through the soil
- outline the basic human and animal reproductive processes
- identify and compare distinguishing features of urban and rural communities
- explain how communities interact with each other and the environment to meet human needs
- identify geographical and environmental factors that explain the location of various urban and rural communities
- identify farm products imported and exported product
Grade Three Program Suggestions - Choose One or blend Ideas From All Suggestions
WONDER OF PLANTS
On this tour, we will view the animals and learn about them, but greater emphasis will be placed upon the characteristics and requirements of plants and their patterns of growth. The emphasis will be on plants as the source of food and shelter for the animals. We will attempt to show on the wagon ride how plants and animals on the farm depend on each other. The children will investigate various farm plants, eg. cereal grains, legumes, fruit and vegetables. We will review the basic parts of the plant and its function and attempt to show the changes that particular plants undergo in a complete life cycle. We will investigate the parts of the plant used to produce specific products for humans. Students will discover the many uses of corn, soybeans, wheat, oats and barley. Depending the on the time of year when you visit, this will be done in part through pictures and diagrams and in part through observation and hands on inquiry. Activities may include germinating a soybean seed, or dissecting a wheat plant. The students may observe bulbs and seeds, and participate in actual planting or transplanting activities. We will study the farm machinery used for tillage,planting and harvesting. Emphasis will also be placed on how the growth of plants can be affected by changes in environmental conditions. Our intent will be to show how farmers are stewards of the land and water, and to help students realize that farmers are people who are in business with the earth.
REAL DIRT ON SOIL
This presentation will focus on the importance of soil. The children will be led to discover how soil is not just dirt but a rich source of life and nourishment for many organisms, including humans. We will examine the soil on the farm and discover through inquiry and role-play the composition of soil. Students will become aware of the different types of soil, and will be introduced to environmental procedures being used by farmers today to conserve and protect the soil. Activities will be provided to study how soil absorbs and holds water, and we will observe the effects of moving water on soil. Visitors will learn about tillage techniques and equipment, and soil testing procedures. We will demonstrate how livestock help the soil and how the soil in many areas is becoming endangered. Weather and soil conditions permitting, the students will have an opportuunity to work in the soil and plant or transplant a crop.
URBAN VS RURAL COMMUNITIES
Our farm is situated adjacent to an urban development and offers a perfect teaching setting for helping children to compare urban and rural communities. The students will learn of the cultural background of the farm, how agriculture evolved from hunters and gatherers and how urban communities began in this area. Students will have an opportunity to compare space and services found in the rural and urban areas today and will have an opportunity to investigate the relationships between communities and the natural environment.