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Utah Agriculture in the Classroom

Agricultural Literacy Curriculum Matrix


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Lesson Plans (2)

Discover Christmas Trees (Grades 3-5)

Students explore the history of the Christmas tree, explain the life cycle of a conifer, identify types of trees and how they adapt, discover what it's like to work on a Christmas tree farm, and examine the ecology of conifer trees. Grades 3-5

Discover Christmas Trees (Grades K-2)

Students explore the history of the Christmas tree, explain the life cycle of a conifer, identify types of trees and how they adapt, discover what it's like to work on a Christmas tree farm, and examine the ecology of conifer trees. Grades K-2

Companion Resources (9)

Activity
Growing Up Evergreen
In this activity, students will explore how evergreen trees grow from cone to maturity by reading Where Would I Be in an Evergreen Tree? by Jennifer Blomgren and by making a bird feeder from a pine cone.
Value-adding on a Christmas Tree Farm

In this activity, students will learn how to add value to Christmas trees by making scented pillows from balsam fir needles which can be used for gifts or potentially as a fundraiser for your classroom. Older students can also calculate the potential income from selling their value-added projects.

Book
Christmas Farm
When Wilma decides her garden needs a new beginning, she gathers all her supplies and sixty-two dozen balsam seedlings to start a Christmas tree farm. Follow Wilma and Parker, her five-year-old neighbor, year after year as they nurture their trees, keeping careful count of how many they plant, how many perish, and how many grow to become fine, full Christmas trees. A great holiday read-aloud for the month of December.
Christmas Tree Book
While picking out their Christmas tree, a couple of curious kids start to wonder where Christmas trees came from. Who invented the first one? How did they become so popular? And how have they changed over the years? This book tells you everything you ever wanted to know about Christmas trees—and everything you never even thought to wonder about.
Feasts and Festivals Around the World
Explore the celebrations and feasts of twelve countries and cultures from around the world! From South Korea to Nigeria to the USA, come celebrate festivals throughout the year! People around the world are celebrating. In Australia, it's Christmas in summer with barbecues on the beach. In Thailand, they're celebrating Songkran, the famous Buddhist water festival. Rhyming text and graphic illustrations pair perfectly and invite young readers to explore the world through mesmerizing festivals.
Zee Grows a Tree
On the morning little Zee Cooper is born, a Douglas-fir seedling emerges from the nursery bed at her family's Christmas tree farm. As Zee and the tree grow up together, they experience many of the same milestones. When Zee starts preschool, her tree is ready to start life outside the nursery. As Zee outgrows all her clothes, her tree grows taller, too. When Zee gets a whole new look for kindergarten, her tree gets a spiffy transformation as well. And as the years go on, Zee takes loving care of her tree, watering it through heat waves and protecting it from winter winds. Combining interesting details about how trees are grown and cared for on a farm with the sweet story of a friendship between a girl and her special tree, Zee Grows a Tree offers a blend of fiction and nonfiction that will draw the interest of young nature lovers everywhere. 
Booklet/Reader
Christmas Tree Ag Mag
The Christmas Tree Ag Mag was written for elementary and middle school students. In this issue, students will learn about the origin of the Christmas tree tradition, discover different varieties of evergreen trees, identify pests that can damage trees, explore careers, and other fun facts. The ag mag includes specific statistics for North Carolina, the 2nd largest producer of Christmas trees. Visit the Interactive Map webpage to discover if your state produces Christmas trees. The reader can be viewed by students electronically on individual devices, as a class with a projector, or printed.
Map
Interactive Map Project
Use this interactive map to help students see how geography and climate affects the production of agricultural crops. The map has USDA statistics built in to allow your students to answer questions such as, "Which state(s) produce the most cattle?" "Where does [my state] rank nationally in corn production?" "What region of the United States produces the most cotton?" etc. There are many agricultural maps available including field crops such as corn, wheat, barley, and alfalfa in addition to fruit and vegetable crops, ornamental nursery crops, and livestock.
Movie/Video
Christmas Tree - How Does it Grow?
Why are Christmas trees harvested by helicopter? What does cutting them down mean for the environment versus an artificial tree? Discover how Christmas trees are grown and harvested on an Oregon farm.