1.

Title and Objectives: Finding Local Farms -- Google Earth Technology Integration

2. Essential Questions:
Where does the food I eat come from?
What farms are located close to where I live?
What types of products can be purchased directly from specific local farms?
Why do different farms offer different products?
What are the benefits of buying products from local farms?

3. Vocabulary:
a) Specific vocabulary from the PA Preferred Agriculture List that students may not recognize
Annual
Perennial flowers

4. Duration: (3-4) 45-minute class periods depending on use of extension activities

5. Materials:
Computers or iPads with internet access to Google Earth
Copy of the Pennsylvania Agriculture List
PA Farm Products Worksheet

6. Instructional Procedure(s):

a) Introduction and Brainstorming
Begin class by asking students where they get the food they eat
Allow for maximum student participation and collect a list of sources on the board/overhead/or chart
paper where it can be referenced later
The teacher may ask students to think about this question individually, or discuss with a
neighbor/small group before sharing ideas
If students do not make the connection to trace food back to farms, use guiding questions to help
them: Where does the food in the grocery store come from? Why can you only get specific foods
at certain times of the year? What types of food do not grow where we live?
This discussion will allow the teacher to assess how much students know about where food comes
from and direct student focus to products that come from farms (i.e., corn not necessarily cereal)



PA Preferred: Google Earth - Technology Integration


b) Investigation: Technology Demonstration
The goal of this section of the lesson is to introduce students to Google Earth Technology. It
may be modified if students are already familiar with the program
Open the Google Earth program on your computer or through the iPAD application and project
it so that students can see and follow along
Show students where the SEARCH bar is in the upper left hand corner
Have students type in Pennsylvania to have the program zoom into PA
a. Give students time to learn how to navigate the images and directionality of the
program
b. Give students specific tasks
1. Find the location of the school
2. Find the location of the closest hospital
3. Find other landmarks specific to your location

Brief discussion & opportunity for Formative Assessment:
Ask students what they can see using Google Earth
What do the pictures show?
How far can you zoom in?
What does the land look like?
What does it NOT show you?
Did you find any tools or tricks?
4. At this point the teacher should be able to determine if students are focusing on
the appearance of the land. This will be important when students are asked to
explain why certain products are grown in specific areas

c) Investigation: Finding Local Farms (worksheet available)
Put students into pairs or small groups
Provide each group of students with a list of Pennsylvania Agriculture List
Have students make a three column chart on loose-leaf paper or large chart paper to list the
farms that they locate, products they provide, and what those products are used for
Have students locate as many local farms as they can relative to the location of their school
a. When students type in farm in the search bar, multiple locations should become
available
b. Students can select a location and follow the link to the specific website for that farm if
available
c. At this point students can make a list of products grown or made by that farm
d. Have students look back at the PA agriculture list and circle/highlight all of the products
they find
e. Students should write down the name of the farm and the foods/products provided

d) Extension: PA and World Challenge
The teacher may decide to elaborate on the lesson at this point by asking different groups of
students to investigate different regions of Pennsylvania, different states, or even different
countries
Ask students to find farms in different places and describe the types of products they find there
Classes could create a class map and label products found in different places
Have students take note of the geography of each region as they investigate



e) Application and Analysis: Pennsylvania Products
Ask students to work in their groups (or individually) to answer the following analysis
questions using the data they collected from their investigation
What products did you find at the farms that you also buy from a store?
What are the possible benefits of buying these things directly from the farm?
Ask students to locate a farm not in Pennsylvania that grows a product not on the PA list
Why do you think none of the farms you searched in PA grew this product? How does the land
look compared to PA?
How do you think your results would change if we did research during a different season (fall,
winter, spring, and summer)?
Make a list of all of the things that would have to happen to these products before they would
be found in a grocery store

f) Reflection Lesson Conclusion: Benefits of Buying Local Opinion Writing
Ask students to go back to the original class list of where their food comes from and ask them
to think about the places that are not local farms
Ask students to pick a product they found on the list (i.e., apples) and think about where they
would want to get them from
Have students write a brief opinion piece about where they would want to buy their food from
in the future. This should serve as a reflection on the lesson and should be an informal writing
(about 5 sentences in length). Students should be able to create a logical and reasonable
conclusion using the data they have from their investigation

7. Formative Assessment:

a. Formative assessment will be used to monitor student progress and provide directional instruction
to guide student learning
b. The teacher will be able to circulate around to each group to check on progress and have discussion
with each student about what they are seeing and what they think

8. Related Materials & Resources:

a. Texts on agriculture, geography, farming


9. Accommodations and Adaptations

a. Time adaptations can be made, and the number of activities completed can be adjusted
b. Students can be placed into groups, work individually, or with a specific student according to the best
learning environment for each student
c. Students with vision problems should have access to magnified computer images










10. Lesson Evaluation & Reflection:

a. A whole class discussion would be beneficial to discuss the products that are found locally, the impact
of geography, and the opinions of students about buying local foods
b. The Analysis and Application responses and Reflection Writing will serve as evaluations for the lesson



Alignments

11. Grade Levels: 4-6


12. Related Academic Standards-
a) 4.1.4 Environment and Ecology
a. Analyzing models to determine the reliance of humans on the environment at different levels
(individual, community, etc.)
b) CC1.4.4.C Develop topic with facts, definitions, concrete details, and examples related to the topic
a. E04C1.1 Write an opinion piece on a topic that supports a point of view with reasons and
information


13. Assessment Anchors:
a) PA Science: S.4.A.3: Systems, Models, and Patterns
b) PA Science S.4.B.3.2.3 Environment and Ecology
c) CCSS Writing: E04.C.1- Text Types and Purposes


14. Eligible Content:
a) S4.A.3.1.4: Identify the parts of the food and fiber systems as they relate to agricultural products from
the source to the consumer.
b) S4.A.3.2.1: Identify what different models represent (e.g., maps show physical features, directions,
distances; globes represent Earth; drawings of watersheds depict terrain; dioramas show ecosystems;
concept maps show relationships of ideas).
c) S4.B.3.2.3: Explain and predict how changes in seasons affect plants, animals, or daily human life
(e.g., food availability, shelter, mobility).
d) S4.B.3.3.2: Describe the human dependence on the food and fiber systems from production to
consumption (e.g., food, clothing, shelter, products).
e) E04.C.1.1.2: Provide reasons that are supported by facts and details.


15. Big Ideas:
a. The types of plants that grow in a specific area are determined by the environmental conditions,
geography, and climate of that region
b. Farms are the original source for all of our food products and those products can be changed/processed
before being available to people





16. Concepts:
a. Students should know what types of products are native to Pennsylvania
b. Students should know how to use models and search engines to locate information
c. Students should know how geography may influence the type of food/product grown in a specific area
d. Students should know that food can be processed, packaged, transported and changed when it leaves a
farm and is stored somewhere else

17. Competencies:
a. Students should be able to navigate through the Google Earth database and locate farms that are near
where they live and where they go to school.
b. Students should be able to identify the types of products that are available from different farms
c. Students should be able to give possible explanations for why certain products are available from
different farms at different times of the year (location, geography, temperature, etc.)
d. Students should be able to create their own opinion and provide reasonable conclusions about the
possible benefits of buying local
















Name:___________________ Date:______________

PA Farm Products
Farm Name

Products available at that
Farm
How we use those
products





Google Earth Supplement: PA Farm Products Worksheet




Analysis and Application
1. What products did you find at the farms that you also buy from a store?



2. Make a list of all of the things that would have to happen to these products before they
would be found in a grocery store.





3. What are the possible benefits of buying these things directly from the farm?




4. Locate a farm not in Pennsylvania and see what types of things they grow.




5. Why do you think none of the farms you searched in PA grew this product? How does
the land look compared to PA?




6. How do you think your results would change if we did research during a different
season (Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer)?











In My Opinion
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