Unit 7 — March: Agricultural Mechanics and Structures
Description
March introduces agricultural mechanics through the design and construction of structures, specifically chicken coops. Students learn safety practices, basic carpentry, electricity, machinery, and equipment. They design a chicken coop using knowledge from their habitat webquest, calculate the materials needed, and use online shopping to estimate costs and lumber requirements. Students examine the school's existing chicken coop, reflect on its design, and consider improvements. They then build a small-scale model of their design using popsicle sticks to understand construction principles.
Essential Questions
- How do we design structures to meet specific needs?
- What materials and calculations are involved in building?
- How can we improve existing agricultural structures?
Learning Objectives
- Understand agricultural safety practices
- Apply basic carpentry and construction principles
- Calculate materials and costs for construction projects
- Design structures using knowledge of animal needs
- Evaluate existing structures for efficiency and improvements
- Build scale models to test design concepts
Supplemental Resources
- Graph paper for design sketches and calculations
- Rulers for measuring and planning dimensions
- Calculators for estimating materials and costs
- Markers, crayons, and colored pencils for design illustrations
- Popsicle sticks and glue for model construction
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.
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 design planning and material calculations
- Journals documenting design decisions and reflections
- Pair and share discussions on structure improvements
- Self-evaluations of model building process
- Group discussions comparing design variations
Summative Assessment
Design project with cost calculations, scale model construction, portfolio updates documenting the design process and reflections
Benchmark Assessment
— not configured —
Alternative Assessment
Students may demonstrate understanding through a teacher-led discussion about their chicken coop design and construction choices, with visual supports such as labeled diagrams or photos to reference. Material calculations may be completed with a calculator, number line, or partially completed worksheets, and the scale model may be simplified in scope or built collaboratively with a peer or adult.
IEP (Individualized Education Program)
During design planning and construction activities, provide graphic organizers and visual step-by-step guides to help students break down the chicken coop design process into manageable parts. Allow students to demonstrate understanding of safety practices and carpentry concepts through oral explanations or hands-on demonstration rather than written responses alone. For material calculations and cost estimation tasks, offer number lines, calculators, and partially completed templates to reduce the cognitive load of multi-step math while keeping focus on the core construction concepts. Journal entries and self-evaluations may be completed using dictation, sentence frames, or a combination of drawing and brief written notes.
Section 504
Ensure students have extended time during design planning, material calculations, and model construction phases, as the multi-step nature of this unit can require additional processing time. Preferential seating near the teacher during safety instruction and carpentry demonstrations supports attention and reduces distraction during critical procedural learning. Providing a printed copy of directions and visual safety reminders at the student's workspace reduces reliance on memory during hands-on tasks.
ELL / MLL
Introduce and reinforce the unit's specialized vocabulary — such as terms related to carpentry, construction materials, structural design, and animal housing — through labeled diagrams, picture-supported word walls, and visual demonstrations before and during activities. Provide simplified written directions alongside visual models of completed examples, such as sample design sketches or annotated images of the school's chicken coop, to make expectations concrete and accessible. When possible, allow students to discuss design ideas or explain their reasoning with a partner who shares their home language before sharing with the larger group.
At Risk (RTI)
Connect the design and construction concepts in this unit to students' existing knowledge of everyday structures and spaces they are familiar with, helping them build confidence as they approach new carpentry and measurement skills. Offer entry points that reduce complexity, such as starting with a simplified design template or a partially completed cost calculation, so students experience early success before tackling more open-ended tasks. Provide frequent check-ins during design planning and model building to catch misunderstandings early and offer encouragement that keeps students engaged through the multi-week project.
Gifted & Talented
Challenge students to go beyond a single design by exploring how changes in materials, dimensions, or structural layout affect both construction cost and animal welfare outcomes, applying principles of engineering design thinking. Encourage deeper investigation into real-world agricultural structures by researching industry standards for poultry housing, sustainability considerations, or cost-efficiency trade-offs, and incorporating those findings into a refined design proposal. Students may also be invited to evaluate multiple design variations — their own and peers' — using a self-developed rubric that weighs structural integrity, animal needs, and budget constraints, pushing toward analysis and synthesis rather than a single correct answer.