Agriscience Fair Lesson 2 – What Can I Learn
This lesson series guides students through the agriscience research process, in alignment with the National FFA Agriscience Fair award area. Through three activities and accompanying worksheets, students learn to select a topic, write an effective research question, conduct a literature review, and properly cite sources using APA formatting.
At a glance
- Learning objectives
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- Select a research topic.
- Write a research question.
- Describe the importance of reviewing others' research to inform their own.
- Describe how to find research and information relevant to their own studies.
- Develop a correct works cited page.
- Time required
- 120 minutes (*Time requirements may vary based on student understanding and class schedule.)
- Grade level
- Grades 9 and 10
- Materials
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- A copy of the "What Question Do I Have?" worksheet for each student
- A copy of the "What Do We Already Know?" worksheet for each student
- A copy of the "Giving Credit" worksheet for each student
- Internet access to play the videos in real time or embed it in a PowerPoint ahead of time
- Cross-Curricular Connections
- Science; English/Language Arts; Reading and using previous research completed to inform own study; APA formatting, research question development and literature review
- Description
- The purpose of this lesson series is to guide students through the agriscience research process. Skills learned through this process are in alignment with the National FFA Agriscience Fair award area.
Downloads & Links
Aligned Standards
AFNR Career Ready Practices
- CRP.02Apply appropriate academic and technical skills. Career-ready individuals readily access and use the knowledge and skills acquired through experience and education to be more productive.
- CRP.04Communicate clearly, effectively, and with reason. Career-ready individuals communicate thoughts, ideas and action plans with clarity, whether using written, verbal and/or visual methods.
- CRP.05Consider the environmental, social and economic impact of decisions.
- CRP.06Demonstrate creativity and innovation.
- CRP.07Employ valid and reliable research strategies. Career-ready individuals are discerning in accepting and using new information to make decisions, change practices or inform strategies.
- CRP.08Utilize critical thinking to make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. Career-ready individuals readily recognize problems in the workplace, understand the nature of the problem, and devise effective plans to solve the problem.
AFNR Performance Element
- CS.01Analyze how issues, trends, technologies and public policies impact systems in the agriculture, food & natural resources career cluster.
Common Career Technical Core
- AG1Analyze how issues, trends, technologies and public policies impact systems in the Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources Career Cluster.
Common Core – Literacy in Science & Technical Subjects: Writing
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9.10.1Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9.10.4Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
Common Core – Reading: Informational Text
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.1Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.2Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.3Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn between them.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.4Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language of a court opinion differs from that of a newspaper).
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.8Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements and fallacious reasoning.
Common Core – Science & Technical Subjects
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.9-10.1Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to the precise details of explanations or descriptions.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.9-10.4Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 9-10 texts and topics.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.9-10.8Assess the extent to which the reasoning and evidence in a text support the author's claim or a recommendation for solving a scientific or technical problem.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.9-10.9Compare and contrast findings presented in a text to those from other sources (including their own experiments), noting when the findings support or contradict previous explanations or accounts.
FFA Precept
- FFA.PG-J.MentalEmbrace cognitive and intellectual development relative to reasoning, thinking and coping.
- FFA.PL-A.ActionAssume responsibility and take the necessary steps to achieve the desired results, no matter what the goal or task at hand.
- FFA.PL-C.VisionVisualize the future and how to get there.
- FFA.PL-E.AwarenessUnderstand personal vision, mission and goals.
- FFA.PL-F.Continuous ImprovementAccept responsibility for learning and personal growth.
FFA Precepts
- FFA.CS-N.Decision MakingAnalyze a situation and execute an appropriate course of action.