1. Home
  2. News
  3. Elementary curriculum on Pennsylvania pollinators and agriculture available to educators

July 28, 2023

Elementary curriculum on Pennsylvania pollinators and agriculture available to educators

farm field

The Center for Science and the Schools (CSATS) and the Center for Pollinator Research (CPR) have created an interdisciplinary science curriculum that is aligned with the new Pennsylvania Science, Technology & Engineering, Environmental Literacy & Sustainability (STEELS) Standards.

The development of the AG SEEDLINGS (Agricultural Science in Elementary Education Learning In Gardens at School) curriculum was funded by a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Lessons are available for grades 1st through 5th that integrate science, math, and English language arts. For example, in the 3rd-5th lesson Bee-Healthy Farm, students practice fractions as well as area and perimeter while investigating bee nutrition. Each lesson has a corresponding picture book related to each topic.

Lesson plans are free and available on the Center for Pollinator Research website in the resource library. Full unit modules for each grade can be found here.

For questions regarding the AG SEEDLINGS curriculum, email Heather Frantz at hud192@psu.edu.

group of people look through microscopes

Pennsylvania elementary educators spent three days at Penn State University Park Campus to learn science practices and content. The group visited the Frost Entomological Museum.

people sit at a table with vegetables

At The Student Farm, educators received hands-on lessons about farm to table.

a large group of people stand in a garden

Educators explored plants and pollinator interactions at The Arboretum at Penn State.

a farm field

These educators will bring knowledge and science practices back to their elementary classrooms this fall.

First Grade:

  • From Bee to Pie
  • Shape of Wings
  • The Flight of the Monarch Butterfly
  • The Emerald Trap
  • I am a Citizen Scientist

Second Grade:

  • From Bee to Pie
  • Pollinator Relay
  • Where in the World is R.T. Hummingbird
  • The Emerald Trap
  • I am a Citizen Scientist

Third Grade:

  • DIY Plant Fossils
  • The Waggle Dance
  • Bee-Healthy Farm
  • Match That Pollinator
  • I am a Citizen Scientist

Fourth Grade:

  • Pollinator Symmetry
  • The Waggle Dance
  • Darwin’s Orchid
  • Bee-Healthy Farm
  • I am a Citizen Scientist

Fifth Grade:

  • Match the Pollinator
  • Bee-Healthy Farm
  • The Million Dollar Fly
  • I am a Citizen Scientist