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Utah Agriculture in the Classroom

Agricultural Literacy Curriculum Matrix


Search Result(s)

Lesson Plans (4)

FoodMASTER: Measurement

Students discover where the ingredients in a cookie are made and make chocolate chip oatmeal cookies to practice their measurement skills and fractional mathematics. Grades 3-5

The Columbian Exchange of Old and New World Foods (Grades 3-5)

Students explore New World and Old World food origins to discover how the Columbian Exchange altered people’s lives worldwide. Grades 3-5

The Columbian Exchange of Old and New World Foods (Grades 6-8)

Students explore New World and Old World food origins to discover how the Columbian Exchange altered people’s lives worldwide. Grades 6-8

The Columbian Exchange of Old and New World Foods (Grades 9-12)

Students explore New World and Old World food origins to discover how the Columbian Exchange altered people’s lives worldwide. Grades 9-12

Companion Resources (13)

Activity
Chocolate Taste-Testing
In this activity students will taste different types of chocolate to determine if price is an indicator of better taste. Chocolate is a New World food that is now beloved by cultures around the globe. Use this activity to engage students with lessons related to the Columbian Exchange, global trade, food ingredients, and food origins and processing.
Planet Food Online Game
Have your students discover their own global food network by playing Planet Food—a two-part interactive game that introduces the concepts of interdependence and globalization through the geography of food. In part one, students see the ways food on their plate creates a map that criss-crosses the world. Part two will call on their critical thinking and geographic decision-making skills in an investigative journey as they consider different values and points of view while making a bar of chocolate.
Book
All in Just One Cookie
This book takes students on a world-wide exploration to find the source of each of the ingredients used to make chocolate chip cookies. "Visit" a dairy farm for the milk to make butter, Madagascar to find vanilla beans, and even a mine for baking soda and salt.
Beans to Chocolate
Everyone loves chocolate, but do you know where it comes from and how it ends up on supermarket shelves? Follow the story of chocolate through the farming process to manufacturing. 
From Start to Finish Series
Books from this series teach how objects are made, how nature's cycles work, and how food is produced—from start to finish. Suitable for both struggling and on-level readers, these titles teach science concepts as well as sequential thinking. These books are an excellent supplement to lessons teaching elementary students about the importance of agriculture and how food and fiber gets from the farm to their home.
Grandpa Cacao: A Tale of Chocolate, From Farm to Family
As a little girl and her father bake her birthday cake together, Daddy tells the story of her Grandpa Cacao, a farmer from the Ivory Coast in West Africa. In a land where elephants roam and the air is hot and damp, Grandpa Cacao worked in his village to harvest cacao, the most important ingredient in chocolate. "Chocolate is a gift to you from Grandpa Cacao," Daddy says. "We can only enjoy chocolate treats thanks to farmers like him." Once the cake is baked, it's ready to eat, but this isn't her only birthday present. There's a special surprise waiting at the front door...
How Did That Get in My Lunchbox?
One of the best parts of a young child's day is opening a lunchbox and diving in. But how did that delicious food get there? From planting wheat to mixing dough, climbing trees to machine-squeezing fruit, picking cocoa pods to stirring a vat of melted bliss, here is a clear, engaging look at the steps involve in producing some common foods. Health tips and a peek at basic food groups complete the menu.
Look Inside Food
Look Inside Food is an all-inclusive book highlighting the production of our food from the farm to our table. This interactive flap book includes extensive information and illustrations about the origin of our foods including grains, fruit and vegetables, and food from animals such as milk, meat, and eggs. Even sugar and chocolate begins its production on a farm.
The Book of Chocolate: The Amazing Story of the World's Favorite Candy
Join science author HP Newquist as he explores chocolate's fascinating history. Along the way, you'll meet colorful characters like the feathered-serpent god Quentzalcoatl, who gave chocolate trees to the Aztecs; Henri Nestlé, who invented milk chocolate while trying to save the lives of babies who couldn't nurse; and the quarrelsome Mars family, who split into two warring factions, one selling Milky Way, Snickers, and 3 Musketeers, the other Mars Bars and M&M's. From its origin as the sacred, bitter drink of South American rulers to the the familiar candy bars sold by today's multimillion dollar businesses, people everywhere have fallen in love with chocolate, the world's favorite flavor.
Tomatoes, Potatoes, Corn and Beans
This excellent book describes how foods from North and South America changed eating around the world. It focuses on corn, beans, peppers, peanuts, potatoes, tomatoes, and chocolate but also includes other foods that originated in the Americas. Can you imagine Italian food without the tomato? Indian curries without the pepper? German or Irish food without the potato? Corn is now the most widely grown grain in the world. This book details the history of those transitions and is illustrated with historic artwork and modern photos. For anyone wishing to understand the real gold found in America, this book is an essential read.
Where Does Food Come From?
This book is all about making food connections. Each spread introduces a different food. The first spread explains that cocoa beans are seeds that grow on cocoa trees, chocolate is produced by grinding and cooking cocoa beans, and hot chocolate is made from chocolate. Children who have never thought about the origins of maple syrup or salt will have their eyes opened in a way that makes them think about how other products come to their lives.
Movie/Video
Chocolate: How It's Made
Solid chocolates have only been around since the 1800s. 70% of the world's cocoa beans are grown in West Africa. See how raw ingredients are expertly combined to create delicious milk chocolate. 
Teacher Reference
Food Chemistry Experiments
This free, downloadable 60-page booklet contains seven basic food science experiments designed for middle and high school students. Includes teacher/student activity guides.