Montague Township School District
Agriculture Curriculum Guide
Grade 6
2025-2026
Rachel Sikora
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Description
The Agriculture curriculum at Montague Township School covers the full range of career clusters from the National Council for Agricultural Education's Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (AFNR) framework. Students in grades 5-8 engage with agribusiness systems, animal systems, biotechnology systems, environmental service systems, food products and processing systems, natural resource systems, plant systems, and power, structural and technical systems through hands-on activities. The year progresses chronologically through foundational concepts in September, moves into environmental science and aquatic systems in October, plant science in November, resource conservation in December, animal science in January and February, agricultural mechanics in March, horticulture in April and May, and concludes with agribusiness and ecosystem concepts in June. Throughout the year, students develop technical skills while exploring career pathways in natural resource management and agriculture.
Big Ideas
- Agriculture involves interconnected systems that include living organisms, technology, economics, and environmental stewardship.
- Scientific observation and experimentation are tools for understanding how plants, animals, and ecosystems function.
- Career opportunities in agriculture require hands-on technical skills combined with business and communication abilities.
- Sustainable practices balance human needs with environmental protection and resource conservation.
- Design and problem-solving are central to improving agricultural systems and products.
Essential Questions
- What is agriculture and how does it impact our lives?
- How do organisms interact with their environment and each other?
- How can we use natural resources sustainably?
- What skills and knowledge are needed for careers in agriculture and related fields?
- How do systems in agriculture—biological, mechanical, and economic—work together?
Crosscutting Concepts
Disciplinary Core Ideas
Earth and Space Sciences
Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science
Life Sciences
Science and Engineering Practices
Students engage in reading informational texts, conducting research, and producing written work across all units. They write reports, blog posts, and portfolio updates on agricultural topics; engage in collaborative discussions about food systems, natural resources, and animal science; present findings using multimedia tools; and gather information from multiple sources to support claims about agriculture and the environment.
Students apply mathematical reasoning throughout the curriculum, including calculating food costs and nutrition from grocery advertisements, computing feed amounts and percentages for livestock, determining square footage for chicken coop design, converting units of measurement in food science, analyzing water chemistry data using graphs, and computing ratios and rates related to population dynamics and carrying capacity.
Students apply life, earth, and environmental science concepts across all units, including investigating plant cell structure and function, photosynthesis, and cellular respiration; studying genetics and heredity through Punnett squares and DNA extraction; analyzing ecosystems, food webs, and population dynamics; conducting water chemistry investigations; and examining the roles of organisms in natural systems and the impacts of human activity on the environment.
Students examine the history of agriculture from Native American practices through the industrial revolution, research food policies and cultural practices affecting food production and distribution across the U.S. and the world, investigate the influence of agricultural development on civilizations, and explore how economics, culture, and geography shape food systems and natural resource use globally.
Career readiness, life literacies, and key skills are embedded throughout all units. Students explore careers in agriculture, food science, natural resource management, animal science, agribusiness, and veterinary science; develop personal finance and budgeting skills through agribusiness activities; use technology tools to research and present information; and apply critical thinking, collaboration, and communication skills in hands-on and project-based contexts.
Students are assessed through multiple methods aligned with formative, summative, and benchmark approaches. Formative assessments include exit and entrance tickets, observations, journals, pair and share discussions, self-evaluations, group work, and question-and-answer sessions. Benchmark assessments draw from Study Island data, pre-assessments, quizzes, and unit tests. Summative assessments include writing assignments, projects, portfolio updates, blog posts, webquests, labs, and presentations. This variety allows teachers to track student understanding throughout each unit and across the full year while accommodating diverse learning styles.