Improving Lives – Part 2

Lesson Plans & Curriculum
High School
90 minutes

FFA Blue 365: Lesson 8 “Improving Lives — Part 2” is a 90-minute agricultural education lesson focused on farm and agricultural safety. Students investigate common safety risks across agricultural sectors, research safety strategies and resources, teach a safety topic to peers, and explore careers and innovations related to agricultural safety. The resource includes a full lesson plan plus four student activity worksheets.

At a glance

Learning objectives: Identify common precautions to take when working in the agriculture industry.

Summarize common challenges facing farm safety in the United States.

Outline the basics of farm safety.

Evaluate strategies to help maintain a safe and secure working environment around the farm.

Facilitate a presentation regarding a farm safety issue.

List and strengthen safety strategies in the local classroom and/or shop.
Time required: 90 minutes
Grade level: 9-12
Materials: Internet access to play the videos in real time or embed them in a PowerPoint

A copy of the "Challenges to Agricultural Safety" worksheet for each student

A copy of the "Basics of Farm Safety" worksheet for each student

A copy of the "Strategies to Strengthen Farm Safety" worksheet for each student

A copy of the "Takeaways from Teaching Safety Strategies" worksheet for each student

Colored pens or markers

Blank paper
This quick lesson plan would work well as an: 1. Introduction to critical issues in agriculture. 2. Introduction to innovations in agriculture. 3. Introduction to technology in agriculture. 4. Introduction to power, structural and technical systems in agriculture.
Created: 12/2019 by the National FFA Organization

Downloads & Links

Improving Lives – Part 2 (PDF) (EN)

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 Cluster Skills

CS.02Evaluate the nature and scope of the Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources Career Cluster and the role of agriculture, food and natural resources (AFNR) in society and the economy.
CS.03Examine and summarize the importance of health, safety and environmental management systems in AFNR workplaces.
CS.05Describe career opportunities and means to achieve those opportunities in each of the Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources career pathways.

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.
AG2Evaluate the nature and scope of the Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources Career Cluster and the role of agriculture, food, and natural resources (AFNR) in society and the economy.
AG3Examine and summarize the importance of health, safety, and environmental management systems in AFNR businesses.
AG5Describe career opportunities and means to achieve those opportunities in each of the Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources Career Pathways.

Common Core – Literacy in Science & Technical Subjects: Writing

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.6Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology's capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.

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.

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.9-10.8Assess 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.

Common Core – Speaking and Listening

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.1Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9-10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.2Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.4Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task.

Common Core – Writing

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.2Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

FFA Precept

FFA-CS-M.CommunicationEffectively interact with others in personal and professional settings.
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.

Green/Sustainability Knowledge and Skill Statements

AFNR Career Cluster, Statement 2Analyze community practice or policy development related to sustainability in AFNR.

NASDCTEc

AGC08.01Demonstrate workplace ethics specific to AFNR occupations in order to reflect effective stewardship of resources.
AGC09.01Explain written organizational policies, rules and procedures common to AFNR workplaces to ensure employees perform job functions effectively.
AGC10.03Compare and contrast issues affecting the AFNR industry including biotechnology, employment, safety, environmental and animal welfare to demonstrate an understanding of the trends and issues important to careers in this industry.

Next Generation Science

HS-ETS1-3Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts.