Vocabulary Words• Eachissuewillintroduceseveralwordsorword

combinationsthatmaybeunfamiliartostudents. Thesewillappearinboldtypethefirsttimetheyareused.

• Wordsinthisissueinclude:yieldsperacre,beddingplants,irrigation,PacificRim,precipitation,latitude,legumes,alfalfa,symbiotic,andruminants.Definitionsareincludedinareproduciblestudentactivityintheteacherguideandacrosswordpuzzleinthestudentmagazine.

Cover – Navigating Washington Ag!Background:

Washingtonisfullofagriculture.Itiseverywhere!Yet,agricultureisdifferentineachpartofthestateduetoourdiversegeographyandclimate.Agricultureismuchmorethanfarming.Theindustryincludesproducingrawproducts,transformingthemintothingspeopleuse,distributingthemaroundthestate,nation,andworld,andmarketingthemtoconsumers.Thesestepsemploythousandsofpeopleinhundredsofdifferentjobs.

Discussion starters:

1. Discussreadingmapsandfindingtownsonamap.GototheTacomaPublicLibrarywebsite:www.tpl.lib.wa.us/SiteMap.aspxandandclickonWashingtonPlaceNamestoresearchthehistoryofhowourcitiesandcountiesgottheirnames.

2.Whichofthecropsorproductsaroundtheedgesofthecoverhaveyouseengrowing?Whatcropsandanimalsareraisedwhereyoulive?

3.Howdoesyourcountyrankinagvalueandfoodprocessingvalue?GototheWashingtonDept.ofAgwebsitetodownloadusefulmapsfortheanswers:www.agr.wa.gov/AboutWSDA/FoodCropMaps.htmTeachersmightalsowanttoviewtheWSDAvideo“OurFarmstoYourTable”.

4.Havestudentsdrawthe117ºLongitudelinethroughWashingtonState(basicallytheeasternborderwithIdaho)and124ºLongitudeline(basicallythewesternedgewhereColumbiariverentersPacificOcean)

Answers to questions on the cover:

1.Interstate5;2.U.S.2;3.U.S.2;4.Interstate90;5.Interstate90&U.S.395;6.Interstate82;7.U.S.12&Interstate5;8.Interstate5

Welcome to Ag@School! Classsetsofthismagazine,aimedprimarilyat4thgradelevel,areFREEtosubscribingWashingtonteachers.Instructionsforsubscribingareonpage6.Limitednumbersofbackissuesarestillavailable.

Thisisthefirstofthreeissuesfor2008-09.DeliveryofthenexttwoissueswillbelateDecemberandmid-March.

ProducedbyWashingtonAgintheClassroom,Ag@Schoolisdesignedtohelpteachersmeetstudenteducationalgoalsaswellasdevelopagriculturalliteracy.TheteacherguideconnectsactivitiestospecificEALR’sthatwillhelpyourstudentsmeetstaterequirements.

Thisissueisdesignedtohelpstudentsunderstand:

• Theeconomicimportanceanddiversenessof Washingtonagriculture

• Theimportanceofagriculturetotheirlives

• Washingtongeographyandclimateandhowthese influenceagriculture

• Thebenefitsofdamsandhowlocksenableriver transportation

• Irrigationallowsthedeserttobloomwithcrops

Why Agricultural Literacy? Agricultureissociety’slifelineandanintegralpartofourheritage.Unfortunatelyasourcountrymovedfromagrariantourban,peoplelostcontactwiththemainindustrynecessaryforsurvival—foodproduction.America’slargestindustryhasdroppedfrompublicdiscourseexceptfortheoccasionalmediasplash.Yetwealleat,anditisimportantthatwehaveanunder-standingofwhereourfoodisproducedandwhowedependupontodeliverittoourtables.

Lessthan2%oftheUSpopulationisinvolvedinproductionagriculture(farming)yet22millionAmericanjobsaredependentuponit.Agricultureismorethanworkingthelandandtendingtheanimals.Thishugeindustry—production,processing,transportation,andmarketing—generatesbillionsofdollarseachyear.Agricultureisvitaltonationalsecurity,astableeconomy,andtheUStradebalance.

Reproducibleactivitiesintheteacherguideexpandonconceptscoveredinthemagazine:Includedintheguideareavocabularyactivityandashoppingactivitytoengagestudentsinfoodchoicesandlearnwheretheirfooddollarsgo.

TEACHER GUIDEVolume 8, Issue 1 2008/2009

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Page 2 – Agriculture is EverywhereDiscussion starters:

1.Byproductsfromlivestockincludecrayons,glue,adhesiveonband-aids,bonechina,chewinggum,floorwax,petfoods,cosmetics,pianokeys,candles,detergent,etc.Checkoutthewebsite:www.telusplanet.net/public/jross/beefprod.htm

2.PacificRimreferstocountries,states,orareaslocatedonorneartherimofthePacificOcean;alocationthatisgoodfortradeduetoeasyaccesstodeep-waterports.PortsinWashingtonStatearetwodaysclosertoAsiathanportsinCalifornia.WashingtonportsalsohandleproductsfromotherWesternStateswhichdonotlieonthePacificRim.Washingtonisthethirdlargestagriculturalexporterinthenation.Aboutone-thirdonWashington’sagcommoditiesareexportedwithabout75%ofthecommoditiesgoingtoAsia.

What a Plant Needs to Grow:

1.Havestudentsfindoutwhattheannualprecipitationisintheirarea.Whendoesmostoftheprecipitationcome?Aswintersnow,orsummerrain?

2.Whatotherfactorsmightinfluencewhichcropsafarmerchoosestogrow?Doeshehaveaccesstoirrigation?Ishislandhilly?Rocky?Sandy?Doesthecroprequirelotsofhandlabororreallybigexpensivemachinesforharvest?

3.WhatcropsdoweNOTgrowinWashington?Citrusandtropicalfruits,coffee,tea,tonameafew.Anyplantthatneedsatropicalratherthanatemperateclimatewillnotgrowhere.

Page 6 –Rivers, Dams and Locks Background:

1.RockIslanddamwasthefirstlargedamontheColumbia(1933).BonnevilleDamwassecond,builtin1938forelectricitygeneration.GrandCouleewasauthorizedasoneofthemanyprojectstoputmenbacktoworkafterthedepressionandwasbuilttosupplyirrigationwaterfortheColumbiaBasinProject,usingthesaleofelectricitygeneratedbythedamtopayfortheconstructionofthedamandtheirrigationdeliverysystem.In1948theSnakeandColumbiaRiverscrestedsimultaneouslyandcreatedafloodthatwipedoutasectionofPortland.River-useplannersturnedtheirattentiontofloodcontrol(aswellasnavigationandpowergeneration)astheremainingdamswerecompletedonthetworivers.

2.DeepwaterportsarethosecapableofhandlingafullyladenPanamaxship.ThatisashipthatisthemaximumsizethatcanstillfitthroughthePanamaCanal.AsthePanamaCanalundergoesitscurrentexpansion,thelistofportswillchange.ItisalsoimportantthatwedredgetheColumbiaRiverchanneltokeepthenecessarydepthclearforthesehugeshipstoreachthelargestColumbiaports.OtherportslikeBellinghamandOlympiaarenotequippedtohandlePanamaxships.BremertonisalargeportfortheUSNavy.

3.DiscussthedifferentwayspeopleuseanddependupontheColumbiaandSnakeRivers(recreation,irrigation,watersupply,powergeneration,floodcontrol,wildlifehabitat,transportationandcommerce.Canthestudentsthinkofmore?)

Page 3 – ClimateDiscussion starters:

1.Whyaredifferentcropsandanimalsraisedin differentregionsofWashington?(Theyallhave uniquerequirementsforclimate,rainfall,terrain,andsoiltothrive)

2.Whatismeantbya“rainshadow”?(ascloudsrisetheylosemoisturecausingadryregioneastoftheCascades)HowdoesitaffectthetypesofcropsgrowneastoftheCascades?(Withirrigation,anythingcanbegrown,withoutirrigationfarmersarelimitedtograin,grassseed,legumes,andsomeoilseedcrops)Usingtheprecipitationmap,havestudentsfindrainshadowareascausedbytheOlympicMountains.

3.TrackthefruitgrowingareasinWashington.TheyfollowthebanksofmajorriversandlakesandtheColumbiaBasinirrigationproject.Thereisenoughwaterintheseareastomake“micro-climates”thatarewarmerinthewinterandcoolerinthesummer.

Answers to Crossword on page 3:

1.desert 2.Steppe 3.weather4.Maritime 5.precipitation6.temperate

Pages 4/5 – Grown in WashingtonDiscussion starters:

1.WhatgeographicalfeaturesmakeWAsuchadiversifiedagriculturalstate?(NexttoPacificOcean;deep-waterportsinPugetSound;ColumbiaRiverfornavigation,irrigationandpowergeneration;Cascadessplitstate;volcanoeshaveprovidedtherichashcomponentofoursoils;elevationgoesfromsealeveltothetopofMt.Rainier)

2.Discussindividualgrowingregionsandwhatfactorsmakeeachanidealplacetogrowspecificcropsorproducts(havestudentsrefertotheboxesonpages4-5)

3.Fourregionsproducecropsthatwerenotalwaysconsideredpartofagriculture:timberfromtheOlympicPeninsula,CascadesandOkanoganHighlands;andChristmastreesfromtheWillapaHillsregion.Discusshowforestsarearenewableresource.

Note:Thetwofoodswhoseonlypurposeisbeingafoodaremilkandhoney.

Answers to Think & Discuss on page 6:

110trucksX25barges=2750semi-truckloads2

Publication and Credits Ag@SchoolisapublicationofWashingtonAgricultureintheClassroom,anon-profitentitycreatedin1981toencourageandhelpteachersincreaseagriculturalliteracyintheirstudents.BothpublicandprivategroupsincludingtheWADept.ofAgriculture,WSU,commoditycommissions,farmorganizations,agribusi-nessesandindividuals,supportthemission.Teachersmayreproduceanypagesforuse. GraphicdesignisbyStarAndersen,RitzPublishing&Design.

Page 7 – Legumes & IrrigationDiscussion starters:

Hey Hay!

1.Studentsmaybemorefamiliarwithlegumestheyeat,suchasdrybeans,splitpeas,andlentils,orgreenbeansandfreshpeas.Alltheseplantssharetheabilitytofostercoloniesofnitrogen-fixingbacteriaontheirroots.

2.Howmanystudentshaveseenbalesofhayinafieldorstack?Didtheyseehayclosetohome,onasemi-truckonthehighway,orintravelsaroundthestate.MostofthehayfedtodairycattleonfarmswestoftheCascadesisgrownintheColumbiaBasinandmusttraveloverSnoqualmiePass.

Irrigation

1.Thecenter-pagepictureillustratesa“center-pivot”irrigationsystem.Eachtowerhaswheeldrivesthatpowertheequipmentaroundastationarycenterpoint,resultinginacircularfield.Noticealsothatthedroppedlinesemittingthewateraremuchmoreefficientthantheolderoverhead“sprinklers”.Thereislesswaterlosttoevaporationandcoverageismoreeven.

2.ThePacificFlywayformigratorywaterfowlwasoverSpokanein1900,butshiftedovertheColumbiaBasinabout60yearsago.Why?TheColumbiaBasinIrrigationprojectsuddenlyprovidedeverythingbirdsneeded:waterhabitat,space,food(fromcropsandcropresidues).

EALR ConnectionsSocial Studies, EALR 2 Economics:

2.2.1pages1,2,3,4,5,6 2.2.2pages2,6 2.4.1pages3,6

Social Studies, EALR 3 Geography: 3.1.1pages1,6 3.1.2pages3,4,5,6 3.3.1pages3,4,5,6

Reading: Thearticlesandactivitiesthroughoutthemagazinelinktomostreadingstandards.Theycanbeusedtobuildskillsinoutlining,vocabulary,comprehendingimportantideas,readingfactualmaterial,orreadingtolearnnewinformation.

Writing: Theposttestisdesignedtohelppreparestudentstowrite.Thepromptsincludethefourmodesofwriting:expository,narrative,descriptiveandpersuasive.

Communication: 2.3.1DiscussionstartersTG

Mathematics: 1.1.2TGpage5 1.1.6page6,TGpage5 1.4.5TGpage4 4.2.2TGpage4 5.3.1TGpage5

Science: 1.1.4pages2,7,8 1.1.6page8 1.2.2pages2,7,8 1.2.8page8 1.3.8page2

Learn More About Agriculturewww.teachfree.org/onliChooseWellMathNutritionKit1780.aspx-Freemath/nutritionkitfor4th/5thgrade;addressesimportanceofchoosingnutrientrichfoodsfirstandtechniquesforvisualizingappropriateportionsizesandphysicalactivity.

www.nass.usda.gov/wa/-WAStateagriculturalstatistics

Page 8 – The Amazing CowDiscussion starters:

Livestock-An Important Part of Agriculture

1.Ruminantanimalsmakefulluseofthefoodchain.Illustratethefoodchainwithstudentstoshowhowenergyfromthesunhelpsplantsgrow;animalseattheplantsandcandigestthefiberthankstomicro-organisms;humanseatthemilkandmeatproducedbyanimals.

We Are #1 Activity Sheet

1.StudentsshouldunderstandthatWashington’scombi-nationofrichsoils,diverseclimatesandlarge-scaleirrigationmakeitoneofthemostproductivegrowingregionsintheworld.ThewarmdaysandcoolnightsoftheeasternWashingtonsummerareperfectforfruit,grains,hops,legumes,andmanyothercrops.

2.Washingtonproduces90%ofalltheraspberriesgrownintheentireUS;57%ofallapplesproducedinthenation;etc.Hopsaremainlyusedtomakebeer.Concordgrapesare“juice”grapesforjellyandbever-ages.

3.Theorderofthetopfivecommoditieswillchangeyeartoyear.Therearethreeaspectsthatwillcausethis:priceperunit,yield,andnumberofacresplantedoranimalsraised.

Answers to How Big on page 8:

1,000,000,000,000,00015zeros(onethousandmillionmillion)(1015)

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