Fox Chase Farm Lessons

*Lessons can be modified upon grade level.
*Certain lesson’s time can be modified for a whole day or shortened for a hour and lesson.
*Certain lessons are only offered at specific times of the year.
*Teachers are encouraged to utilize the farm for their own lessons.
*If you are a Fox Chase Farm Empowerment School, please follow this link to discover more lesson plans for your students!

 

Agriculture – Animal Science

Charlotte’s Web: After engaging students through reading Charlotte’s Web, students will be sent on a scavenger hunt around the farm to locate all the main character’s in the book. After they’ve located the animals, students will create their own web with inspirational words on the web. CC.1.3.3.F

Create Your Own Herd: Students will be able to understand how heredity affects agricultural decisions regarding wanted traits in animals, and will understand that DNA contains genes which carry traits from generation to generation. 3.1.3.B1, 3.1.4.B1

From Chicken Little to Chicken Big: Students will identify different breeds of chickens, examine physical characteristics, and determine the stages of a chicken’s life cycle. 3.1.4.A3

How Milk Is Made: Students will be able to learn the process of making milk and what it goes through to become drinkable milk. Where undrinkable milk ends up will be explained. 3.4.4.D1

Sheep See, Sheep Do: Students will explore the difference between inherited and acquired traits and understand why knowledge of inherited and acquired traits is important to agriculture. Activities in this lesson include trait sorting, two short movies, a PTC taste test, and student presentations. 3.1.5.B1

Veterinarian: Students will become a veterinarian for the day and examine a live rabbit! Students will examine the ears, eyes, mouth, and listen for the rabbit’s heart beat! 3.1.7.A7

Agriculture – Plant Science

Apple: Students will determine various uses for apples and apple related products. Through exploring and observing a variety of apples to make comparisons of different species, students will make their own apple cider and become Fox Chase Farm “Certified Food Scientists.” 10.1.1.2.C

Busy Bees: Students will learn how bee keepers keep bees, the difference between the three bees in the hive, and how honey gets from a flower to their table! Students will demonstrate the pollination process in a hands-on activity. 3.1.3.A5, 3.1.6.A2

Floriculture: Students will be able to identify different materials used in floriculture. They will learn about different plants that are used in making their own floral arrangement. 4.4.PK.D

Maple Sugar: Students will explore the history, progression, and steps of the maple sugaring processes. Working with a Penny Pack Park’s staff, students will use the hearth oven to make maple sugar candies. 10.1.1.2.C

Plant Growth in Different Soil Types: Students will show that plants grow more successfully in fertile when compared to sand, silt, clay, and loam.  3.3.4.A4, 3.3.5.A2, 3.3.6.A2

The Very Hungry Caterpillar: What did you eat yesterday? Last week? Could you eat as much as a hungry caterpillar? Students will learn vocabulary and learn about different agricultural products with this engaging activity. The story will come to life as you read and students construct their own caterpillar. 3.1.7.A5

 

Environmental and Ecology

Ecologist for a Day: Get tangled in trees, but watch out, a storm is coming! Students will learn about major parts of a tree and why natural disasters are good for a forest. They will engage in making their own trees and the trees will experience natural disasters. 4.1.3.A, 4.1.4.E

Leaves, Leaves, Leaves: Students will collect and identify a leaf in the woodland garden. After identifying their leaves, they will hypothesis why scientists need to identify leaves and why their leaves are important to humans. 3.1.3.C1

Pediologist for a Day: Dig deep into what soil you have in your back yard! What kind of plants can you grow in your yard? Become a pediologist and investigate two types of soil at the farm. Students will engage in a hands-on experience to test soil and hypothesis what we can grow in acidic soil verses alkaline soil. 3.3.1.A1, 3.3.7.A2

Tree Detective: Students will identify and observe different species of trees while focusing on various characteristics of each species. 3.1.3.C1

A Walk in the Woods: Students will gain an appreciation for the characteristics of forest life and develop a relationship with a local ecosystem. 3.1.3.A1

Wildlife Conservation

The Great Migration Challenge: It’s time to fly south for the winter, but watch out for the power lines, jets, and bad weather. Will you make it safely to your wintering grounds? While playing the part of birds, students discover challenges faced by migrating birds. 3.1.3.C1

Oh Deer!: Students will identify and describe food, water, shelter as three essential components of a habitat; describe factors that might influence carrying capacity; define limiting factors; and, recognize that some fluctuations in wildlife populations are natural as ecological systems undergo constant change. 3.1.3C1, 3.1.4.C1

Who Eats Who?: Students think through the concept of food chains and reduced energy to support basic life functions in winter. By thinking about what animals eat or where they get their food energy, they can infer which ones will be able to find food in the winter and which ones won’t. 3.1.3.A1, 3.1.3.C2, 4.1.1.C

Wildlife – Animal Science

Animal Tracking: Students will identify different animal tracks and how tracks can tell us about the animal. After identifying tracks, students will make animal tracks out of plaster. 3.1.K.A5

Bearly Growing: Through illustration, computing, and graphing differences between people and black bears at various ages of maturity, students will compare similarities and differences between the growth of black bears and humans. 3.1.7.C1

Fill the Bill: What do chopsticks, tweezers, straws, and nutcrackers have in common? They all can be used to simulate different ways that birds eat food. Students will discover that bird beaks are adapted for specific types of food; describe how adaptations work; and, give two examples. 3.1.K.A5, 3.1.4.A5, 3.1.8.A8

Pelts: Students will identify pelts and facts about each animal. Through this activity student will learn the processes of trapping and how trapping is used for research and educational purpose. 3.1.4.C2

Skull: Students will learn about animal teeth and how teeth can determine if an animal was a carnivore, herbivore, or omnivore. Students will also learn how to use a dichotomous key to identify skulls. 3.1.4.C2