Outreach Guide: Sun Safety in Agriculture
This is a National FFA Organization outreach guide that helps agriculture classes and FFA chapters plan hands-on outreach projects to educate others about sun safety in agriculture. It offers three project ideas—a storytelling/reading activity for elementary students, a rotating-station “Sun-Safe Agriculture Day” for K-8 students, and a community informational bulletin board—along with reproducible handouts and station instructions covering the “High Five Sun-Safe Practices.”
At a glance
- Grade level
- Pre-K, K-3, K-8
- Materials
-
- An agricultural-themed picture book to read
- "High Five Sun-Safety Practices" printed to display
- "Sun-Safe Coloring" printed (one per student)
- Crayons/markers/colored pencils
- Educational poster/tri-fold board showing the High Five Sun-Safe Practices
- Starting line or cones
- Mannequins or scarecrows to dress in sun-safe gear
- Sun-safe clothing and accessories (long-sleeve shirts, hats with brims, sunglasses, sunscreen bottles, water bottles, pants, closed-toe shoes, sun shirts, umbrellas)
- NOT sun-safe clothing/accessories (tank tops, hats without brims, tiny sunglasses, shorts, flip-flops)
- Pipe cleaners to make bracelets
- Wire cutters
- UV beads (about five or six per visitor)
- Sunscreen (a variety of types)
- Black construction paper (one sheet per visitor)
- Fun sunglasses to decorate (one for each visitor)
- Items to decorate sunglasses (beads, jewels, decorations)
- Glue gun or strong glue
- Simple shade-building materials (craft sticks, paper, blocks, fabric, etc.)
- Materials not helpful for shade (clear plastic bags, tissue paper, etc.)
- Scissors
- Bulletin paper in different colors
- Construction paper
- Printed images
- Letters or materials to make letters
- Typed information
- Project 1 Purpose
- Introduce elementary students to agriculture and sun safety through storytelling, discussion and creativity. Audience: Local elementary school; Pre-K classes; Grades K-3
- Project 2 Purpose
- Host a Sun-Safe Agriculture Day to teach sun safety through movement, hands-on learning and interaction with FFA members/agriculture students in a series of stations. Audience: Elementary and middle school-aged students; Grades K-8
- Project 3 Purpose
- FFA members educate the community about sun safety in agriculture by creating an informational bulletin board or tri-fold board that can be seen in a public location. Audience: Your community
- National Quality Chapter Standards
- Project 1 – Strengthening Agriculture: Agricultural Literacy. Project 2 – Growing Leaders: Healthy Lifestyle; Strengthening Agriculture: Safety; Strengthening Agriculture: Agricultural Literacy. Project 3 – Strengthening Agriculture: Agricultural Literacy
- Stations (Project 2)
- Sun-Safe Relay – Dress for the Job!; UV Bead Investigation; Sunscreen Handprints; Spectacular Sunglasses; Being Shady
- Rotation Tips
- 8-10 minutes per station; Groups of 8-10 students
- High Five Sun-Safe Practices
- 1) Sunscreen: Always wear sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher. 2) Hat: Wear a hat with a brim to protect your face, ears and neck. 3) Shirt: Wear a shirt with long sleeves. 4) Sunglasses: Wear sunglasses to protect your eyes. 5) Shade: Seek shade during the hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.