Target Grade Level / Age Range:

3-5

Estimated Time:

For all activities: Six to eight 20-40 minute class periods*

  • Activity 1: What are Beef Cattle? 30 minutes
  • Activity 2: How are Beef Cattle Raised? 30 minutes
  • Activity 3: Beef Cattle Energy Chain 30 minutes
  • Activity 4: Beef Nutrition 40 minutes
  • Activity 5: Beef Foods and Marketing 90 minutes

Purpose:

Students will understand beef production, nutrition, and marketing, through interactive activities, projects, and resources.  

Materials:

  • Interest Approach
    • KWL Chart
  • Activity 1: What are Beef Cattle?
    • No materials
  • Activity 2: How are Beef Cattle Raised?
    • No materials
  • Activity 3: Beef Cattle Supply Chain
    • Glass or Clear Cup
    • Handful of Hay or Grass
    • Jump Ropes
  • Activity 4: Beef Nutrition
    • Notebook Paper
    • Student computer or tablet with internet access
  • Activity 5: Beef Foods and Marketing
    • Poster Paper (for student projects)
    • Art Supplies (crayons, markers, etc. for poster design)
    • Student computer or tablet with internet access

Essential Files:

Vocabulary:

  • Bovine: relating to or resembling cattle, such as cows, bison, and buffalo.
  • Heredity: the passing on of physical or mental characteristics genetically from one generation to another.
  • Phenotype: physical features of an organism.
  • Trait: a characteristic that makes things different from each other.
  • Bull: cattle that are male and capable of breeding.
  • Heifer: cattle that are female and have not had a calf.
  • Cow: cattle that are female and have had a calf.
  • Calf: cattle aged 3-12 months.
  • Beef Cattle: cattle raised primarily for their meat.
  • Livestock: farm animals including cattle, hogs, sheep, goats, poultry, and others that are raised for food and fiber. 
  • Pasture: a grassy, fenced-in field where livestock like cattle can eat and live.
  • Veterinarian: a doctor for animals. “Vet” for short.
  • Cattle rations: a carefully balanced, nutritious diet that is developed with a livestock nutritionist and changes as the cattle grow.
  • Nutrition: science related to healthy and balanced diets.

Background – Agricultural Connections:

This unit is written to provide the basics of cattle production for students in grades 3-5. This unit is part of a scaffolding series aimed at different age groups. For more advanced lessons for grades 6-8 or 9-12, visit IowaAgLiteracy.org High Steaks! Page. In Activity 5, students will leverage all their newfound knowledge to model what it is like to work as a marketing professional in the beef industry. Marketers learn about a product, determine the intended demographic to purchase the product, and create a plan to sell the product. Students will create a poster or other advertisement to advertise their product and its nutritional value. An effective project contains the product nutritional information for the product and enticing marketing. To make this an interclass marketing contest, use the provided rubric.

In total, this unit includes five activities that can be broken up into seven to eight 20-to-30 minute sections*.

  • Activity One introduces students to beef cattle and traits of beef cattle breeds.
  • Activity Two shows how beef cattle are raised in Iowa.
  • Activity Three illustrates how beef cattle utilize resources humans can’t eat and move energy through the food web.
  • Activity Four covers nutrition, introducing students to beef food products and their costs.
  • Activity Five allows students to engage in the marketing process and create their High Steaks! Marketing Projects. This activity is 90 minutes in length and is designed to be broken up over a few workdays or used as a take-home project.

 

*Please refer to the Elementary Division Pacing Guide to view participation options for 1-, 2-, 3-, and 5-day timeframes. Each timeframe details activities and their order to be completed, as well as essential questions, materials, and artifacts for those activities.     

Iowa is home to both dairy and beef cattle. Beef cattle are primarily used for yielding beef for consumption. Over many years, farmers have produced more beef because of careful breeding choices leading to higher yield per animal. Popular beef cattle breeds are Angus, Hereford, and Charolais, among others.  While “cattle” refers to all members of the bovine family, “cows” does not. Different terminology is used to describe cattle based on different traits like age and sex. A calf is a young bovine of either sex. A cow is an adult female that has had a calf, while a heifer is a female that has not had a calf. A bull is an male that is not castrated, while a steer is a male that is castrated.

There are a few different types of cattle farmers in Iowa. Some will call themselves a “cow/calf farmer.” This kind of farmer will raise the mother cows with her calves. Calves will stay with their mothers until they are weaned and then put on a pasture to graze and grow. These farmers may sell calves after weaning to “finishing farmers.” These are farmers that focus on feeding cattle right before they go to market. They will feed the cattle a high energy diet so that the cattle will gain weight to produce high quality beef. There are also “calf-to-finish farmers.” Calf-to-finish farmers raise calves all through their whole life cycle, from birth to market. In addition to farmers, there are many additional careers in the beef industry including cattle breeders, butchers, meat inspectors, sales/marketing*, crop scientists, logistics and transportation, etc.

Beef is a versatile food that can be enjoyed many different ways like hamburgers, steaks, tacos, and roasts. In addition to being delicious, beef is high in zinc, iron, and protein, essential nutrients for a healthy diet.

Interest Approach – Engagement:

  1. Create a KWL chart on the board or another medium so it can be used and posted throughout the entire unit. Ask students the following questions and place their answers in the first two columns. The third column will be filled in at the conclusion of the unit.
  • What I Know
    1. What do you know about beef cattle?
    2. What do beef cattle look like? 
    3. What products do cattle produce?
  • What I Want to Know
    1. What do you want to learn about beef cattle?
    2. What foods do I eat that are produced by beef cattle? 

2. Next, read R.P. the Farm Dog written by Lucy Kehret and point out facts about beef cattle. Have students fill out the “L” section based off what they learned from the book. Continue to add to the “L” column with each individual lesson.

Procedures:


Explore/Explain

Activity 1: What are beef cattle? (30 minutes)

Preparation

  1. Print Cattle Breed Cards, one per student. See instruction 1 to determine the number of cards needed.

Activity

  1. Show students the Cattle Phenomena PowerPoint, asking them to look at the two cattle on the first slide. These are the parents. Tell students Hereford and Black Angus are breeds, or types, of cattle. Ask students what they notice is different between the bull (Black Angus) and the cow (Hereford).
  2. Let students know that what they listed are called phenotypes, or visible traits of animals. Then, let students know that farmers will often breed, or mate, these two breeds together to try to get a combination of different traits they want in their cattle. Ask students what traits a farmer may want in their cattle. (docile, large size when fully grown, sturdy, etc.)
  3. Now ask students to look at the animal on the second slide, letting them know this is an image of a calf from the two parents on the first slide. Pause and ask students what a calf is (young cow/bull). Ask students what they notice that is similar between the calf and the Hereford parent, repeating for the Black Angus. Let students know that today they are going to investigate this further. If needed, use the last slide for a visual with all three animals pictured.
  4. Place students into groups of 3-4. Double check that you have enough cattle cards so that each student can have one and there are still groups of 3 where each calf has parents.
    1. Modification: If you need to remove a card, remove a Holstein calf as this grouping has twin calves. If you need to add one card, consider adding a duplicate calf card.
  5. Pass out the Cattle Breed Images, ensuring each person in the group has a different breed. Discuss with students if they are a Cow, Bull, Heifer Calf, or Bull calf. Remind students that a calf is a young bovine, a cow is a female that’s had a calf, a bull is a male that is not castrated, and a heifer is a female that has not had a calf.
  6. Have students explore their card and those of their group members for three minutes. Students should observe the different traits each of the cattle possess, comparing and contrasting. As students are discussing, get the whiteboard ready for a class discussion on cattle traits. 
  7. Instruct students to share what they noticed about their cattle. Record students’ responses on the board, adding a small description of each trait. Encourage students to be specific in their observations. For example, if a student says “color”, have them expand and describe the colors or patterns they see.
  8. Remind students how they explored traits of parents and offspring at the beginning of the lesson. Let students know that each of the cattle on their cards is part of a breed group made up of two parents (cow, bull) and an offspring (calf).   
  9. Students should then work together to sort the cattle breeds into their appropriate breed groups with two parents and a calf. (Answer key for Cattle Breed Images.pdf)
  10. Have students sit in their cattle breed groups. Discuss as a class how figured out which cattle belonged together. Then, ask students to look for differences between their cattle card and other group member's cards.
    1. For example, the Angus group may notice that the bull has a lot of muscle while the female has less, and the calf has thicker hair.
  11. As an exit ticket, have students (individually or in their groups) write a response agreeing or disagreeing with the following statement: Calves look like their parents, but not exactly the same as their parents. Students should use evidence from their activity to back up their answer. Use this as a reflection to see what students have retained from the activity.  

Activity 2: How are beef cattle raised? 

Preparation:

  1. Print copies of My Family’s Beef Farm worksheet, one for each student. 

Activity:

  1. Ask students what skills they think farmers and ranchers need. After initial answers, ask students:
    1. What kind of math skills do farmers and ranchers need?
    2. What kind of math do you have to do on a daily basis?
    3. Do farmers have to do that too?
  2. Inform students farmers/ranchers do math every day to calculate things like feed rations and cost, veterinarian bills, transportation costs, and recording the weight of animals. 
  3. Listen to or read My Family’s Beef Farm. Allow students to view the photos and make observations. 
    Note: For free physical copies of the book sent straight to your classroom, contact IALF.
  4. While reading, have students write down any numbers they hear with the correct label (10 years, 70 pounds, etc.) When finished reading, have students share with a partner or the class what they found to be the most interesting and explore popular answers in more depth.
    1. Numbers in the text:
      1. About one million farmers and ranchers in the U.S. raise cattle.
        1. According to IBIC, the beef industry is the largest segment of U.S. agriculture.
      2. Iowa is home to more than 26,000 cattle farms. 97% of the farms in the U.S. are family farms like Cecelia’s. 
        1. Most farms are family farms, and in Iowa, every single county produces cattle. That’s a lot of family farms like Cecelia’s!
      3. He has 100 momma cows who live out here on pasture. 
        1. Depending on the operation, things like number and location of cattle can change. In this operation, they raise the cows on pasture and calve outside. The photos in the book can help portray the differences between pastures and cattle barns.
      4. A new calf weighs about 70 pounds. It can walk just 1 hour after it is born. The calf stays with its mom for about 6 months, drinking her milk and learning to eat grass. 
        1. Compared to a newborn baby, newborn calves are huge! But relative to the size of the mom, it’s pretty comparable! (Average calf weight ~70 lbs. / average cow weight ~1300 lbs. = .05; average baby weight ~7 lbs. / average female weight ~162 lbs. = .04)
        2. Calves also walk very soon and don’t stay with their moms as long. This could be compared to dogs or cats, and can be related to the natural lifespan of cattle, which is about 20 years.
      5. An average calf weighs 70 pounds at birth. An average 3rd grader weighs 50 to 60 pounds!
      6. When the calves are about 6 months old, they begin eating more grass and grain. 
        1. As baby animals grow up, they start eating different kinds of foods. Human babies are also introduced to solid foods around 6 months!
      7. There are more than 70 breeds of cattle in the U.S. 
        1. Breeds are characterized by color, size, body type, and some characteristic differences. Some major breeds in Iowa are Black Angus, Hereford, and Charolais (shar-lay). Different parts of the world use different breeds to match their environment better. 
      8. Ruminants have four compartments in their stomach to help them digest the grass. 
        1. The four compartments are: 
          1. Rumen 
            1. Feed first goes to the rumen, which is the largest part of their digestive system. Here the feed ferments, which helps the animals get more nutrients from difficult to break down substances, like plant matter.
          2. Reticulum 
            1. Since ruminants eat quickly and don’t take time to chew, the feed goes here before it is regurgitated to chew later. This regurgitated food is called “cud”. Sometimes, the rumen and reticulum are called the reticulorumen, since they work together so closely.
          3. Omasum 
            1. The omasum’s primary duty is to absorb water. This is a smaller compartment with lots of folds to absorb as much water as possible.
          4. Abomasum 
            1. The abomasum is the true stomach. This compartment is very similar to the stomach of a non-ruminant, or monogastric. 
      9. When grandpa’s calves are about 550 pounds, they move to the feedyard on our farm. 
        1. When cattle are in feedyards, they tend to grow faster. Here, they will get higher value feeds like grain before they reach market weight.
      10. Veterinarians, or vets for short, attend college for four years and then a college of veterinary medicine for four more years.
      11. The calves come to our farm when they are about six months old. They stay here for about 200 days. Dad feeds them once a day. He checks on them two more times each day. 
        1. Feeder calves, which are cattle that are old enough to be placed in a feedyard, are often raised in this way. This topic could lead to discussion on what the farmer looks for when he checks on the calves each day. Things like not eating, limping, looking sick, or equipment failure could all be reasons to check on them.
      12. When the cattle weigh about 1300 pounds, we sell them. 
        1. The average live weight at harvest was 1,330 in 2014, according to the USDA in a 2015 report. That’s 22 third graders (at 60 lbs.)!
      13. The handling and care of more than 90% of feedyard cattle is influenced by this [Beef Quality Assurance] program. 
        1. BQA is a program to help producers learn, understand, and utilize the best practices in raising cattle safely and humanely. 
      14. More than 1000 quarter pound hamburgers can be made from a 1300 pound steer, as well as steaks, ribs, and roasts. 
        1. 1000 quarter pound hamburgers is 250 pounds of ground beef!
      15. There are 38 cuts, or types, of lean beef. One serving of lean beef ( 3 ounces) provides 10 nutrients your body needs each day, for about 150 calories. 
        1. There are many cuts of beef, including brisket, chuck roast, flank steak, ground beef, sirloin steak, tenderloin roast, and much more! 
        2. The 10 essential nutrients in beef are: iron, choline, protein, selenium, vitamins B6 and B12, zinc, phosphorus, niacin, and riboflavin.
      16. One 3 ounce serving of beef is about the size of a deck of cards or a cell phone.
      17. Beef provides more than 10% of the Daily Value for 10 essential nutrients. 
  5. Hand out My Family’s Beef Farm Worksheet.docx and tell students they will be practicing their “rancher math” today. Individually or as a class, have students work through the story problems.
    Note: Each sheet of the worksheet is geared towards a different age group’s targeted math skills and labeled in the bottom left corner. Edit as needed for your class’s abilities.
  6. Bring the class together to discuss the story problems and work through any problems.

Activity 3: The Beef Energy Chain

Preparation

  1. Print the Relay Cards onto 3-4 different colored sheets of cardstock. Cut each card out, creating a set of cards for 3-5 different teams of six students per team.
  2. Identify/reserve a space for students to complete a relay race.

Activity

  1. Ask the students to think of their favorite sport. Ask how would they feel if they played in the championship game of this sport and had not had anything to eat? Have students turn to a neighbor and share their responses for 30 seconds.
  2. Survey the class for different responses. How many said tired, sick, or grumpy? Brainstorm with the class why they might feel tired. Ask how they would feel if, after the game, you offered them a nice, cold glass of… hay?! Show the students a glass full of hay or grass. Explain that beef cattle convert the feed and hay they eat into the beef we consume, giving us the energy we need for our lives.
  3. Show the students How Does Beef Reach Your Plate?, a video about the process of producing beef. Instruct the students to look for how beef cattle use and consume energy at each step of production.
  4. Discuss the video with the students and work as a class to construct a production timeline on the board. Explain that in each of these steps, energy transfers from one thing to another. 
  5. Ask students where they get their energy from. When students answer food, ask them where their food sources get their energy, working their way down the energy chain until they reach the sun.
  6. Taking students to the space reserved for the relay race, divide them into groups of six maximum. Assign each team one of the colors of the Relay Cards. 
  7. Teams should line up in single file. Five yards in front of each team’s starting line, place a jump rope. Several feet beyond the jump rope, spread out the team’s relay cards face down. Five yards further, place a finish line.
  8. Explain to the students that they are about to use their energy to compete in a relay race. Build up the importance of supporting each other and contributing to the goals of the team.
  9. To complete the relay, the first students should run from the starting line to the jump rope and jump rope five times. Next, they will pick up one of the seven relay cards and run to the finish line. Once they are at the finish line, they will yell, “Moo!” to signal the next teammate in line to begin the relay.
  10. Once the entire team has crossed the finish line, the team members will work together to put each of the relay cards in the correct order. The cards will create a sequence showing how energy moves from the sun, to beef cattle, to you, providing you with energy. When the team has completed the entire relay, team members must all sit quietly in a line. The first team sitting quietly with their relay cards in the correct order wins! The winning group should then review the correct energy chain with the class.

 

Activity 4: Beef Nutrition (30 minutes) 

Preparation

  1. Print copies of the Beef Nutrition worksheet, one per student.
  2. Print copies of Beef Nutrition Facts or Beef Cuts sheet, one for each group of students. 

Activity

3. Distribute Issue 2 of Iowa Ag Today and have students read through page 6 (My Plate).

Note: Print copies are available from IALF in classroom packs of 25 w/ instructor guide by request.

4. Begin by discussing nutrition with the class. Ask students what they know about MyPlate, healthy eating, and food labels. Record answers on the board, pointing out ideas like balancing meals with different food groups and protein, dairy, fruits, vegetables, and grains as part of a balanced diet. Listen for information on the purpose of food labels and what information they give us.

5. Place students in groups of 3-4 and hand out Beef Nutrition worksheet and the Beef Nutrition Facts. Tell students they will be learning more about beef and nutrition labels. Work as a class to complete the worksheet using information on the nutrition facts image.
Note: For more advanced classes, use Beef Cuts sheet in place of the nutrition facts and assign each group a different cut of beef to complete their worksheet.

6. After completing the worksheet, ask students the following questions.

  • Do you think beef is a healthy or unhealthy part of a balanced diet? Why? (Beef is a major source of protein.)
  • Does beef have many vitamins or minerals? (Yes, zinc and iron are two important nutrients in beef.)
  • How does beef compare to other foods, like ice cream or pop?
    • Sweets, candy, and junk food have lots of calories, but not a lot of protein or vitamins. This makes food like beef, with more protein and vitamins per calorie a more nutrient-dense food!
    • Calories measure energy in a food, and they are important. We need enough calories to keep us energetic and growing, but not too many that our bodies don’t need. Nutrient-dense foods like beef, fruits, and vegetables, help us eat the best amount of calories while still getting the nutrients we need.

7. Have students pick two beef food products (ground beef in tacos or hamburgers, steak, roast beef lunch meat, etc.) and do research on the products and answer the following questions.
Note: If time is limited, have two beef items selected with information about each readily available.

  • How many calories and how much protein and fat are in your beef items?
  • Which item would you choose when ordering from a restaurant and why? 
  • How much do these beef items cost?
  • How does money affect someone’s meal choices?
  • Which of your two beef food products is the “best choice”? 

8. If time allows, have students pair up and convince their partner that their product is the best choice. 

Elaborate

Activity 5: Beef food products and marketing (90 minutes) 

Preparation:

  1. Gather materials students will need to create their marketing projects. 

Activity:

  1. Have students give a show of hands of how many ate beef for dinner the night before. Explain how beef consumption has gone down in the last few years and ask students why that may be.
    1. Examples: plant-based options like Beyond Beef, the popularity of Meatless Mondays, increased chicken consumption due to lower cost, etc.
  2. Brainstorm as a class all the foods they eat with beef in them, recording ideas on the board. Encourage students to think outside the box to casseroles, pizza, pot roast, or lunch meat.
    1. Guide the class to generate enough ideas that 3-5 students could be assigned to each topic. (For example, in a class of 17, generate 4-5 ideas)
  3. Divide students into groups of 3-5 and assign each group to one of the beef products.
  4. Inform students they will be marketing their beef product. Ask students what they think makes people want to buy a product. Show students Beef Product Packaging Images and allow groups to discuss what stands out to them the packages like colors/pictures and writing.
    Note: If you completed the Gobble Up unit in the fall, ask students to compare how the marketing of these two types of products differ or are the same.

5. Bring the class back together and have each group share their findings. When complete, tell students the aspects they noted are all part of marketing.
Note: It is encouraged to keep track of findings to model scientific data collection. For example, record the group number in each row and create columns for their findings on each label.

6. Discuss with students what they think it means to market a product based on the items they found on the packaging. Consider mentioning topics such as:

  1. Deciding an audience to sell to.
  2. Marketing based on nutritional information.
  3. Making packaging look appealing.
  4. Clever ads or slogans.

7. Tell students their groups they will now be applying these marketing strategies they just learned to “market” their own beef product. Students should create a project with the following components:

  1. Name of product/recipe
  2. Beef nutrition information (i.e. high in protein, iron, and zinc)
  3. Projects should be neat, organized, and appealing

8. Monitor groups throughout the worktime, helping point out room for improvement and answering questions, especially helping students include beef nutrition information.

9. Once projects have been completed allow groups to “market” their product to the class.

10. Each group will make one poster marketing their designated beef product. The poster requirements are:

11. As students are working, walk about to each of the groups to check in and make sure that they are on the right track, specifically with having students include beef nutrition information.

12. Break students up into groups with poster paper, markers, and other appropriate materials.

Evaluate

 Projects may be judged in a class or a grade wide competition. 

  • Projects may be scored using the official elementary division High Steaks! Rubric.
    Note: Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation is no longer hosting a statewide contest, but projects may be sent in for feedback from IALF’s team.

Did you know?

  • Iowa ranks in the top 10 for production of beef cows, cattle on feed, and total cattle numbers.
  • Beef cattle production contributes around $5 billion annually to the state.
  • In January of 2024 Iowa had approximately 810,00 head of beef cattle
  • Beef cattle in Iowa produce meat for consumption both locally and nationally.
  • There are many breeds of beef cattle, including, Black Angus, Hereford, Red Angus, Simmental, and Charolais.

Extension Activities:

Suggested Companion Resources:

Sources/Credits:

Author:

Madison Smithson

Organization Affiliation:

Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation

Agriculture Literacy Outcomes:

  • T3.3-5 a. Describe the necessary food components of a healthy diet using the current dietary guidelines
  • T3.3-5 f. Identify careers in food, nutrition, and health
  • T3.3-5 g. Identify food sources of required food nutrients
  • T4.3-5.c. Identify examples of how the knowledge of inherited traits is applied to farmed plants and animals in order to meet specific objectives (i.e., increased yields, better nutrition, etc.)
  • T5.3-5 a. Describe how supply and demand impact the price of agricultural goods

Iowa Core Standards:

    3rd Grade
    • Science 
      1. 3-LS3-1 Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence that plants and animals have traits inherited from parents and that variation of these traits exists in a group of similar organisms.  
      2. 3-LS4-2 Use evidence to construct an explanation for how the variations in characteristics among individuals of the same species may provide advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing. 
    • Math
      1. 3.OA.A.3 Use multiplication and division within 100 to solve word problems in situations involving equal groups, arrays, and measurement quantities, with unknowns in all positions.
      2. 3.OA.C.7 Fluently multiply and divide within 100, using strategies such as the relationship between multiplication and division or properties of operations.
      3. 3.NBT.A.3 Use place value and properties of operations to multiply one- digit whole numbers by multiples of 10 in the range 10–90.
      4. 3.MD.C.5 Recognize area as an attribute of plane figures and understand concepts of area measurement.
      5. 3.MD.C.7 Relate area to the operations of multiplication and addition.
      6. 3.MD.D.8 Solve real world and mathematical problems involving perimeters of polygons, including finding the perimeter given the side lengths, finding an unknown side length, and exhibiting rectangles with the same perimeter and different areas or with the same area and different perimeters.
    • Social Studies
      1. SS.3.1. Identify disciplinary ideas associated with a compelling question. 
      2. SS.3.4. Cite evidence that supports a response to supporting or compelling questions.
      3. SS.3.5. Construct responses to compelling questions using reasoning, examples, and relevant details.
      4. SS.3.13. Identify how people use natural resources, human resources, and physical capital to produce goods and services.
    • Literacy
      1. W.3.4 With guidance and support from adults, produce writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task and purpose. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above)
      2. W.3.7 Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic. 

    4th Grade

    • Social Studies
      1. SS.4.1. Explain how a compelling question represents key ideas in the field. 
      2. SS.4.3. Cite evidence that supports a response to supporting or compelling questions.
      3. SS.4.4. Construct responses to compelling questions using reasoning, examples, and relevant details.
      4. SS.4.15. Identify factors that can influence people’s different spending and saving choices. 
    • Math
      1. 4.OA.A.1 Interpret a multiplication equation as a comparison and represent verbal statements of multiplicative comparisons as multiplication equations.
      2. 4.OA.A.3 Solve multistep word problems posed with whole numbers and whole-number answers using the four operations, including problems in which remainders must be interpreted.
      3. 4.NBT.B.5 Multiply a whole number of up to four digits by a one-digit whole number, and multiply two two-digit numbers, using strategies based on place value and the properties of operations. Be able to illustrate and explain the calculation by using equations, rectangular arrays, and/or area models.
    • Literacy
      1. W4.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above)
      2. W4.7 Conduct short research projects that build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.

    5th Grade

    • Science
      1. 5-PS3-1. Use models to describe that energy in animals’ food (used for body repair, growth, motion, and to maintain body warmth) was once energy from the sun.
    • Social Studies
      1. SS.5.5. With teacher direction, construct responses to compelling questions supported by reasoning and evidence. 
      2. SS.5.13. Describe how goods and services are produced and distributed domestically and globally.
    • Math
      1. 4.NBT.B.5 Multiply a whole number of up to four digits by a one-digit whole number, and multiply two two-digit numbers, using strategies based on place value and the properties of operations. Be able to illustrate and explain the calculation by using equations, rectangular arrays, and/or area models.
      2. 5.NF.A.1 Add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators (including mixed numbers) by replacing given fractions with equivalent fractions in such a way as to produce an equivalent sum or difference of fractions with like denominators.
      3. 5.NF.A.2 Solve word problems involving addition and subtraction of fractions referring to the same whole, including cases of unlike denominators.
      4. 5.NF.B.4 Apply and extend earlier understandings of multiplication to multiply a fraction or whole number by a fraction
      5. 5.NF.B.6 Solve real world problems involving multiplication of fractions and mixed numbers.
    • Literacy
      1. W.5.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above)
      2. W.5.7 Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.