Introduction+to+the+Curriculum


 * Introduction to Farms Unit**

Our year-long farm curriculum is broken down into four units of study which build upon prior experiences, as outlined in the picture below. The over-arching guiding question is "How does food get from the farm to the table?"



===Below is a brief overview of our curriculum. For more details and specifics, see the links on the wiki, the curriuculm binder, and the attached year-long timeline: ===

//Guiding question:// How do apples get from the tree to the store?
 * September- mid October**
 * Whole class field trip to apple orchard
 * Students re-visit and learn material in small group projects (i.e. mural, block building of orchard, book)

//Guiding question:// What are the elements of a working farm?
 * Mid October**
 * Whole class field trip to Drumlin Farm
 * Reflections and dramatic play on elements of the farm

//Guiding question:// Why is (poultry/ dairy/ bees/ fruits, vegetables, and grains) important to the farm?
 * November**
 * Small study groups learn about one content area
 * Study group excursions and expert visitors
 * Research and reflection through books, writing, illustrating, dramatic play, building or models.

//Guiding question:// What can you do to make your farm book page excellent?
 * December-January- early February**
 * Learn about elements of non-fiction books
 * Outline, draft, revise writing and illustration of farm book page
 * Give and receive feedback, look at exemplars to produce excellent work
 * Type final draft / color final illustration
 * Students rehearse (and rehearse, and rehearse...) reading their page for the family presentation
 * Produce an outstanding family presentation!

//Guiding question:// Who are the people who pick our food? What happens if their needs are not met?
 * Late February - Early March**
 * Brainstorm who harvests our produce
 * Stories, videos, and dramatic play about migrant farmworkers and their lives
 * Compare and contrast different freedom fighters (i.e. Cesar Chavez and Dr. Martin Luther King)
 * Present for social justice assembly

//Guiding question:// What happens when the food doesn't get to your table? How do agencies in the community help people have access to healthy food?
 * Late March-April**
 * Brainstorm what people need to live (connect to what plants need to live)
 * Visit Re Vision House and small group projects/ dramatic play about the shelter, farm, and aquaculture tanks
 * Study groups on learn about community organizations who help people get access to healthy food (i.e. WIC, Greater Boston Food Bank, Long Island Shelter, Food Project, Haley House, Clark-Cooper Community Gardens)
 * Research, interview, reflect, and write about community organization in study groups

//Guiding question 1:// What can we do to make sure that everyone has access to enough healthy food?
 * May-June**
 * Compile a list of all the different ways we have learned to help make sure everyone has access to healthy food
 * Vote on the 12 most important
 * Each student creates an illustration for calendar (through a series of drafts, feedback, and revisions)
 * Publish and print calendar to give to community agencies, and sell to families and the school community

//Guiding question 2:// How can we grow our own food?
 * Growing things experiments
 * Mix compost and/or manure in garden
 * Plant, water, and weed garden
 * Harvest a spring salad
 * //Idea for 2009: an end-of-year celebration with families to present the calendar and share in the garden harvest//