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Lesson 1: Working Under the Sun


Lesson Plans & Curriculum
High School
60 minutes

“Working Under the Sun” (Lesson 1 of 2) is a National FFA Organization lesson in which students examine how sun exposure impacts people, crops and livestock in agriculture and identify work situations that increase UV-related health risks. Through a UV-bead investigation, a short story analysis, and agricultural career research, students explore how UV radiation affects the body and agricultural systems and distinguish sun-exposure myths from facts. The resource includes student activity sheets, answer keys, and a myth-vs-fact handout.

At a glance

Learning objectives
  • Describe how UV radiation affects the human body and agricultural systems.
  • Identify agricultural tasks and careers that increase sun exposure risk.
  • Distinguish between common myths and facts related to sun exposure.
Time required
60 minutes (Time requirements may vary based upon student understanding and class schedule.)
Grade level
Grades 9 and 10
Materials
  • A copy of the "First Day in the Field" student activity sheet for each student
  • A copy of the "UV Exposure Investigation" student activity sheet for each student
  • A copy of the "Agricultural Career Risk Snapshot" student activity sheet for each group
  • A copy of the "Appendix 1: Sun Myth vs. Fact" handout
  • UV beads, cards or bracelets
  • For Activity 1: Hat or fabric
  • Clear container or glass
  • Soil or dirt
  • Shade area
  • Direct sun area
  • Optional: Outreach Guide: Sun Safety in Agriculture
Description of Lesson
Students will examine how sun exposure impacts people, crops and livestock in agriculture and identify work situations that increase Ultraviolet (UV)-related health risks.
Vocabulary
Agricultural Work Environment; Eye Damage; Heat Stress; Hypothesis; Observation; Occupational Risk; Protective Strategy; Skin Damage; Ultraviolet (UV) Exposure; Ultraviolet (UV) Radiation
Resources/References
Website: AgExplorer (2023), AgExplorer.FFA.org
Related Resources
2022 Fall FFA New Horizons Teaching Guide: Appendix 7: 6 Important Farm Safety Tips
Cross-Curricular Connections
Science: Investigate UV radiation by using experimental design, formulating hypotheses, collecting observational data and drawing conclusions on the effects of UV exposure. English/Language Arts: Read and analyze an informational narrative, identify misconceptions, justify claims during discussion and reflect in writing. Technology: Use digital tools and online resources to investigate agricultural careers and workplace risks.
SAE and FFA Connections
SAE: Have students create a sun safety plan for their SAEs and include it in their records. FFA: Have students create a sun safety social media campaign for your FFA chapter to post.
Partnership for 21st Century Skills
Collaboration; Communication; Critical Thinking and Problem Solving; Health Literacy; Information Literacy; Leadership and Responsibility; Productivity and Accountability

Downloads & Links

Lesson plan

Other

Aligned Standards

AFNR Career Ready Practices

  • CRP.01Act as a responsible and contributing citizen and employee.
  • CRP.03Attend to personal health and financial well-being. Career-ready individuals understand the relationship between personal health, workplace performance and personal well-being; they act on that understanding to regularly practice healthy diet, exercise and mental health activities.
  • 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

  • FPS.03Examine and summarize the importance of health, safety and environmental management systems in AFNR workplaces.
  • FPS.05Describe career opportunities and means to achieve those opportunities in each of the Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources career pathways.
  • FPS.08Utilize critical thinking to make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.

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.9-10.3Follow precisely a complex multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks, attending to special cases or exceptions defined in the text.
  • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.9-10.7Translate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text into visual form (e.g., a table or chart) and translate information expressed visually or mathematically (e.g., in an equation) into words.

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.9-10.4Present 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.9-10.10Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes and audiences.
  • 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.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-12.9Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

Next Generation Science

  • Practice 1Asking Questions and Defining Problems. Ask questions that can be investigated within the scope of the school laboratory, research facilities or field (e.g., outdoor environment) with available resources and, when appropriate, frame a hypothesis based on a model or theory.
  • Practice 3Planning and Carrying Out Investigations. Plan an investigation or test a design individually and collaboratively to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence as part of building and revising models, supporting explanations for phenomena or testing solutions to problems.
  • Practice 4Analyzing and Interpreting Data. Analyzing data in 9-12 builds on K-8 experiences and progresses to introducing more detailed statistical analysis, the comparison of data sets for consistency and the use of models to generate and analyze data.
  • Practice 6Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions. Apply scientific reasoning, theory and/or models to link evidence to the claims to assess the extent to which the reasoning and data support the explanation or conclusion.
  • Practice 8Obtaining, Evaluating and Communicating Information. Communicate scientific and/or technical information or ideas (e.g., about phenomena and/or the process of development and the design and performance of a proposed process or system) in multiple formats (i.e., orally, graphically, textually, mathematically).

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Derived from the FFA Standards Matrix crosswalk for this resource’s aligned standards.

Common Core — Reading

  • 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.9-10.6Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.7Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person's life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account.
  • 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.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.9Analyze seminal U.S. documents of historical and literary significance (e.g., Washington’s Farewell Address, the Gettysburg Address, Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms speech, King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”), including how they address related themes and concepts.

Common Core — Writing

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.1Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
  • 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.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details and well-structured event sequences.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.4Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to task, purpose and audience.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.5Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY,W.9-10.6. Use 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.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.7Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.8Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-12.9Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection and research.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.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.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.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 — Speaking & 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.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.5Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning and evidence and to add interest.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.6Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.5Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning and evidence and to add interest.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.5Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning and evidence and to add interest.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.3Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, identifying any fallacious reasoning or exaggerated or distorted evidence.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.3Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, assessing the stance, premises, links among ideas, word choice, points of emphasis and tone used.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.6Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating a command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.

Common Core — Language

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.6Acquire and use accurately general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, sufficient for reading, writing, speaking and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.6Acquire and use accurately general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, sufficient for reading, writing, speaking and listening at the college and career-readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.11-12.6Acquire and use accurately general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, sufficient for reading, writing, speaking and listening at the college and career-readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.4Consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning, its part of speech or its etymology.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.11-12.4Consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning, its part of speech, its etymology or its standard usage.

Common Core — History/Social Studies

  • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.6Evaluate authors' differing points of view on the same historical event or issue by assessing the authors' claims, reasoning and evidence.
  • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.8Assess the extent to which the reasoning and evidence in a text support the author's claims.
  • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.8Evaluate an author's premises, claims and evidence by corroborating or challenging them with other information.
  • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.7Integrate quantitative or technical analysis (e.g., charts, research data) with qualitative analysis in print or digital text.
  • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.9Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources.
  • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.7Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.
  • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.1Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and origin of the information.
  • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.3Analyze in detail a series of events described in a text; determine whether earlier events caused later ones or simply preceded them.

Common Core — Math Practices

  • CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP2Reason abstractly and quantitatively. Mathematically proficient students make sense of quantities and their relationships in problem situations.
  • CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP1Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. Students analyze givens, constraints, relationships and goals. They make conjectures about the form and meaning of the solution and plan a pathway rather than simply jumping into an attempt to solve the problem.
  • CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP3Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others. Students at all grades can listen and read the arguments of others, decide whether they make sense and ask useful questions to clarify or improve the arguments.
  • CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP6Attend to precision.
  • CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP5Use appropriate tools strategically. These tools include paper and pencil, ruler, protractor, calculator or computer/software.
  • CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP8Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning. Students continually evaluate the reasonableness of their intermediate results.
  • CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP3Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others. Students at all grades can listen or read arguments of others, decide whether they make sense and ask useful questions to clarify or improve the arguments.
  • CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP6Attend to precision. In elementary grades, students give formulated explanations to each other. By the time they reach high school, they have learned to examine claims and make explicit use of definitions.
  • CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP6Attend to precision. Mathematically proficient students try to communicate precisely to others. They try to use clear definitions in discussions with others and in their own reasoning.
  • CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP1Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. Students can understand the approaches of others to solving complex problems and identify correspondences between different approaches.

Next Generation Science Standards

  • Practice 2: Developing and Using Models. Students can be expected to evaluate and refine models through an iterative cycle of comparing their predictions with the real world and then adjusting them to gain insights into the phenomenon being modeled.
  • Practice 6: Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions. The goal of engineering is to solve problems. Designing solutions to problems is a systematic process that involves defining the problem, then generating, testing and improving solutions.
  • Practice 3: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations. Plan an investigation or test a design individually and collaboratively to produce data to serve as the basis for
  • evidence as part of building and revising models, supporting explanations for phenomena or testing
  • solutions to problems.
  • evidence as part of building and revising models, supporting explanations for phenomena, or testing
  • Practice 3: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations. Select appropriate tools to collect, record, analyze and evaluate data.
  • Practice 3: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations. Manipulate variables and collect data about a complex model of a proposed process or system to identify failure points or improve performance relative to criteria for success or other variables.
  • Practice 7: Engaging in Argument From Evidence. Make and defend a claim based on evidence about the natural world or the effectiveness of a design solution that reflects scientific knowledge and student-generated evidence.
  • Practice 3: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations. Plan an investigation or test a design individually and collaboratively.
  • Practice 4: Analyzing and Interpreting Data. Analyzing data in 9-12 builds on K-8 experiences and progresses to
  • introducing more detailed statistical analysis, the comparison of data sets for consistency and the use of models to generate and analyze data.
  • Practice 6: Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions. Constructing explanations and designing
  • solutions in 9-12 builds on K-8 experiences and progresses to explanations and designs that are supported by multiple and independent student-generated sources of evidence consistent with scientific ideas, principles and theories.

National Standards for Financial Literacy

  • Earning Income: Benchmarks: Grade 12, Statement 1. Compensation for a job or career can be in the form of wages, salaries, commissions, tips or bonuses, and may also include contributions to employee benefits, such as health insurance, retirement savings plans and education reimbursement programs.
  • Saving: Benchmarks: Grade 12, Statement 9. There are many strategies that can help people manage psychological, emotional and external obstacles to saving, including automated savings plans, employer matches and avoiding personal triggers.
  • Spending: Benchmarks: Grade 12, Statement 2. Consumer decisions are influenced by the price of products or services, the price of alternatives, the consumer’s budget and preferences and potential impact on the environment, society and economy.
  • Earning Income: Benchmarks: Grade 12, Statement 1. Compensation for a job or career can be in the form of wages, salaries, commissions, tips or bonuses and may also include contributions to employee benefits, such as health insurance, retirement savings plans and education reimbursement programs.
  • Spending: Benchmarks: Grade 12, Statement 1. A budget helps people achieve their financial goals by allocating income to necessary and desired spending, saving and philanthropy.
  • Spending: Benchmarks: Grade 12, Statement 9. Keeping organized records of purchases, income and expenses makes it easier to track financial goals and prepare for tax season.
  • Earning Income: Benchmarks: Grade 12, Statement 10. Retirement income may come from various sources including Social Security, employer-sponsored retirement plans, personal savings and investments.
  • Investing: Benchmarks: Grade 12, Statement 14. Criteria for selecting financial professionals for investment advice include licensing, certifications, education, experience and cost.
  • Spending: Benchmarks: Grade 12, Statement 5. Consumers incur costs and realize benefits when searching for information related to the purchase of goods and services.
  • Earning Income: Benchmarks: Grade 12, Statement 2. In addition to wages and paid benefits, employees may also value intangible (noncash) benefits, such as good working conditions, flexible work hours, telecommuting privileges and career advancement potential.
  • Saving: Benchmarks: Grade 12, Statement 6. Tax policies that allow people to save pretax earnings or to reduce or defer taxes on interest earned provide incentives for people to save.
  • Earning Income: Benchmarks: Grade 12, Statement 3. People vary in their opportunity and willingness to incur the present costs of additional training and education in exchange for future benefits, such as earning potential.
  • Saving: Benchmarks: Grade 12, Statement 1. Financial institutions offer several types of savings accounts, including regular savings, money market accounts and certificates of deposit (CDs), that differ in minimum deposits, rates and deposit insurance coverage.
  • Earning Income: Benchmarks: Grade 12, Statement 5. Changes in economic conditions, technology or the labor market can cause changes in income, career opportunities or employment status.
  • Managing Risk: Benchmarks: Grade 12, Statement 11. Online transactions and failure to safeguard personal documents can make consumers vulnerable to privacy infringement, identity theft and fraud.
  • Credit: Benchmarks: Grade 12, Statement 10. Failing to make required payments on time, exceeding credit limits or defaulting on loans can result in negative consequences, including fees, higher interest rates, wage garnishment or loss of assets.
  • Managing Risk: Benchmarks: Grade 12, Statement 6. People plan for financial risk by purchasing appropriate types and amounts of insurance.

AFNR Career Ready Practices

  • CRP.03Attend to personal health and financial well-being.
  • CRP.10Plan education and career path aligned to personal goals.
  • CRP.08Utilize critical thinking to make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
  • CRP.01Act as a responsible and contributing citizen and employee.
  • CRP.02Apply appropriate academic and technical skills.
  • CRP.12Work productively in teams while using cultural/global competence.
  • CRP.07Employ valid and reliable research strategies.
  • CRP.04Communicate clearly, effectively and with reason.
  • CRP.06Demonstrate creativity and innovation.
  • CRP.05Consider the environmental, social and economic impact of decisions.
  • CRP.09Model integrity, ethical leadership and effective management.

21st Century Skills

  • Health Literacy
  • Initiative and Self-Direction
  • Flexibility and Adaptability
  • Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
  • Think Creatively
  • Collaboration
  • Communication
  • Information Literacy
  • Media Literacy
  • Productivity and Accountability
  • Technology Literacy
  • Social and Cross-Cultural Skills
  • Leadership and Responsibility

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