Tractors, Cultivators
and ???
Grades 9-12: Post-trip Activity II
PERFORMANCE GOALS:
Students will take what they’ve learned on their field trip about modern farm practices, especially the use of farm
equipment, and apply it creatively to other farm challenges, both real and whimsical.
OBJECTIVES:
• Students will recall what they learned about farm technology.
• Students will understand the social impact of new farm technology.
• Students will communicate their creative ideas through various media.
NATIONAL STANDARDS:
• Technology
NT.K-12.2 Social, Ethical, and Human Issues
Students understand the ethical, cultural, and societal issues related to technology.
• NL-ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies
Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
PREPARATION:
1. Prepare some farm equipment visual aids to show your class (see the Teacher Resource
Sheet).
2. Gather together the appropriate materials listed below for your activity.
ACTIVITY:
1. Upon returning to your classroom after your farm field trip, ask your students about the
farm equipment that they learned about and/or saw. What were the different machines
called? What do they do? How do they change life for people on the farm? You may want
to use the farm equipment visual aids, which you prepared prior to class, in order to jog
your students’ memory or add to what they saw on the farm.
2. Ask your students if they can think of any areas on the farm that aren’t currently mechanized, but could be. To help get them started, you could share some of the suggestions on
the “Tractors, Cultivators, and ???” Teacher Resource Sheet. You may want to make a
list of these ideas on the chalkboard or a dry-erase board.
3. Inform your students that they will be “inventing” their own piece of farm equipment and
will be expected to make a “pitch” promoting it to potential buyers. The pitch will take the
form of an ad in an agricultural trade journal or it could be a sales brochure, a poster, or a
TV commercial complete with scripting, videography, etc. (As the teacher, you may want
to pre-select the format for the student pitches or give your students some choices.)
4. In preparing their pitches, direct your students to keep the following questions in mind
and include as many of them as possible in their pitch:
a. What does their farm machine do?
b. What does their farm machine look like? (This should relate to what it does.)
c. What are the benefits of having this piece of machinery on your farm?
d. What are the drawbacks of having this piece of machinery on your farm?
e. How might this piece of machinery change life for people on the farm (will it make a
chore go faster? Will it mean that farm workers are laid off because now there’s a
machine doing their work? Will it make it less costly to perform some aspect of farm
work? Etc.)?
Tractors, Cultivators and ???
page 2
5. Distribute the appropriate materials to your students and give them time to create their farm equipment pitch.
6. When your students have finished their pitches, provide a time and means for them to share their pitches with the
rest of the class.
7. A grading rubric is included for your use.
MATERIALS:
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•
•
•
•
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Lined white paper
Art paper, poster board
Writing implements
Crayons, markers, paint
Glue, scissors, rulers
Optional: Video equipment
Grading Rubric
21-25 pts
A
20-16 pts
B
15-11 pts
C
10-6 pts
D
5-1 pts
F
Analysis
Language/Grammar
Creativity
Shows an excellent understanding of
the ethical and human issues related to
agricultural mechanization. Addresses
the benefits and drawbacks of the
machine in 3 areas: the farmer,
workers, and product cost.
Excellent spelling of all words including
agricultural terms. Consistently uses
correct sentence and paragraph structure.
Excellent machine design. Form follows
function. The “pitch” is excellent,
clearly describing the function of the
machine and convincing everyone that
they need this machine.
Shows a good understanding of the
ethical and human issues related to
agricultural mechanization. Addresses
the benefits and drawback of the
machine in 2 out of 3 areas.
Good spelling of all words including
agricultural terms. Usually uses correct
sentence and paragraph structure.
Good machine design. Form mostly
follows function. The “pitch” is good,
describing the function of the machine
and convincing many people that they
need this machine.
Shows an understanding of the ethical
and human issues related to
agricultural mechanization. Addresses
the benefits and drawbacks of the
machine in 1 out of 3 areas.
Adequate spelling of words, misspells
some agricultural terms. Sometimes uses
correct sentence and paragraph structure.
Adequate machine design. Form and
function are partly related. The
“pitch” is adequate, giving a general
idea of the function of the machine
and convincing some people that
they need this machine.
Shows an inadequate understanding
of the ethical and human issues
related to agricultural mechanization. Addresses either the benefits
or the drawback in 3 or fewer areas.
Misspells many words including agricultural terms. Incorrect sentence and
paragraph structure.
Inadequate machine design. Form and
function are very loosely related. The
“pitch” is inadequate, does not provide a
description of the function of the
machine and convinces few people that
they need this machine.
Student has not understood the
ethical and human issues related to
agricultural mechanization. Neither
benefits nor drawbacks are
addressed in any area.
Misspells all words. Poor sentence
structure and no paragraphing.
Poor machine design. Form is not at all
related to function. The “pitch” does
not describe the function of the
machine and does not convince
anybody that they need this machine.
Tractors, Cultivators and ???
TEACHERS RESOURCE SHEET
Internet Sites
The following Internet sites include pictures and descriptions that might be useful as references for you and your
students:
• http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/fieldday/kids/equipment/equipment.htm (provides pictures, prices, and descriptions
of some modern farm equipment)
• http://www.kidsfarm.com/equipment.htm (provides pictures and information on a very basic level)
You can also enlarge and print out these public domain “clip art” illustrations:
Glossary
Tractor – used to pull other equipment (work once done by horses and oxen) needed on the farm
Field Cultivator – mixes soil and kills weeds; leaves some plant residue to help reduce erosion
Disc Harrow – chops up and loosens recently plowed soil
Combine – cuts/harvests crops
New Equipment Ideas/Suggestions
• A corn maze-making machine (takes the maze design and automatically creates it for the farmer).
• A machine that grows and packs square pumpkins (if they were square they’d be easier to pack to send to
market).
• A giant corn popper (so the corn could be sent to market already popped and ready to package).
• An automated sheep shearing machine (self-explanatory, we hope).