5.2 Ethanol Impact on the Corn Supply
This is a National FFA “Renewable Fuels” curriculum lesson (Unit 5, Lesson 2) titled “Ethanol Impact on the Corn Supply.” It teaches students how ethanol creates value-added markets for farmers, that ethanol production does not reduce the food supply available for humans, and how rising corn prices affect feed and food prices. The lesson uses interactive teaching strategies (Me-You-Us, Little Professor, Eye Witness News), a Kool-Aid value-added demonstration, transparency masters, a student worksheet, and an essay assessment.
At a glance
- Learning objectives
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- Describe how ethanol creates value-added markets for farmers.
- Recognize that ethanol production does not reduce the amount of food available for human consumption.
- Discuss the impact increasing corn prices have on feed and food prices.
- Time required
- Instruction time for this lesson: 90 minutes.
- Materials
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- Writing surface
- Projector
- TM.A
- TM.B
- TM.C
- TM.D
- AS.A – one per student
- Assess.A – one per student
- Packet of Kool-Aid
- One cup of sugar
- Pitcher
- Water
- Precepts
- A. Action — A5. Communicate effectively with others. D. Character — D4. Respect others.
- Resources
- http://medialab.blogs.com/our_ethanol_debate/2007/03/economic_impact.html; http://www.ethanolrfa.org/resource/facts/food/; http://www.ncga.com/ethanol/main/economics.htm
Downloads & Links
Aligned Standards
National Standards
- NL-ENG.K-12.6Applying Knowledge — Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions, media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create critique, and discuss print and non-print texts.
- NSS-EC.9-12.8Supply and Demand.