OBJECTIVE

Students will understand the diverse jobs of a farmer. Students will be able to identify the tasks that the farmer must complete during each season on the farm.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

Where does food come from? Why do we have farms? Why are farmers important?

MATERIALS NEEDED

Farm book
o Farm by ElishaCooper
o From Dawn till Dusk by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock
o Homespun Sarah by Verla Kay
o A Year at Maple Hill Farm by Alice and Martin Provensen
Large pad of paper
Colored markers
Jobs of a Farmer worksheet

PROCEDURE

Introduction:
“Raise your hand if you think farming is hard work” Ask students, “Why?” “What kind of work does a farmer do?”

Activity:
• Read aloud a book from above (or another that exemplifies the diverse jobs of a farmer).
• Next, ask the students to raise their hand and share a job of a farmer they remember from the book. This could be from something they heard or something they saw in the illustrations.
• Write each job on the large piece of paper/blackboard (just as it is said by the student)
• Explain to the students that you are going to play a game of charades. Ask the students, “Can one of you explain how to play charades?” (No speaking, no sounds, just motions are used to describe something).
• Choose one student to begin. The student will look at the list of jobs and choose one without telling anyone. Students sit in a circle, and the actor stands in the middle and silently acts out the job in his head. The first student to guess correctly is the next actor. Continue playing until either all jobs have been acted, or all students have acted. Jobs can be acted out more than once (because there are many different ways to do each of these jobs!)

Wrap up/ Assessment:
Students go to their tables/desks and complete the Jobs of a Farmer worksheet.

FOLLOW UP & EXTENSIONS

This lesson can be repeated in each season, focusing on the different jobs of a farmer at different times of the year.