Unit 10 — June: Agribusiness, Ecosystems, and Wildlife
Description
June concludes the year by connecting agriculture to business and ecology. Students develop their own agribusiness ideas in small groups, making decisions about land selection, crops, hiring, and startup costs. A plant sale activity has students grow succulents or flowers to sell, learning about storage, shipping, packaging, and handling. Students design cost-effective fruit packaging. The unit transitions to ecosystem concepts through nature walks where students observe and document the school ecosystem. Food webs and the interdependence of organisms are studied using animal examples. Students learn to identify wildlife through scat analysis, bird calls, tracks, and skull identification.
Essential Questions
- What does it take to start and run an agricultural business?
- How are organisms interdependent within ecosystems?
- What skills help us identify and understand wildlife?
Learning Objectives
- Develop and plan an agribusiness venture with realistic financials
- Apply business concepts such as budgeting, hiring, and record-keeping
- Understand the practical aspects of farming and selling products
- Identify and understand ecosystem relationships
- Trace food webs and understand energy flow
- Identify animals using multiple field methods
- Understand allochthonous and autochthonous ecosystems
- Design cost-effective and protective product packaging
Supplemental Resources
- Graph paper for agribusiness planning and calculations
- Clipboards for ecosystem walk data collection
- Construction paper and markers for creating food web diagrams
- Index cards for organizing wildlife identification information
- Packing materials such as cardboard, bubble wrap, and tape for packaging design practice
Crosscutting Concepts
Disciplinary Core Ideas
Earth and Space Sciences
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.
Formative Assessments
- Observations during agribusiness planning and plant sale setup
- Journals documenting ecosystem walk observations
- Pair and share discussions on food webs and wildlife identification
- Group work on agribusiness decisions and problem-solving
- Self-evaluations of product packaging designs
Summative Assessment
Agribusiness project presentations and plans, plant sale execution, food web diagrams, ecosystem analysis reports, portfolio with wildlife identification
Benchmark Assessment
Study Island data, pre-assessments, quizzes on business and ecosystem concepts
Alternative Assessment
Students may demonstrate understanding of agribusiness planning through a guided planning session with a teacher or small group using a structured worksheet with visual aids and sentence frames to organize decisions about land, crops, and costs. For ecosystem and wildlife content, students may complete partially-completed food web diagrams, participate in one-on-one nature walk observations with a partner, or use picture cards and labels to identify wildlife instead of written identification tasks.
IEP (Individualized Education Program)
For the agribusiness planning and ecosystem components, provide graphic organizers and visual templates that break multi-step tasks—such as budgeting or food web construction—into smaller, manageable sections. Allow students to demonstrate understanding through oral explanations, labeled diagrams, or dictated responses rather than requiring extended written output. During nature walks and wildlife identification activities, pair visual reference guides with hands-on materials such as physical specimens or tactile examples to support processing. Check in frequently during group work to monitor progress and provide immediate corrective feedback on key concepts.
Section 504
Provide extended time for agribusiness planning tasks and any written ecosystem analysis components, and allow students to complete observations or reflections in a low-distraction setting when needed. Preferential seating during whole-group instruction on food webs and ecosystem concepts will help students maintain focus. Ensure printed reference materials—such as food web charts or wildlife identification guides—are available so students are not solely dependent on auditory delivery of information.
ELL / MLL
Pre-teach key vocabulary from both the business and ecology domains—such as terms related to budgeting, ecosystems, food webs, and wildlife identification—using visual supports, labeled diagrams, and real objects wherever possible. Provide bilingual glossaries or picture-supported reference cards during agribusiness planning and nature walk documentation so students can engage with content without language being a barrier. Pair MLL students with supportive peers during group activities, and allow responses through drawings, labeled sketches, or brief phrases before expecting full written sentences.
At Risk (RTI)
Connect the agribusiness and plant sale components to students' existing knowledge of money, community, and familiar foods or plants to build relevance and entry points into abstract business concepts. Simplify the scope of planning tasks by providing structured templates with sentence starters and pre-populated categories so students can focus on decision-making rather than format. During ecosystem and wildlife identification activities, emphasize hands-on, observational tasks that allow students to contribute meaningfully to group work and build confidence alongside academic skill.
Gifted & Talented
Challenge students to extend their agribusiness plans by incorporating market research, competitive analysis, or sustainability practices such as water use efficiency or organic certification considerations. In the ecosystem strand, encourage deeper investigation into trophic dynamics, ecological carrying capacity, or the impact of agricultural land use on local wildlife populations. Students may also explore the intersection of both unit themes by analyzing how farming practices affect regional ecosystems, presenting findings through an evidence-based argument or proposal format that synthesizes business and ecological reasoning.