Change of Agriculture in Iowa | Teaching Iowa History

General Information
Grade	4th Grade	Class		Length of Lesson	45 Min

Lesson Title	Change of Agriculture in Iowa
Unit Title	Agriculture in Iowa
Unit Compelling Question	What role does agriculture play for the people of Iowa?
Historical Context: Overall- "Agriculture is another word for farming. It includes both growing and harvesting crops and raising animals, or livestock. Agriculture provides the food and many raw materials that humans need to survive." (https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/agriculture/352715) 1700s Photo- 2018.039.004This axe head was used by a Native American society known as the Mill Creek culture. The Mill Creek culture was part of a larger group of horticultural villages that started to appear around 1000 A.D. near the Missouri River in northwest Iowa and central South Dakota. The Mill Creek people relied upon both farming and hunting as food sources. 1850 Photo- The first plows were very rough wooden tools. They were made to break up the ground so seeds could be planted. They did not turn a furrow or groove, but simply loosened the soil. People most often used oxen to pull the plow, a very difficult task. In fact, it took two yoke of oxen and three people to plow one acre a day. 1900s Photo- 2018.017.010This photograph shows a Chickasaw County farmer loading corn into his corn crib. A corn crib is a bin that is used for drying and storing corn after harvest. Now Photo-Most of the field work on farms today is done with machinery. Seeds are planted with machines pulled by tractors. Crops are harvested with combines. And crops are transported to market by semi-truck or grain wagon pulled by a tractor, and not by horse and wagon!
Lesson Supporting Question
Lesson Overview	In this lesson the students will focus on what agriculture is and how it has changed overtime. They will begin with reviewing the definition of agriculture and trying to list as many things they can think of that they use on a daily basis that are a product of agriculture. They will look at images of agriculture and farms from different times in Iowa ranging from the 1700s to now. Then they will read an article about different stages of the farming in Iowa and how it has changed overtime; they will take some guided notes while having a discussion about the article. They will predict where their images would go on a timeline of Iowa, see the final answer, and then reflect on what they were right and wrong about. Lastly they will write down the most important thing they learned about how the agriculture in Iowa has changed overtime.
Primary Sources Used	2018.039.004 2018.017.010
Resources Needed
Standard	SS.4.5: Informed Action SS.4.25: History (Technological Change) SS.4.26: History (Changes to Agriculture)
Lesson Target	I can analyze an image and identify difficulties and opportunities for Iowans in the past in order to predict when it is from. ;I can evaluate how technology has changed in Iowa in different places at different times;I can express how Iowa’s agriculture has changed from different steps in the past to now by making a timeline.
Lesson Themes

Lesson Procedure

Step	Procedure	Time	Differentiation plan / Additional Information
Bell Ringer	This lesson is based towards the end of the year. I will ask the students if they know what the word “unique” means? Students will be asked to write on a piece of lined paper what they think the word “unique” means. We will share at the front of the class some of the answers before I tell them. Also informing students that being unique is what makes them, “them”. Come up together as a class list of what makes the class (you, me, and other students) different from each other. Introduce that we will be talking about how people are unique.	5 Min	Not all students will be able to bring in a picture. If student is not able to bring in photo of themselves/family, have students draw a picture of themselves with their family. This still give student a chance to create their own story. If student is not able to write based on injury or special needs, I will assign another student to help write what child is wanting to write down but cannot.
Teacher	I will ask students to look on the board of a projected picture of myself and family. We will brainstorm as a class with what makes me “unique”/ tells my “story”. I will write on the board some of the big ideas that students have. Tell students that they will be doing this but with their own photo. Students will be asked to go back to their desks to grab their things.	7 Min
Student	Students will be asked to partner up with a piece of paper, pencil, and their paper. A student will be writing while another student will be discussing things about themselves in the photo then the students switch.	10 Min	Students can make list’s instead of writing full sentences for this part of the lesson. If student is not able to write based on injury or special needs, I will assign another student to help write what child is wanting to write down but cannot.
Transition	After students have spent time with their partners discussing about their photos, I will ask them to gather their supplies and go put it on their desk.	3 Min
Teacher	Students will come gather to the carpet area where I will have projected the two photos from Iowa Museum’s website showing the first one a set of kids and the second one a family. As students are seated I will tell them to think-pair-share to someone next to them about what they notice about each of these pictures (clothing, background, family, etc.). We will come back as a class and discuss the many different traits that students were able to come up with and use the clues from the pictures to come up with these ideas. We will compare our photos to the photos that I have shown them out loud as a class.	7 Min	If students are not able to sit on carpet due to behaviorally issues, injury, or special needs they can sit around the carpet in chair or with what their needs can be met with. If there are not enough partners, students can talk in group of 3’s or with the teacher/associate.
Student	Staying in their groups students I will ask the students how they are different from people all over. Each person will write or type out the sentence of what makes them unique and draw a picture to describe the sentence.	7 Min	I will have written on the board “------ makes me unique.” So students can come and copy the ending of the sentence. There will also be the letters posted around the room as well teachers going around and helping students sound out words. I will also have an example on the board of a sentence from my picture that to give students an idea of what I am wanting them to do. Students at this time are also able to ask for help from other students on sounding out words and ideas.
Transition	The students will come show the teacher what they have written and the picture that they have drawn. After this, they will turn in or airdrop their notes to the teacher.	3 Min	This is the assessment part of the lesson. All students will turn in a written part and the picture they have created.
Closure	To end this lesson, I will have students that want to share with the class about something that made them unique from their photo that they brought.	5 Min

Assessment
Formative Assessment (How will you use the formative assessments to monitor and inform instruction?)	- As the students are working in their groups, that allows time for the teacher to move around and listen in to see if the students are on track and able to notice different things in the images. - The guided notes will be checked and returned to the students to see if they were able to follow along and write down the key words of things that have changed. - The sticky notes will be collected and checked at the end of the lesson to see if the students were able to write down at least one important thing about how the agriculture of Iowa has changed overtime.
Summative Assessment (How does the lesson connect to planned summative assessment(s)?)	- The summative assessment for this whole unit is to create a brochure with 6 sections that is targeted for people that are not from Iowa by explaining the role of agriculture in Iowa to them. - So, after this lesson the students would be able to create one of the sections by explaining how agriculture has changed overtime in Iowa. - They can make a timeline, write a paragraph, make a bulleted list, or any other way they are able to demonstrate in a brochure that they understand the change in agriculture over the past 300 years.

Author Information
Author	Leah Edel	Created	09/27/2023 - 17:01	Last Edited	03/23/2024 - 06:49
Reviewer: Dr. Chad Timm, Simpson College
Lesson Plan Development Notes: Social Studies Methods, Simpson College, Spring 2020

Head, Axe

2018.039.004 [Head, Axe]

Print, Photographic

2018.017.010 [Print, Photographic]