Farm Fun Quest

FARM FUN -

A Primary WebQuest About Farming

created by Terry Tunkel
West End School

Teachers, this web quest is designed for Kindergarten students working with an older buddy in second or third grade. The web quest reinforces knowledge about farms, geography, letter writing, and computer skills.

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TO THE FARM
(Tune: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)
CHICKENS, KITTENS, PIGLETS TOO,
DONKEYS, HORSES, COWS THAT MOO,
FISH THAT SWIM DOWN IN THE POND,
DUCKLINGS QUACKING ALL DAY LONG
ALL THESE THINGS YOU CAN SEE
IF YOU GO TO THE FARM WITH ME!

Days are shorter and nights are cooler. Fall leaves are swirling down. Autumn holidays will soon be here. Everywhere you will see grinning Jack O' lanterns. Many of us will travel to a relative's house for a delicious Thanksgiving feast. But where do all the delicious goodies come from? From the grocery? Yes. But where does your grocery store get the food from? Farms!

You and a buddy will go on a field trip to learn more about farms in New Jersey. Farms are important to all of us. You will discover why as we explore farming. Our classes will get to visit a farm and you will make the important decision of which farm you would like to visit. Sing the song above with your buddy and let's go to the farm!!

In this quest you will be thinking about the answers to the following questions. How are farms important to you? What type of farm would you like to visit?

There are five things to do. First, you will decide and vote on which farm you would like to visit.

Second, after our trip to the farm you will draw a picture and 'drite' about what you saw at the farm.

Third, you will show your picture to the teacher and use it to tell the teacher why farms are important to you. You will be making a connection to self as we have talked about in class in Shared Reading and Writing.

In this web quest you will be working together with a buddy. You will answer some questions and complete tasks. Older buddies will help their younger friends but you will each make your own decisions about the activities.

Behavior

Very Good

Satisfactory

Not Acceptable

Sharing,cooperating and taking turns

Not acting silly

Thinking for yourself

You did all of the things listed under “Behavior”

You did only some of the things listed under ”Behavior”

You did not cooperate, take turns or think for yourself. You acted silly.

Assignments Very Good Satisfactory Not Acceptable

Complete the worksheet
Complete a drawing

Be able to explain/tell about your worksheet and drawing
You did all of the things listed under “Assignments” You did only some of the things listed under ”Assignments” You did not complete the assignments and were not able to give an explanation for your thinking.

To help you make your decision about which farm you would like to visit you may need to visit one of the sites below. The farm we visit should be no further away than a one- way trip that takes one hour and fifteen minutes. Longer than that and we will not have enough time to go. After you have selected a farm from the list you can plug in the address at Map Quest for driving directions. More importantly to you the driving directions will also tell you how long it will take us to get there. A grown-up will be on hand to help you figure out how to do this as needed.

* Map Quest - Useful to get driving directions and find out how long it will take you to get there!

Older buddies should help their younger buddies to do the reading and to navigate the web. You will each do your own thinking and have your own opinion about why farms are important to you.

You will need to talk to your buddy to decide together about which farm you would like to visit. You will vote on this together. You should have ready in your mind two-three reasons why you would like to visit the farm you chose. Perhaps, you would like to go to a special farm because they have a tour, or a petting zoo, or you like their web site, or it is close to our school, or because it is far from our school.

Be prepared to explain your decision because your teacher may ask you why you want to visit your farm. There may be a tie in the vote and you may have to convince your classmates that your farm is the best one to go to.

Use the links below to read some information about farming. Carefully read the worksheet on the site 'What comes from animals'. Think about and discuss this worksheet with your buddy. As you visit the sites on this web quest and visit a real farm, think about how to answer the worksheet. You will print out and finish the worksheet after your trip to the farm and at the end of the web quest .

* NJ Agricultural Society - Find out how farmers fight against hunger in New Jersey.
* What comes from animals? - Worksheet to print out and do.
* Kid's Farm - Learn about what grows and the animals and people that live on a ranch in Colorado.

Use the links below to decide which farm you would like to visit. You can also look under the site Guide-to-Pick-Your-Own Farms to find more farms not in this list.

* Guide To Pick-Your-Own Farms in New Jersey - A list by county of farms to visit.
* Von Thun's Farm - Located in Middlesex county. Farm animals, Kid's Day, Pick-Your-Own, Egg Hunt, picnic area.
* Schaeffer Farms - Located in Hunterdon County. Haunted house, large farm zoo.
* Melick's Town Farm - Located in Hunterdon county. Apple cider making demonstration.
* Lee Turkey Farm - Located in Mercer county. Farm tours, hayrides, pumpkin picking.
* Terhune Farm - Located in Mercer county. Apple picking, pumpkin picking, cider, pies, farm animals, pick your own, field trips, farm market and more.

After you have decided which farm you would like to visit you can have more farm fun online by visiting these sites.

Use the classroom graph the teacher has set up to make your vote about which farm you would like to visit.

We have now visited a real farm. You and your buddy will need to talk about what you saw there and what you felt was important. You will each draw a picture for the teacher and 'drite' about it. Take it to the teacher and be ready to tell your teacher why farms are important to you. Remember you will need to make a connection to self.

You have learned a lot about farms. Now is the time to write a thank you letter to the farmer we visited. Keep the letter simple and follow the directions the teacher has posted or the sample below. Give your letter to the teacher to mail. You have the option to send this as an e-mail if you would like and if there is an e-mail address on the farm's web site.
Draw a picture and then write the following-

Thank you for letting me visit your farm. I had fun. I liked the __________. Farms are important to me because_____________________.

Sincerely,
(write your name here)
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Congratulations! When we first talked about a farm (and wrote on our KWL chart) you may only have thought about the apples that grow there or the pigs that live there. You understand so much more about farms now and why they are important to each one of us. You should now print and complete the worksheet on the site 'What comes from animals'. Hand in your completed worksheet to the teacher and receive a sweet treat from the farm!