All About

Agriculture
This section explores the world of agriculture around us. It’s designed to introduce youth
to the various ways in which agriculture interacts with their daily lives. Contained in this
section are 10 hands-on activities designed to engage youth in the topic of agriculture.

• Cold Air and Fuzzy Mittens

Recognizing which natural fibers make the best insulators
• Ice Cream in a Bag
Discovering the agricultural products used in the production of ice cream
• Homegrown Play Dough
Exploring the versatile properties of wheat grain
• Cotton to Bluejeans
Exploring the role of cotton fiber in the production of clothing and fabrics
• Cycling Back to Nature
Recognizing the interdependence of agriculture and recycling
• Paper Making
Discovering the role of tree fiber in the production of paper
• Making Mozzarella
Exploring the science of cheese protein
• Tie Dye Agriculture
Creating and using natural dies from cultivated crops
• Pizza Farm
Understanding that farmers produce all the ingredients needed to make pizza
• Bread in a Bag
Exploring the science and history of bread making

When conducting these activities as a week-long celebration, think of ways to enhance

the learning environment with references to the theme, All About Agriculture. Use the
web of ideas on the following page as a starting place for integrating the theme across
the entire afterschool day.

JProof – 2006
 Thematic Web *

Arts & Crafts Music

• National Pig Day • Listen to Country Music
• Cardboard Weaving Looms • Hold a Hog Calling
Games •
•
Tin Lantern
Sheep to Sweaters •
Contest
Grass Whistle
• Pig Card Game
• Fork Flowers • Make a Plastic Bottle
and more
Banjo
• Chicken Foot
Dominoes
• Wobbly Pig*
Dramatic
Play
• Farm Animal Figures
All About •
Gross Agriculture Pretend to Milk a Cow

Motor Play
• This Little Piggy
• Wolf and Sheep
• Piggy Wants a Signal

Math &
Literature
Snack & Food • Counting Games
• Sample Locally Grown With Agriculture
Foods
• Compare Fresh vs.
Building & • Read “In the Barn”
by Bobbie Kalman
Canned Food
Transportation
•
All About Agriculture

Build a Barn

PARENT TABLE

• Brochures on local farming *For additional ideas and

instructions, follow the web
• Prepare a poster on link to our 4-H Afterschool
Agriculture web page.
“Today’s Agriculture.”
Activity Instructions
7
Cold Air and Ag Skill: Recognizing which
natural fibers make the best
insulators
Life Skill: Making Decisions—

Fuzzy mittens
When it is cold outside, how do you keep your hands
Applies various strategies to make
decisions
Education Standard:
NS.K-4.1 Science as Inquiry
Success Indicator: Discovers
and describes different insulating
warm? Different products from the farm can help you stay properties of materials used to
make bag-mittens
warm. Do a scientific investigation using “bag-mittens” Time Involved: 30 minutes
to determine which insulators will keep your hands the Suggested Group Size:
warmest when it is cold outside. Six groups of up to 6 students
each

The Activity Materials

Needed
1 Organize six groups of students.
□ Several mittens made of
different materials for display
2 Ask each group to prepare one of the six bag-mittens. □ 16 quart-sized zipper-type
plastic bags
a. Turn one quart-sized zipper-type plastic bag inside out and insert □ Masking tape and pens for
labels
it inside a second bag that is still right side out. (See illustration)
□ Stopwatch or timing device
b. Fill each bag-mitten with a with a second hand
different insulation material: wool, Turn one zipper- □ Ice water
Styrofoam, foil, feathers, cotton type bag inside □ Enough of each of the
cloth or cotton balls, and air. For out and insert it following materials to fill a
bag-mitten (a sixth bag-mitten
the bag insulated with air, blow into a second will be filled with air)
air between the inner and outer bag that is right- □ Wool
bags. side-out and zip
□ Small Styrofoam pieces
together. (for example, packing peanuts
c. Zip the bags together. Label each
or torn-up Styrofoam cups)
bag with the insulation it contains.
□ Aluminum foil
□ Cotton cloth or cotton balls
3 Prepare two cold packs for each group by
□ Feathers (down if possible—
filling two zipper-type plastic bags with ice can be taken from a down
water. pillow)

4 Test and collect data. Each student should

take a turn at the following:
• Hold a bag of ice water. Do your hands
stay warm, or do they get cold? Why?
• Slide a hand inside the bag-mitten and
hold a bag of ice water. Time how long
it takes to feel the coldness of the cold
pack through the bag mitten. Record the
results.
• Switch mittens until everyone has
experimented with all six mittens.

JProof – March 2006

8
Talk it Over Notes
Share
• Which natural fiber/material is the best insulator and how
did you discover this fact?

Process
• What was the most difficult part of this activity?
• What did you learn by observation that you didn’t know
before?

Generalize
• How will learning about insulators help you?

Apply
• What other things could you test in this way?

AgFacts
Wool—the insulator
To stay warm in cold weather, we wear warm
clothes. These clothes, such as mittens, trap heat
inside providing a barrier to the transfer of heat
energy. Effective insulators have many air pockets.
Air is a poor conductor of heat and the air pockets
trap heat energy.
Wool is an example of a good insulator. As a result
of wearing a wool sweater, heat is not lost quickly,
and a person stays warm. Wearing a hat also
works as an insulator. A hat serves as insulation
by trapping a layer of air near the skin. It slows
the movement of heat away from a person’s head.

More Challenges
• Choose different materials to be insulators for the mittens
and do the tests again. Which other materials make good
insulators?
• Examine materials found in different types of boots, coats,
scarves and sweaters. How are the materials similar to
the materials you have tested? Identify the source of these
materials. Which ones come from agriculture?
All About Agriculture

• Design a test to find if color of clothing makes a difference

in insulation.

Acknowledgments: Horton, Warkentien and Gogolski 9

Ice Cream in a Bag
What is a celebration without ice cream? If you understand
Ag Skill: Discovering the
agricultural products used in the
production of ice cream
Life Skill: Performing as a Team
the freezing point of water you can make homemade ice Member — Completes tasks
Education Standard: NS.K-4.2
cream. Go a step farther and discover a way to freeze the Physical Science
fat and the water in the cream at the same time using liquid Success Indicator: Works
nitrogen. You’ll get the richest, creamiest ice cream ever! together to make ice cream
Time Involved: 30 minutes
Suggested Group Size:
Any size
The Activity h Ice Cream
Fres y!
1 Pair students and
direct them with
Toda Materials
Needed
For youth working in
the following teams of two:
instructions. □ 1 gallon zipper-style bag
(heavy duty freezer bag)
Ice Cream Recipe #1 □ 1 quart zipper-style bag
a. Pour the milk, □ 4 cups ice
vanilla extract, □ 1 cup ice cream salt or table
and sugar into the salt
small zipper bag. □ 1 tablespoon sugar
Squeeze as much □ 1/2 cup 18% light whipping
air out as possible, cream
mix well and seal the bag carefully. □ 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
□ Cups and spoons
b. Place the small zipper-type bag into the large bag. Cover with ice
and salt. Seal the large bag tightly. For super-fast method:
□ 1 liter Dewar flask (Thermos-
c. Shake, toss and flip the “ice cream machine” for 5 to 10 minutes. type container)
If the bag gets too cold to handle, wrap it with a towel or pass it □ 1 liter liquid nitrogen (estimate
from person to person. If the mixture hasn’t frozen after 10 minutes, 1 liter for every three pairs of
add more salt and ice. students)
□ Safety goggles
d. Open the larger bag and remove the smaller bag. Wipe the
□ Two 16-ounce Styrofoam cups
smaller bag thoroughly before opening it so the salty water does
□ Measuring utensils
not contaminate the ice cream. The ice cream should be the
□ Heavy-duty plastic spoons
consistency of soft serve ice cream. Eat right out of the bag or
serve in small cups.

Ice Cream Recipe #2

a. Place one 16-ounce cup inside the other. This will provide an extra
measure of insulation during the activity.
b. Pour the sugar, cream and vanilla into the double-insulated cup
and mix well. Sweetened powdered chocolate or other flavorings
can be added at this time.
c. With safety goggles in place, have an adult pour a small amount
(3 ounces) of liquid nitrogen into the double insulated cup
containing the ice cream mix. Begin stirring immediately. As one
pair stirs their mix, the adult can provide liquid nitrogen to others.
It usually takes 2–3 applications of liquid nitrogen to properly
freeze the mixture. Excessive freezing tends to splatter the mixture,
creating a product known as Dippin-Dots ®. JProof – March 2006
10
Talk it Over Notes
Share
• What happened during this activity?

Process
• Why was working together helpful in completing these tasks?

Generalize
• What other food products do you combine using some
“mechanical action” to get a new product?

Apply
• How has technology made the production easier than this
process?

AgFacts
Making Ice Cream
Most of the ice cream eaten is made by adding sugar
and vanilla or other flavorings to cream from cows’
milk. The United States produces about 900 million
gallons of ice cream a year. Salt is used in the
production process to lower the freezing point of the
water. This super-cold water and ice mixture causes
the liquid milk mixture to freeze and become solid.
Liquid nitrogen will turn a mixture of cream, sugar
and vanilla extract into a premium grade ice cream
by freezing the fats and the water in the cream at the
same time. Because premium ice cream is rich in
flavor, due to its higher fat content (around
12.5–14%), a quick freeze method is necessary. The
quick freeze method prevents the water from freezing
first, creating an icy texture typically found in lower
quality ice creams.

More Challenges
• Try making different flavors of ice cream.
• Make ice cream using milk with different amounts of
fat — 2%, whole milk or half-and-half. Compare flavor
and texture.
All About Agriculture

• Design a mechanical method of shaking to replace the

work you and your teammate did to freeze the ice cream.

Acknowledgments: Adapted with permission from Illinois Ag in the Classroom 11

Home-Grown Ag Skill: Exploring the versatile
properties of wheat grain

Play Dough
Wheat is the main ingredient in many more things than
Life Skill: Teaching Others —
Models proper attitudes
Education Standard: NS.K-4.1
Science as Inquiry
Success Indicator: Makes
homegrown play dough and plays
bread. One “wild” idea that turned into fun was to use wheat with others
as the main ingredient in Play-doh ®. In this activity, you will Time Involved: 30 minutes
Suggested Group Size: Any
use wheat flour to make Homegrown Play Dough and then size
experiment with the properties to create a better product.
Materials
Needed

The Activity □ Flour

□ Salt
1 Divide the group into teams of three. Each team can prepare □ Cream of tartar
a small amount of Homegrown Play Dough to use. □ Water
Post the recipe for all to follow: □ Vegetable oil
□ Food coloring

Home Grown Play Dough

1 cup flour 1 cup cool water
1
/2 cup salt 1 tablespoon oil
2 teaspoons cream Food coloring
of tartar
Mix the dry ingredients in a cooking pot. Mix the
liquids together and pour them over the dry
ingredients. Cook over medium heat, stirring
constantly. Remove from heat when dough pulls
away from the sides of the pot. After the mixture has
cooled, take it out of the cooking pot and knead it
until it is smooth. Store in an airtight container.

2 Play with it and become familiar with the properties

of the substance—texture, color, stretch, thickness, etc.
Answer these questions:
• How could I change this recipe?
• I wonder what would happen if … ?
• How could I get it to … ?

3 Try another batch to improve one of the properties.

JProof – March 2006

12
Talk it Over Notes
Share
• What did you do to create the substance?

Process
• What are the characteristics of the substance that make
it useful for Homegrown Play Dough?

Generalize
• What other things have you used that have similar
properties?

Apply
• What would you change to make it useful in other ways?

AgFacts
History of Play-doh®
Play-doh ® was invented in 1956 by Noah and
Joseph McVicker. They were looking for a way to
make wallpaper cleaner but created Play-doh ® by
accident. The exact Play-doh ® recipe is a secret, but it
is made from ingredients similar to those in this
recipe. Manufacturers have added components to
keep it smooth, dry and free from mold or
hardening. Play-doh ® comes in different colors,
is non-toxic and non-staining, and is soluble in soapy
water. Today the Play-doh ® compound is sold in more
than 6,000 stores in the United States and in more
than 75 countries worldwide.

More Challenges
• Make Homegrown Play Dough for a local preschool.
Vary the supply of colors.
• Use Homegrown Play Dough to play with a younger
child, teaching math or reading, forming letters, creating
shapes or counting.
• Look for other Play Dough recipes that use salt,
cornstarch, baking soda and compare the properties.
All About Agriculture

Acknowledgments: Horton, Warkentien, and Gogolski 13

Cotton to Ag Skill: Exploring the role of
cotton fiber in the production of

Blue Jeans
Cotton is the world’s most important non-food crop. Many
clothing and fabrics
Life Skill: Thinking Creatively—
Applies creative thinking skills to
generate new ideas
Education Standard: NA-VA.
K-4.1 Understanding and Applying
steps are required from the cotton field to the bluejeans you Media, Techniques, and Processes
Success Indicator: Creates a
buy at a store. Use the remnant fabric from making a pair bluejeans bag (storage bag, book
of “cut-offs” to create a bluejean bag. bag, laundry bag, tote bag or
money bag)
Time Involved: 45–60 minutes
Suggested Group Size:
Any size

The Activity Materials

Needed
1 Generate a list of
□ Old bluejeans that can be
useful things that cut-off to make shorts
could be made
□ Denim fabric in varied colors
from the bottom of
□ Needles
the leg of a pair of
□ Thread
bluejeans. Ideas
should include □ Thimbles
things of interest □ Scissors
to girls and boys, □ Additional fabric, ribbon,
cording for decoration
young and old.
Some ideas may
include: storage
bag, book bag,
laundry bag, tote
bag, or money
bag.

2 Cut off the bottom half of each leg of a

pair of jeans to make a pair of cut-offs. Sewing tips:
Ask permission and try on the pants to • Turn fabric inside out when
mark the right length before you cut. stitching to hide the stitches on
Denim is available on a bolt or roll if the finished product.
students choose not cut off jeans.
• Use a sturdy needle and thread
3 to support the weight of the
Use a needle and thread to sew up the
denim.
bottom and side to create a bag. Other
fabric, ribbon or cording can be used
to attach handles. Be creative.

JProof – March 2006

14
Talk it Over Notes
Share
• How did you decide what to make? What skills do you need
to have or learn for this activity?

Process
• What did you learn about yourself by doing this activity?

Generalize
• What other ways can you can generate new ideas for using
old things?

Apply
• What examples can you find of new things created from old
stuff? (Think recycled items.)

AgFacts
From Farm to Consumer
Denim is a major product made from cotton. Like many
agricultural products, cotton has limited use in the form it
is found on the farm. That is similar to raw or unprocessed
wheat, soybeans or sugar beets. The product must have
value to consumers and be in a form that can be used,
before anyone will purchase it.
Every process between the farm and the consumer makes
the product more valuable to the consumer and adds to
the price the consumer pays. Over 152,000 workers are
employed in the U.S. cotton and finishing mills. Each
worker involved in the process of bringing a product
to us gets a wage for his or her work with the product.
That explains why bluejeans seem to cost a lot.

More Challenges
• Design other useful items such as pillows.
• Cut strips and share with a friend who has another color
of denim to weave placemats or pillow tops, etc.
• Make several items, price them and sell to raise funds for
All About Agriculture

a party for your group.

• Make several useful items such as totes and book bags and
donate to a senior center for wheel-chair and walker totes.
• Use fabric glue, decorate with buttons, ribbon or cording;
use a sewing machine.

Acknowledgments: Adapted with permission from Illinois Ag in the Classroom 15

Cycling Back Ag Skill: Recognizing the
interdependence of agriculture

to Nature
What does this symbol mean to you?
and recycling
Life Skill: Thinking Creatively—
Recognizes relationships and
generalizes existing ideas
Education Standard: NS.5-8.6
Personal and Social Perspectives
Maybe you think of plastic or paper Success Indicator: Cuts the
Mobius Loop which symbolizes
or cans that you collect and put on the curb to be picked up. the potentially never-ending use
Recycling is about using materials over and over again, and reuse of materials
Time Involved: 20 minutes
creating new products out of old products. Farmers are
Suggested Group Size:
recyclers every day. Any size

The Activity Materials

Needed

1 Give materials to each student and give □ Newspaper cut in strips

2 inches wide
directions while demonstrating the process.
□ Scissors
a. Hold the ends of one strip of newspaper, twist
□ Pencil
it once, then join the ends. Overlap
□ Tape
the ends exactly 1/4-inch and tape the ends
in place on both sides. □ Ruler

b. Cut lengthwise down the center of the strip. Figure a 1

The result will be a single loop but twice as
long as the original. Cut down the center of the
Figure 1 b
loop again and end up with two loops.
2 Take a second strip of newspaper. Twist and
overlap the ends to make another Mobius
Loop. Draw a pencil line down the center. Figure 2
Cover all the surface of the paper and end
up at the beginning point.

3 Make a third Mobius Loop. This time cut the

strip about one-third of the distance from the
edge, instead of at the halfway point. Cut the
entire strip, keeping the same distance from the
edge. The resulting figure is a loop twice as long
as the original but there is a loop the same size
as the original linked to the longer one.

4 Make another Mobius Loop. Before you tape

the ends together, turn one end so that it makes
a complete revolution (two twists).

5 Now cut the double Mobius down the center.

You should get two loops the same length as
the original but linked together. If you cut those
loops down the center, you will end up with
four loops all the same size as the original and
all linked together.
Figure 3

Figure 4-5
16 JProof – March 2006
Talk it Over Notes
Share
• What surprised you about the outcome of your cuttings?

Process
• How are the paper loops and the recycling marks like the
never-ending use and reuse of materials?

Generalize
• Why is knowing about recycling important?
• How is recycling used in agriculture?

Apply
• What are other situations where one activity can be used to
represent and explain another more complicated activity?

AgFacts
The Mobius Loop
This well-known symbol is used by recycling
groups and industries throughout North
America and Europe. If a product is stamped
with the Mobius Loop, it is either produced
from recycled materials (if the symbol is
enclosed in a circle) or is recyclable (if there is
no surrounding circle). The mark symbolizes the potentially
never-ending use and reuse of materials. One arrow goes
into another, just as materials get recycled into new
products to be used over and over again.
Farmers are important recyclers.
• Turkey farmers use wood chips, rice hulls or shelled
sunflower seeds for bird bedding. It is soft, protects
the birds and absorbs odors.
• After harvesting crops farmers chop up the leftover
stalks and leaves to feed to animals on the farm.

More Challenges
• Find other amazing paper challenges: try to fold a piece
of paper in half more than nine times and explain your
All About Agriculture

results; learn some origami patterns; make paper beads

and paper boxes with covers.
• Find as many products as you can that are made from
recycled materials.
• Find what farmers are doing to recycle.

Acknowledgments: Horton, Warkentien and Gogolski 17

Paper Making
The average person uses 635 pounds of paper per year.
Ag Skill: Discovering the role
of tree fiber in the production
of paper
Life Skill: Applying technology—
If an average tree yields 200 pounds of paper, how many Manipulates technology for desired
results
trees does it take to supply one person’s paper needs for a Education Standard: NS.K-4.5
year? In this activity, you can save a tree and make your Science and Technology
own recycled paper. Success Indicator: Makes
recycled paper
Time Involved: Day one
preparation, 15 minutes; day two
The Activity paper making, 30 minutes; day
three finishing, 5–30 minutes
depending on individual projects
1 Tear paper into small pieces and soak Suggested Group Size: Any
in water overnight. size restricted only by the amount
of equipment and space for drying
paper
2 The next day drain off the extra water. Figure 2c
Materials
a. Mash the paper into a pulp with a Needed
beater, blender or wooden spoon.
Add more water if the blender seems □ Old paper that isn’t shiny, such
as newspaper, computer paper,
to be laboring. For colored paper, cardboard egg cartons,
mix in the paint powder. construction paper

b. Put the pulp into a 9 x 11 inch pan. □ Blender, beater or wooden

spoon
Add an equal amount of water and mix
□ 8 x 10 inch wire mesh
together.
□ Absorbent cloths (bigger than
c. Slide the 8 x 10 inch wire mesh into the 9 x 11 inches)
mixture. When you lift it out, it will be □ Buckets or dishpans
covered in pulp. (Figure 2c) □ 9 x 11 inch pans
□ Powdered paint (for colored
d. Lay a cloth on a flat surface. Place the paper)
wire mesh, pulp side down, carefully □ Plastic bag
and quickly onto the cloth.
□ Heavy book
e. Press down hard on the wire mesh and
then peel it off so the pulp is left on the Figure 3
cloth. Put another cloth on top and
press down firmly.
3 Repeat these steps until the pulp is
gone and there are layers of cloth,
pulp, cloth, pulp. On top of all this,
place a plastic bag and heavy book
to weigh the pile down.

4 Several hours later, carefully peel the

paper off the cloths. Leave these pieces
on a towel until they have completely
dried.

18
Talk it Over Notes
Share
• What part of making paper surprised you?

Process
• How will your knowledge of paper making help you recycle
paper and other products in the future?

Generalize
• What are the things you already reuse and recycle?

Apply
• What are some ways you can encourage others to reuse
and recycle?

AgFacts
Products of Trees
There are more trees in the United States today than
there were 70 years ago. Over 2 1/2 billion trees are
planted in the United States each year. Almost every
part of a tree that is harvested is used. Lumber and
building products can be made from the trunk. The
bark of the tree is ground or chipped to make garden
mulch, or it can be burned in a furnace to generate
energy to run a paper mill. The natural chemicals
within the wood chips are recovered and made into
useful products such as rubber hoses, rubber gloves,
rubber bands, chewing gum, turpentine, plastics, and
photographic film.
The wood that is recovered from trimmings and wood
chips is used to make paper. Water and heat are
added to separate the wood chips into individual
fibers. A single piece of paper contains new fibers
as well as fibers which have already been recycled.
Papermaking fibers can be recycled up to seven times
before they become too short to be recycled again.

More Challenges
• Make a list of all the different ways paper is used.
• Turn your recycled paper into new art treasures, such
as journals, photo albums, masks, beads and bowls.
All About Agriculture

• Learn about the paper cycle, the history of paper and

issues about paper and the environment.

Acknowledgments: Adapted with JProof – March 2006

permission from Illinois Ag in the Classroom 19
Making Mozzarella
How does milk become cheese? Do Swiss cows produce
Ag Skill: Exploring the science
of cheese protein
Life Skill: Reasoning —Validates
the principle
Swiss cheese? Learn about protein coagulation and the Education Standard: NS.K-4.2
Physical Science: Properties of
role of enzymes and heat in the making of cheese. objects and materials
Success Indicator: Makes
The Activity cheese using enzymes and heat
for coagulation
Time Involved:
1 Day 1 Day 1: 15 minutes
Provide materials for experiment. Day 2: 20 minutes
a. Crush 1/4 rennet tablet and put into a 16-ounce Styrofoam cup. Suggested Group Size: 6–8
per group; any number of groups
b. Add /4 teaspoon of salt per cup
1

c. Add 6 ounces skim milk heated to 100 degrees Fahrenheit Materials

Needed
and stir well. The milk will coagulate in the cup overnight.
Per pair of students:
2 Day 2 Explain protein coagulation by having the youth participate □ 1/4 rennet tablet or vegetable
in the “Jumping Jack” Model found in the Ag Facts. rennet tablet
□ 6 ounces pasteurized skim milk
a. Provide each pair of students with one 16-ounce cup of □ 16-ounce Styrofoam cup
prepared milk (coagulated skim milk, salt and rennet). □ 1/4 teaspoon salt
□ Paper towel
b. Microwave for 1 minute.
Note: 4 cups can be microwaved at a time. Additional materials:
c. Pour the microwaved, coagulated mixture through a strainer □ Microwave oven
held over a dishpan. □ Small strainers
□ Dishpan or container to catch
d. Put coagulated milk back into cup and microwave for 10 more drained whey from cups
seconds — shrinking it tighter and tighter.
e. Repeat microwaving and straining until cheese becomes soft
mozzarella — usually two additional times are necessary.
f. Use dishpans to collect the whey.
g. “Dry” the cheese using a paper towel.
3 Spread soft mozzarella on a
cracker and enjoy.

JProof – March 2006

20
Talk it Over Notes
Share
• Explain the steps from milk to mozzarella.

Process
• What caused the changes in the ingredients?

Generalize
• What else could be done with dairy products to create new recipes?

Apply
• What are some other food examples when enzymes, chemical
reactions, or heat cause changes to take place?

AgFacts
The Science of Coagulation and the
“Jumping Jacks” Model

Coagulation happens when protein particles stick together. Heat,

mechanical action or enzymes produce coagulation. Examples include:
• Beating cream into whipped cream—mechanical coagulation
• Cooking an egg—heating proteins makes them coagulate
• Turning milk into cheese, yogurt, sour cream—chemical coagulation
uses enzymes

Use 4–6 students as “protein molecules” and direct them to hold out arms and legs
in jumping jack position.
Explain that adding an enzyme to milk causes the protein molecules in the milk to
join together. “Protein molecule” students demonstrate this idea by lining up and
touching hands and feet together.
By adding heat and mechanical action, the water is squeezed out. Demonstrate this
by pushing students closer together so that spaces between them get smaller.
Demonstrate all three methods of coagulating proteins: mechanical, heat and
enzyme. The “jumping jack” model of enzyme coagulation shows how water
comes out of cheese and protein molecules connect and become more “solid.”

More Challenges
All About Agriculture

• Look for recipes to grow your own yogurt.

• The Dairy Council suggests three servings of dairy per day for
good nutrition. Find the benefits of dairy and record how much
you are eating/drinking each day.
• Write and produce a “dairy ad” to convince others of the
benefits of milk protein, the need for calcium, and the “soda
substitute” idea for cavity reduction and weight control.

Acknowledgments: Horton, Warkentien and Gogolski 21

Tie Dye Agriculture
Natural dyes grow on the farm or in your own back yard.
Ag Skill: Creating and using
natural dyes from cultivated crops
Life Skill: Acquiring and
Evaluating Information — Predicts
Roots, nuts, fruits and flowers can produce yellow, orange, outcomes
Education Standard: NA-VA.
blue, red, green, brown and gray dyes. You can tie-dye K-4.1 Understanding and Applying
a T-shirt or use natural dyes to experiment with new colors Media, Techniques, and Processes
on holiday eggs. Success Indicator: Process dyes
from natural materials
Time Involved: Two hours (much
of that is simmer time) or can be
The Activity split over two days
Suggested Group Size: Limited
only by equipment available
1 Use old white T-shirts from home, or cut T-shirts into 10-inch squares
for students to dye. Materials
Needed
2 Gather plant material that will make good sources of dye such
□ Collection of natural dye
as coreopsis, goldenrod, onion skins, strawberries, blackberries, sources
raspberries, spinach, beets, rhododendron leaves, acorns, marigolds, □ T-shirts or t-shirt material
red cabbage, elderberries, black-eyed Susans, bloodroot, etc. □ Cheesecloth or old nylon
stockings
a. Clean the plant material, chop it, grind it or use a potato masher. □ Pots and bowls
Wrap it in cheesecloth or fill a nylon stocking and tie it shut. □ Hot plate or stove
b. Put the wrapped plant material into a pot, add water to cover,
add a lid and let it stand overnight.
c. Bring the water and plant material to a boil. Simmer
for about an hour.
3 Before placing the T-shirts in the dye, soak the fabric
in a fixative, simmering for an hour. Rinse in cool water
and squeeze until the water runs clear.
• Salt fixative for berry dyes: 1/2 cup salt to 8 cups
cold water
• Plant fixatives for plant dyes: 4 parts cold water
to 1 part vinegar Photo
Youth with flowers,
4 Remove plant material from the pot and place wet
T-shirts or fabric squares into the dye. plants, berries and pan
• Simmer until desired color is obtained. The color on table stuffing
of the fabric will be lighter when it is dry. chopped plant material
into a stocking
5 Send a reminder home that shirts should be
laundered separately in cold water.

JProof – March 2006

22
Talk it Over Notes
Share
• What surprised you about using natural products to make
dyes?

Process
• How did the finished color compare with the color of the
original plant material?

Generalize
• What differences do you notice between the natural dyes
and the results of commercial dyes?

Apply
• What would result if we only used natural dyes and no
commercial dyes on products?

AgFacts
Experimenting with Natural Colors
Experiment with natural color. Find fruits, vegetables,
flower, bark nuts, etc. What color does each produce?
How many colors can you get?

Onion skin orange

Walnut hulls, coffee, acorns brown
Tea bags tan
Strawberries pink
Beets deep red
Dandelion roots, red onion skins red
Red cabbage or blueberries, blackberries purple
Lily of the valley, grass or spinach green
Celery leaves, clover, dandelions, marigolds yellow

NOTE: It’s best to use an old pot for dyeing.

Aluminum saucepans have a layer of aluminum
oxide that will bond tightly to some of these organic
dyes. Wear gloves when handling the fabric that
has been dyed or your hands will be stained.

More Challenges
Try a tie-dye with your natural colors.
All About Agriculture

• Wash a 100 percent cotton T-shirt.

• Place the wet shirt flat on the work surface.
• Tie knots in the T-shirt, or twist it and secure the folds
with rubber bands or heavy-duty thread.
• Follow steps 3, 4 and 5.
Try your natural dyes for coloring eggs. These eggs
will not be safe to eat. Do not eat eggs that sit
in hot water for many hours or overnight.

Acknowledgments: Horton, Warkentien and Gogolski 23

Pizza Farm
Did you know that pizza grows on a farm? Learn how
Ag Skill: Understanding that
farmers produce all the ingredients
needed to make pizza
Life Skill: Performing as a Team
a pizza “grows” while you participate in pizza making. Member —Assists team members
Education Standard: NM-
The best part of this activity is that it tastes good! MEA.3-5.1 Measurement
Success Indicator: Works as a
The Activity Corn and Wheat
Tomatoes
team member to prepare one step
in the making of the pizza and
soybeans then prepares an individual pizza
to eat
1 Assign teams: Time Involved: 40 minutes
Crust team, sauce team, Suggested Group Size: Any
cheese, toppings number divided into 5 groups
and serving teams. Dairy
Materials
2 Wash hands. Needed

Onions Peppers Pizza ingredients:

3 Each team prepares □ Crust — Homemade or
their recipe for a “team packaged baking mix and
nonstick spray
contribution” to the pizza.
□ Sauce —Tomatoes, garlic, olive
4 Assemble mini-pizzas Herbs Trees oil, herbs (basil and oregano)
□ Cheese — Blocks of mozzarella
or work with a partner and parmesan for grating
to build a pizza to share. □ Toppings — Green peppers,
mushrooms and onions

Teams What Grows Job Recipe Other materials:

on the Farm? Assignments □ Mixing bowls
Crust Wheat Mix, divide the dough, INGREDIENTS: □ Measuring cups
team press into crusts. • 1 1/2 cups baking mix □ Mixing spoons
• 1/3 cup hot water
□ Grater(s)
PREPARATION: □ Cutting boards
Preheat oven to 425 degrees
In medium bowl, combine □ Knives to cut toppings
baking mix and water and
beat hard until a dough
forms. Press dough in
greased 12-inch pizza pan
(See Appendix for baking
mix and simple pizza dough
recipes.)
Sauce Tomatoes, garlic, herbs Cut tomatoes (or dice Cook garlic in oil.
team (basil, oregano) the ones in the can). Stir in tomatoes and herbs.
Cut or mince the garlic. Bring to a boil, reduce
Chop the herbs. heat and simmer.
Cheese Dairy: Mozzarella and Grate blocks Take turns to grate mozzarella
team parmesan cheese of cheese. and parmesan.
Toppings Peppers, onions Chop, slice Add toppings as desired.
team mushrooms and dice.
Serving Trees, soybeans Paper plates, box, Explain the source of paper
team napkins and ink used in packaging.

JProof – March 2006

24
Talk it Over Notes
Share
• How did your team assignment fit into the pizza making process?

Process
• Where does each ingredient come from and how does it grow?

Generalize
• Why is it fun and beneficial to work in a group on a cooking
project like this?

Apply
• What other projects can you think of to do this way?

AgFacts
Growing a Pizza
How does cheese grow?
Grass grows in the soil, a cow eats the grass, the cow makes milk, the farmer milks
the cow, the milk is used to make cheese, and the cheese is sprinkled on top of the
pizza.
How does the crust grow?
Wheat grows in a field and is harvested, the wheat is ground into flour, the flour
is mixed with water to form a dough, and the dough is stretched into a circle for
a pizza crust.
How does the sauce grow?
Tomatoes are grown in the soil, chopped up and cooked into a sauce, herbs like
basic thyme and oregano are added for flavor, and the sauce is added to the top
of the crust.
Where do the toppings grow?
Bell peppers are plants grown in soil and they come in lots of colors—red, yellow,
orange, even purple—when fully ripe. Most green peppers are just unripe peppers!
Onion bulbs grow underground.
Olives are small, round fruits that grow on trees.
How can the box, the paper plates, and napkins be called “agriculture products?”
We plant pine trees to make paper and cardboard. The wood is turned into
cardboard at paper mills. We use corn to make glue that holds the layers of
cardboard together, creating a strong box that keeps your pizza piping hot.
The words on the box are sometimes printed with inks made from soybeans.

More Challenges
All About Agriculture

• Find other important information related to pizza farming.

Where does the sausage or pepperoni grow?
• Create your own pizza recipe. Prepare and deliver a marketing
portfolio to sell the pizza idea to a local company.
• Plant a window box to grow tomato, basil, oregano and
bell pepper plants along with garlic and onion.

Acknowledgments: Adapted with permission from Illinois Ag in the Classroom 25

Bread in a Bag
What kind of bread do you eat? People in every culture eat
Ag Skill: Exploring the science
and history of bread making
Life Skill: Performing as a Team
Member —Assists team members
bread. Most cultures make bread from the grain that grows in Education Standard: NSS-G.
K-12.2 Places and Regions
the area and use recipes that have been passed from generation
Success Indicator: Makes bread
to generation. Make a loaf and take it home to enjoy! and learns about breads of
different cultures

The Activity Time Involved: 30 minutes

Suggested Group Size: 24

1 Begin with clean Materials

hands. Needed

2 Set up work Stations Makes enough dough for

24 individual small loaves
A— E. (Station
directions found in □ 15 pounds bread flour
Appendix) □ 12 packets yeast
□ 2 1/4 cups sugar
3 Give each student a □ 1/2 cup salt
zipper-type freezer bag □ 2 1/2 cups soybean oil
and assign them to work □ 3 cups soy flour
in pairs.
Other Materials:
4 Visit each station and □ 48 one-gallon size zipper-type
pay attention to the ingredients for freezer freezer bags
bag #1 and freezer bag #2. □ 24 2-pound aluminum loaf
pans
5 Once the freezer bags are filled with ingredients, talk the groups □ 1 thermometer (disposable
through the following steps. strip)
□ Dry measuring cups (1/4, 1/2
a. Turn dough out of bag #1 onto a lightly floured surface. Scrape and 1 cup)
dough from bag using a wooden craft stick. If sticky, add an □ Measuring spoons (1 teaspoon
and 1 tablespoon)
additional tablespoon of flour to dough.
□ 14 craft sticks (tongue
b. With a craft stick, cut dough in half so each partner has a lump depressor size for scraping
to knead and shape into a loaf. Sprinkle some flour on clean hands. dough from bag and leveling
flour)
Form dough into a ball and begin kneading. To knead, fold the
□ Paper towels
dough. Give the dough a quarter turn, and repeat the fold.
□ Antibacterial hand soap
Continue kneading dough until smooth and elastic, about 8–10 (for cleaning hands and work
minutes. surfaces)
c. Let dough rest on floured surface for 5 minutes and coat pan with □ 4 craft scissors (for cutting
out nutrition facts labels)
a nonstick cooking spray.
□ 1 permanent marker (for
d. After the 10-minute rest, punch dough down. Work dough into putting names on pans and
marking bags)
a ball then roll into a 7-inch log.
□ Roll of clear tape (for taping
e. Place shaped dough in aluminum loaf pan. Place pan and dough nutrition labels to bags)
into a clean zipper-type storage bag and attach the Nutrition Facts. □ Butcher-block paper to cover
(Found on the Name That Bread Worksheet in the Appendix.) work surfaces or cafeteria trays
□ Nutrition Labels from Name
(Optional) To bake the bread on the premises, let dough rise in That Bread Worksheet
warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, 45–90 minutes. The (See the Appendix)
top of the loaf will be at least 1 inch above the edge of the bread
pan. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 35–40 minutes. When
done, bread will be light brown and sound hollow when tapped.
JProof – March 2006
Remove from pans. Cool on wire rack.
26
Talk it Over Notes
Share
• What did you learn about bread making that you didn’t
know before?

Process
• What would you change to make different kinds of breads
or breads from other cultures?
• Describe how a change of grains (flours) would change
the flavor, nutrition, and possibly shape of bread loaves.

Generalize
• How would the bread making process be different if you were
making bread at home? In a bakery? On a camping trip?

Apply
• What other projects could be done in the assembly line style?

AgFacts
Agriculture in the United States
The United States is a diverse agricultural country.
Because of the climate, soil and other conditions,
different grains grow better in certain regions. Wheat,
barley, oats, rye, corn, and rice are grains grown
and ground into flour to make a variety of breads.
The Unites States is also a diverse country in terms
of its people. Most of our ancestors were from other
countries and have passed down a wide variety
of recipes, stories, and food preparation techniques.
Try these breads to experience some differences:
French bread, pita, focaccia, tortillas, pumpernickel,
bagels, naan, ciabatta, flatbreads, lavash, and
Chinese buns and dumplings.

More Challenges
• Name That Bread—Create packaging for your bread
including giving it a name, placing the nutrition label,
listing the ingredients, designing the package and
printing the baking instructions. (See Appendix)
All About Agriculture

• Using a world map or a map of the United States, plot

where grains are grown and taste a variety of breads
that are popular in various regions. Learn about other
cultural differences: clothing, houses and holidays.
• Test the science of bread. Compare leavened and
unleavened recipes.

Acknowledgments: Horton, Warkentien and Gogolski 27