Agriculture in the classroom

6 Pages·1991·2.8 MB·English

by  Alberta. Agricultural Education Branch

1993
APR
The Agriculture Newsletter
Agriculture
in the
for Teachers
Classroom
SUMMER EDITION 1991
BE AWARE OF THE AG FAIR
It's not too early lo circle the people who participated last year tional and fun experience" through
dales November 22 - 23 on your cal- will tell other teachers and students tours of the Grain Academy and
endar. A m ini conference for Ag Am- about their experiences. 1 expect other facilities, explains Riddell.
bassadors will b e held in Medicine Hal more people will get involved this Both the Ag Ambassador
on ihose iwo days in conjunction wilh time around," says Dale Riddell, Fair and conference will be held at
Ihe second annual Ag Fair. Corporate Affairs Director of the the Cypress Centre on the Medicine
The inlernalionally-renowned Alberta Wheat Pool, the main spon- Hat Exhibition and Stampede
Ronna Jevne, a professor in ihe De- sor of t he Ag Ambassador program. grounds. The fairwill run from 1 to 5
parlment of Educational Psychology at "The fair is a good educa- p.m. on November 23.
the University of Alberta, will be the tional tool that can help both teach- Stay tuned for more informa-
ers and students learn more about
keynote speaker at the conference. tion, but don't forget what's coming
Her address will focus on networking the agriculture industry. Some of
up in November.
and cooperative learning. Participants the material presented is quite
will also be able to attend informal by Gary Taljit
thought provoking."
sharing workshops. Further details on Ribbons and cash prizes will
the conference will be sent to you by Ag be up for grabs. Further details on Agriculture ki The Ciassroom Newsletter
in the Classroom. these and on the rules and topics for To provide Alberta educators with
a networking tool containing current
The inaugural Ag Fair in 199() the fair arc attached. (Please read
was a great success with some 3(X) en- them carefully.) aIrnef o ramvaatidiulsotarnyb alnd e o r ne l foa rtt eh cdel a srasegnsnsocouumrl ct euusr« ee. t hiant-
tries from across the province. An even In addition to the regular EOrrOR: Betty Qabert
greater response is expected in 1991, prizes, students who score the high- C<»fmiBUTORS: GAagryr i TaNljeitw s ASgar-aK n oEwmloenddg e
PRODUCTION June GIngras
but this is contingent on teachers est points in their division level are
Ag in The Ctassrc»m Pnagrsm
making their students aware of the fair. eligible to spend a "free" weekend in 2Enddm o nHtoDorrt,, 7A0f0t0w r t- a 1 13 Street
"We had a very positive reac- Calgary accompanied by their fami- TBHerre 403-427-2402 .
tion to t he first fair. We assume that
lies. They will be given an "educa-
MOTHER EARTH VISITS HANNA SCHOOL
Mother Earth spread the called Song for the Earth. Students
message that mankind is responsible were quite responsive to the play and
INSIDE for preserving the environment have apparently been demonstrating
when she visited Hanna Elementary an increased awareness of environ-
THIS
School during Agriculture Week in mental issues in their optional writ-
ZZ.^ ISSUE March. She told the students about ing projects since seeing it, says
IIANGIN' IN Page 2 the destruction perpetrated on her Laura Lee Billings, District Home
in the name of progress and urged Economist in Hanna.
ANIMAI. WELFARE Page 2
them to make responsible decisions Billings, along with the Ag
AtJ INSTITUTE UPDATE Page 3 about what they do to her in the Service Board in Hanna helped to
future. coordinate the presentation of Song
BENEFITS OF TEAMWORK Page 3 Mother Earth was actually an for the Earth, which was developed
Is.
actress who put on a puppet show and staged by the Minnesota-based
cont'd on page 2
Iberra 2nd Floor, 7000- 113 Street
AGRICULTURE Edmonton, Alberta
Education Branch T6H 5T6
Tve got one nerve
Mother Earth cont'd
How'dyou find i/?" /
Land Stewardship Project. The
"Some days you're the bug, latter organization also put on
f^""D og for sale, eats anything^ [ s ome days the windshield " Planting in the Dust - a drama for
[especiaUy fond of c hildren." J older students and adults - during
"The crisis of today is the\
an eight-day tour of the region.
The travelling expenses
boring history of t omorrow,*")
HANGIN' IN (which vary) and fees (approxi-
"Keep the razor blades away
mately $360 per performance)
Creative Graffitti
from me for a minute please. " charged by the American troupe
may be prohibitive in obtaining
live performances. However, vid-
eos are available. Billings also
suggests that schools can get fund-
ing help by cooperating with local
agriculture organizations and
other schools in the area to sponsor
a tour of the plays.
For more information,
write to: Land Stewardship Proj-
ect, 14758 Ostlund Trail N., Marine
on St. Croix, Minnesota 55047.
Phone: (612) 433-2770 or FAX:
(612) 433-2704. by Gary Talfit
Puppets and Posters:
Wiggles the Worm and
Friends
What does a worm, a gopher, a
duck and an owl have in common?
Well, apart from being animals, they
A Youth Computer Camp emphasizing hands-on learning and leisure
are hand puppets which can help teach
activities will he held at Olds College from July 29 to dugust 2 for students
aged 8- JO and 11-14. For more information call the Olds College Extension pre-school and elementary-age chil-
dren about conservation of natural
office at 556-8344. resources.
Animal Welfare Issue Important The puppets come in a kit de-
signed byt he Alberta chapter of the
Animal welfare is an impor- may also study the practices of brand- Soil and Water Conservation Society.
tant issue these days. That was re- ing, dehorning and castration, and The kits, which also include scripts
cently demonstrated by a $250,000 look for alternatives if necessary. In and a cassette tape, will be loaned out
research grant to the Western College addition, other animal welfare con- to schools and other interested or-
of Veterinary Medicine at the Univer- cerns like piglet death and long-term
sity of S askatchewan. confinement of dairy cattle may also ganizatiAolnsso. available are a series of
The grant was provided by the be studied. five interpretive posters, which por-
Alberta Agricultural Research Insti- With the growing societal tray the SWCS mascot. Wiggles the
tute, which sees food animal behavior awareness and concern for animal worm, active in various aspects of
conservation.
and welfare as areas requiring further welfare, educators should keep this
study and development. issue in mind, for it is one that can To obtain puppet kits, phone
The research to be done by Dr. generate emotions and controversy. Tom Jensen at 422-6530. For posters,
Joe Stookey will focus on beef ani- phone Tom Goddard or Donn '
mals. Stookey will try to find ways of (Information taken from AgriNews Beever at 422-6530 or 422-4385.
improving animal productivity. He release May 6, 1991)
by Gary Taljit
It's Been a Busy Year: Update on Ag Institute Grads
In the last newsletter, we told yon she hopes to do so in the future. were invited to speak about handling
about the aetivities of s ome Institute wMoiuclhda el a,l s ow h loi ke t etoa c dhoe s m oirn e B oawg -r eIsllaatnedd, farm fdienntas nmcakee s i h eiinr o rddeecri s itoon s h.e lp ihe stu-
grercaednst . c oBnutta,c t n o wti t he v eusr,y o snoe w eh a dse c bideeedn tion topics. However, his Biology 20 class School Fharsa nalks o Vtaekrebn i shiksy Gr aodfe V8i lannda
give some people a buzz. The following had its "best field trip" on a visit to the
Agriculture Research Station in Leth- 9ag option students on field trips to a
iGsr a adn s !u p dRaetme e mobf ew rh at to t dheryo'pv e u s b eae n li n eu p a ntod. bridgc in January. Wyatt, who teaches feedlot,a mushroom farm, and an elk
tell us how you are doing We re always at Hines C reek, has tried to apply ag- and buffalo farm. He too brings in
glad to hear from you. related topics where possible. Despite guest speakers. Frank figures his time
his busy leaching schedule, he also at the Institute helped him to get a
First-Year Teachers enjoys his extra-curricular responsi- broader background in agriculture,
bilities ast he coach for several sports bul he notes that he's still building his
teams. agcourses, which take a lot of effort to
When you're a teacher, every
year is a busy year. Bui, perhaps (he prepare since there are no "real" text-
books on t he subject.
first year of teaching is the most hectic. Field Trips I'opular
Getting used to a new school and col- More Namedroppiiig
Other Institute grads are also
leagues isd ifficult enough. On top of
thai, you've also got classes to leach keeping busy. Mike O'Neill, who
teaches at F.G. Miller in Elk Point, has Dennis Gogal, a teacher at
and lesson plans to formulate, per-
used his Institute experience to fur- Steele Heights Junior High in Ed-
haps for the first lime. Three gradu-
ther develop units for his junior high monton, also has a grain farming op-
ates of t he 199() Ag Institute - Ann
Lukcy, Wyatt Carrell and Michael ag option classes. Mike has also taken eration, and he's been busy doing
Wei.sgerber --were rookie teachers his students on field trips to farms, seeding and fieldwork this spring.
feedlols and grain elevators. With his background, Dennis tries to
this year, and they've all been kept
rather busy. Even so, the three say Doug Smith, principal of use ag-related questions as much as
they are enjoying their initiation into Gienwood School in Cardston, re- possible in his math classes.
the teaching world. ports that his school held a successful Mooni Sookram of Kilscoty
Ann, who teaches Science at ag fair this year. Students have also Elementary says whenever it is rele-
Clover Bar Junior High in Sherwood gone on field trips to places such as vant, he t ries to use ag topics. Mooni
dairy farms. Some were also involved adds that his colleagues are also recep-
Park, says it's been a challenging year.
in a project whereby they had to man- tive to t he idea of using agriculture as
She hasn't yet had a chance to inte-
grate agriculture into her lessons, bul age af arm enterprise. Guest speakers a teaching vehicle.
hy Gaty Taliit
THE BENEFITS OF TEAMWORK
The Goose Story
Next fall when you see geese Whenever a goose falls out of Finally (Now I w ant you to gel
heading south for the winter flying formation, it suddenly feels the drag this), when a goose gets sick, or is
and resistance of trying to go it alone wounded by gun shots and falls out,
along in a 'V formation, you might be
interested in knowing what science andquicklygeis into formation to lake two geese fall out of formation and
has discovered about why they fly t hat advantage of the lifling power of the follow it down to help and protect it.
way. bird immediately in front. (If w e have They stay with it until it is either able
It h as been learned that as each as much sense as a goose, we will stay to fly o r is dead, and they then launch
bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift in formation with those who are out on their own or with another for-
for the bird immediately following. By headed the same way we are going.) mation to c atch up with the group. (If
When the lead goose gets tired, we have the sense of a goose, we will
flying in a 'V formation, the whole
flock adds at least 71 per cent greater it r otates back in the wing and another stand by each other like that.)
flying range than if each bird flew on goose flies point. (It p ays to take turns hy Dr. John Paterson
its own. (People who share a common doing hard jobs - w ith people or with as excerpted from Ag-knowlcdge
direction and sense of community can geese flying south.) The geese honk (a newsletter for Alberta Agriculture staff)
get where they are going quicker and from behind to encourage those up
April, 1991
easier, because they are tiavelling on front to keep up their speed. (What do
the thrust of one another.) we say when we honk from behind?)

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