Canadian Agriculture at a Glance Teacher's Kit > Lesson plans

Lesson: Farming with a mouse

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Introduction
Curriculum connections
Notes to teacher
Teaching and learning strategies
Assessment/evaluation strategies
Accommodation and enrichment strategies
Links to other activities
Suggestions for further research

Introduction

This lesson focuses on computer use on farms. As in other parts of society, computers are a part of farmers' lives. Computers provide much-needed information on farms and facilitate activities such as banking, marketing, communications and research.

Curriculum connections

Science

• describes scientific and technological developments and teaches an appreciation of their impact on individuals and society

Notes to teacher

This unit, which corresponds to the chapter "The Leading Edge" in the book, can be taught as co-operative group work, focusing on change and its impact on agriculture and our lives as consumers (PDF).

Teaching and learning strategies

1. Students read the article "Farming with a mouse" on pages 311 to 312 in Canadian Agriculture at a Glance (PDF).
2. Students answer the following questions after reading the article:
1. Which province has the highest use of computers by farmers?
2. Is your province higher or lower than the national average? Why do you think that is?
3. What is the relationship between the size of a farm, as measured by receipts, and computer use? How do you account for this?
4. What do farmers use computers for?
3. Students add terminology to their glossaries.

Assessment/evaluation strategies

1. Assess answers to questions for completion and accuracy.
2. Evaluate graphs.
3. Assess glossaries for accuracy and completion.

Accommodation and enrichment strategies

1. Some students may require assistance in order to complete written work.
2. Students with special needs may work with a partner to complete a task.
3. Templates for note-taking should be provided to students with special needs.
4. Main ideas and/or new information should be mapped out and organized to meet the needs of all students.
5. Wherever possible, vocabulary lists should be provided with a discussion of context clues and related vocabulary.
6. Students with special needs may need to use a computer-graphing program to complete the assignment.

Links to other activities

This activity is linked to:

• A science-fiction harvest
• There's omegas in those hemp seeds
• Growing herbs for the medicine chest
• Technology on the farm
• Dairy farming goes high tech

Suggestions for further research

• Students can compare Canadian farmers' use of computers with that of non-farm households in Canada.
• Students can use 2001 Census of Agriculture data in E-STAT for data analysis, graphing and mapping activities for specific geographic areas of local interest.

Please send comments or examples of how you used this lesson in your class to Learning Resources.

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