(www.americasheartland.org/education/students/index.htm)
Grades 5 and up, with parental supervision
What a find! The America’s Heartland website is a companion to a magazine-style, half-hour TV series, and offers FREE video virtual tours of unforgettable places of agriculture across the USA. The videos have something of interest for all ages, but the study guides seem to be for older students about grades 5 and up.
When you get to the site, you’ll see a menu of options that include:
- Agri-Tourism – Visit a Reindeer Ranch, Bison Farm, and Horse Park.
- Animals – See an Emu Farm, Chicken Ranch, Cattle Ranch, and Duck Farm.
- Aquaculture – Learn about harvesting Crawfish, Abalone, and Trout Farming.
- Fruits and Nuts – Take a virtual tour of Strawberry, Kiwi, Mandarin Orange and Walnut Farms.
- Specialty Products – Learn about Maple Sugaring and visit farms that grow Mushrooms, Truffles, Goat’s Milk Soap, and more.
- Vegetables – See how Carrots, Iceberg Lettuce, Corn, Chili Peppers, and Spinach grow.
Simply click on the topic of interest and a new page opens with a menu of short video tours of agri-products in that category. Each product offers a free downloadable “Study Guide” in pdf, a brief story synopsis with additional resources, and the video tour.
You’ll also find videos about careers in agriculture, environmental stewardship, food science, organic food production, and agri-business technology.
This is a terrific, informative, multi-media resource!
