CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FALL ’23 OK PORK COUNCIL GRANT WINNERS
Read about the winners and their proposals below!!
Jacey Duncan, Oklahoma Union Schools
Agriculture – It Doesn’t Just Happen: The Use of Drones in High-Tech Farming Summary: The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International predicts farms will eventually account for 80 percent of the commercial drone market. Drone applications in precision agriculture include mapping, surveying, monitoring, planting, crop dusting, and spraying. Drones can increase yields, save time and money, and assist with animal and crop monitoring, planning, and management. The purpose of the project is to allow students to discover the science behind how a drone works, exploring how drones are used in agriculture, programming, and operating a drone for the purpose of surveying a field.
Debra Wood, Orvis Risner Elementary, Edmond, Oklahoma
Through the generosity of the Oklahoma Pork Council and Ag in the Classroom, funding would bring a correlation of renewable/nonrenewable energy, electrical engineering and agriculture to my classroom. Experiencing the hands-on approach to discovering the importance of renewable energy (biomass), renewable energy (wind) and electrical engineering first hand would help my Gifted and Talented students to understand the direct relationship between this energy component and its importance to Oklahoma agriculture. Students’ curiosity of science, math, engineering, and technology would be ignited in a hands-on project of creating methane bottles to discover the importance of “Pig Poop Power”, designing and building model pig barns with working LED lights with a small fan component and the significance of wind energy when it comes to windmills for the watering of animals and wind turbines for creating electricity for farms. Students will be able to explore the basic needs of animals and create a model of a modern pig barn that will help farmers meet the needs of animals. Funding would allow me to fulfill my desire of relating a fourth grade energy unit with Oklahoma agriculture. Students would be challenged to experiment with the possibilities of methane gas (Farming for Energy), create a windmill to “lift” the water for the ground in order to keep the livestock watered, and to design an environment, a pig barn, that will help farmers meet the needs of pigs and they would understand that like humans and other animals, pigs have four basic needs—air, water, food, and shelter.
Dusti McCartney, Willard Elementary, Ada, Oklahoma
What if there was a fun way to learn about the nutritional value of plants and learn some cool new growing techniques at the same time? That is what this project strives to accomplish. Students will learn about the nutrition that they gain from garden vegetables and how that nutrition can be gained in more effective ways through the addition of micro greens. Through a variety of growing applications, students will measure, record, and analyze data about the best practices for growing microgreens through the activities within this unit. Some artistic application will also happen as students create their very own micro green corn maze to take home and share with their families.
#10 Jackie McGolden, Cornelsen Elementary, Fairview, Oklahoma
The Little Red Hen has always been a fun story to read to my students. Unfortunately, my students listen to the story but they don’t know the background information on how the wheat is grown to provide the flour for the bread. We will read the Little Red Hen story, and talk about the importance of all helping out. We will also talk about the bread that the Little Red Hen made and the process and the steps she used. I will bring in some wheat berries provided to me by some Major County Farm Bureau Families. These families are always willing to donate some farm commodities to my classroom. My students will learn from the Ag in the Classroom lesson “Little Red Hen” and we will use all of the lessons from the AITC website. My students love putting on plays and this lesson already has the script for that. We will also read the non-fiction book, “From Wheat to Bread” to further illustrate the process. We will also tie in the Ag in the Classroom lesson “Breads Around the World” and discuss different types of breads. With the addition of the wheat mill I wish to receive with this grant, we will grind our own wheat into flour and then make our own bread. It will be such a fun day for my students to experience the whole process from milling to mixing to baking. We will also have other purchased breads to taste and compare. With the story, “Wheat Comes to Life: A Garden of Wheat and a Loaf to Eat”, we will learn about other types of bread. My goal is for my students to fully understand how a loaf of bread is made: from the sowing of the wheat to the harvesting to the milling to the mixing to the baking.
#12 Amber Bales, Will Rogers Elementary, Stillwater, Oklahoma
I am passionate about Ag in the Classroom and feel that it is imperative that I teach my students the importance of knowing where their food, fiber, and fuel come from. As a 4th grade teacher at a Title 1 school with many cultures and backgrounds, Ag in the Classroom bridges cultures by knowing where food, fiber and fuel come from. A quote from Sam Turner, Agriculture Economics Student from the University of Missouri sums it up, “The importance of agriculture is pretty simple. People have to eat and people like to eat.” I have a unique opportunity to teach “Ag Fridays”! My team combines our entire 4th grade into two rotating groups. Thus, I teach every 4th grader for 30 minutes for an Ag Friday lesson. My students explore what we eat, how agriculture impacts our daily lives, STEM projects, careers to name just a few of our “Ag Friday” lessons. This year, I am focusing on the National Center for Agricultural Literacy AgBadging Field Guide all the while incorporating Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom lessons, accurate agriculture books, and of course taste testing. Once students complete three milestone in a theme (Agriculture & the Environment, Plants & Animals, Food & Health, Technology & Engineering, and Geography & Culture), students will earn a badge (sticker). I am submitting the grant proposal to further assist me “Ag Friday’s” activities and the implementation of milestones in the AgBadging Field Guide.
Johnnie Keel, Truman Elementary, Norman, Oklahoma
Taste of Ag will provide a buffet of appetizing activities that integrate curriculum while indulging students in unique agricultural experiences. From planting seeds to classroom cooking, students will be actively engaged as they sink their teeth into the wonders of food. Project highlights will include students creating food-focused games, maps, recipe books with food narratives, agricultural-inspired art, edible canvasses, a display at the school-wide Multicultural Fair and an end of the year tasting party.
