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Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom

Farm Bureau Photo

December is the last month for harvesting cotton in Oklahoma.

If you have cotton fields in your area, now would be the time to get cotton bolls.

Cotton has been an important crop in Oklahoma since statehood. Oklahoma cotton fields produced 864,000 bales of cotton in 1907. Production in 2006 was 190,000 bales, with $50 million in cash receipts for lint and seed.

Cotton batting is cotton fiber from the cotton plant which has been wadded into rolls or sheets. Batting serves as the middle layer in quilts. In some quilts that are very old you can still feel the seeds and twigs from the cottton plant between the quilt layers.

Try a quilting project in December.

More lessons about cotton

Make Prairie Dolls from cotton fabric

Cotton Math

What math problems can your students develop from this cotton fact: "215 pairs of jeans and 1,217 T-shirts can be made from a bale of cotton."

P.A.S.S. for this activity

More cotton facts

The History of Cotton in Oklahoma

From Cotton to Denim (video)

Forestry

The forestry industry has also been important in Oklahoma since statehood. In 1910, three years after statehood, 164 million feet (one foot wide and 1 inch thick) of lumber were produced from Oklahoma forests. In 2006 forest products ranked number five of all agricultural commodities, and Oklahoma ranked number 9 in the nation for the value of products from our forests. Cash receipts from forest products in 2006 were $250 million.

Oklahoma's forest and paper industry employs nearly 11,000 people, with an annual payroll of $260 million, and contributes $750 million in value-added products to the state's economy annually. The primary products made from Oklahoma's timber are softwood and hardwood lumber, craft paper, oriented strand board (OSB), softwood plywood, railroad ties, pallets, writing paper, furniture veneers, posts and poles.

Forestry Product Lessons

Making Paper
Paper making is a great project for your students during this gift-giving season.

Chewed Paper and Sticky Stuff
Paper sculpture, in the form of papier mache is an old tradition. Some of the earliest fancy dolls had papier mache faces.

Mighty Oaks From Little Acorns
Gather the acorns falling from Oklahoma oak trees to start oak seedlings.

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Winter Solstice

In the Northern hemisphere, the shortest day and longest night of the year falls on December 22 and is called "winter solstice." Solstice means. "standing-still-sun." Winter solstice is when, because of the earth's tilt, our hemisphere is leaning farthest away from the sun; therefore, the daylight is the shortest and the sun has its lowest arc in the sky.

Since ancient times people have kept track of the length of days so they could understand where they were in the year. On the shortest day they knew that winter was halfway over. Understanding the time of year was very important to ancient farmers, just as it is now. Seeds needed to be planted at the right time. Crops from seed sown too early would be destroyed by bad weather. Crops planted too late would not have time to mature for harvest.

Solstice Activities

• Students will search online for a table showing sunrise and sunset in Oklahoma. (The National Weather Service has a sunrise/sunset table for Oklahoma.)
• Students will use the table to determine the hours of daylight through December and January.
• Students will use appropriate graphs to determine the midway point of winter (winter solstice) by finding the day with the least number of daylight hours.
• Students will research to find if the winter solstice always falls on the same day. Why might it be different each year?
• Students will graph the date of the solstice for the last 25 or 50 years. Is there a pattern?
• Lead a discussion about the length of days. Have students noticed there are activities they are no longer able to do in the evenings? Have they noticed it is darker outside when they wait for the bus in the morning?

P.A.S.S. for these activities

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O, Christmas Tree

The idea of decorating an evergreen tree as part of winter solstice celebrations comes from many lands and cultures. Coniferous trees have needle-like leaves and produce cones. These trees do not lose their needles in the fall. The needles drop off a little at a time during the year, especially in late summer. Although the trees remain green, they are not growing in the wintertime.

Plants that remain green in the winter remind us that spring will return, and once again the land will be lush and productive.

More Facts about Christmas Trees

Oklahoma Christmas Tree Farms

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Oklahoma Fruit of the Month: Plums

Plums grow wild along Oklahoma roadsides and are harvested all summer, from June to August. Many people make them into jellies or preserves. Native Americans sun-dried the plums for winter consumption. Oklahoma plums are eaten by several species of birds and mammals. The dense purple thickets stand out in the winter landscape and provide shelter for wildlife.

Little Jack Horner sat in a corner
eating his Christmas pie
Stuck in his thumb, pulled out a plum,
and said, "What a good boy am I."

Plum pudding, a traditional Christmas dessert from medeival England, is a steamed or boiled pudding which, oddly, has never contained plums. In the 17th century, the word "plum" referred to raisins or other fruits used in cakes, puddings, etc. This use probably arose from the substitution of raisins for dried plums or prunes. Plum pudding does contain raisins, which are called plums only when used in plum pudding.

Traditionally in England, small silver charms were baked in the plum pudding. A silver coin would bring wealth in the coming year; a tiny wishbone, good luck; a silver thimble, thrift; an anchor, safe harbor. It was also traditional for everyone who lived in the household to simultaneously hold onto the wooden spoon, help stir the batter for the pudding, and make a wish. During the Puritan reign in England, plum pudding was outlawed as "sinfully rich."

More facts about plums

Play With Your Food: Plums to Prunes and Back Again

Bring prunes to class and explain that they are dried plums.

• Students will measure the prunes.
• Students will measure water or juice before pouring it over the prunes to cover them.
• Students will predict how much of the liquid will be absorbed by the prunes overnight.
• Students will measure the prunes and liquid the next day to test their predictions.

Be a Food Explorer: What is It?

Bring an assortment of dried fruits: raisins, figs, dates, prunes, apricots, etc., along with their fresh equivalent.

• Students will examine the fruits and match dried fruits with fresh.
• Students will conduct a taste test and vote on their favorite dried fruit.
• Students will graph the results.

P.A.S.S. for these activities

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Christmas Decorations and Gifts from Oklahoma Ag Products

• Wheat or straw woven into the shape of angels or other holiday symbols.

• Origami (Paper is a product of loblolly pine grown in OK.) in the shape of a lamb, a doll, or a pig.

• Long, hard dried okra painted with acrylic paint to look like Santa. Finish by spraying with polyurethane.

• Decorate strips of leather. (Leather is a product of the beef industry.)

• Oklahoma red dirt ornaments. Cut simple designs from heavy cardboard and decorate with samples of soil in different colors. (See "Dirty Pictures.") Mix in glitter to make them more festive.

• Make use of shredded office paper to make pulp for Papier Mache ornaments. (Chewed Paper and Sticky Stuff.")

• Make play dough, and shape it in the form of farm animals. Put a hole in the ornament before cooking. After cooking the ornament, glaze with spray varnish. Tie a string through the hole, and you have a keepsake. Additional information about making ornaments like this are available from this website.

• Yarn angel ornament.

• Take a few stalks of wheat, spray them gold and tie them with a bright ribbon or bow, then fasten them to the tree with a piece of gold wire. Sprinkle on some gold glitter while the paint is wet, and it will stick to the seeds..

• Stick cloves into crab apples for an ornament that smells as wonderful as it looks.

Shredded Wheat Wreath

Cool Whip Type Lids
Shredded Wheat
Glue
Green Food Color
Red Hots

• Crumble shredded wheat and mix with enough glue and green food coloring to coat. Put it onto the cool whip lid and shape it around the edge so it looks like a wreath. Press in the red hots for the berries and let dry overnight.

Scented Heating Pad With Oklahoma Grain (or legumes)

tube socks or heavy flannel
wheat kernels, dried corn, barley, rye or beans
cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, lavendar, rosemary, dried orange peel

• Use tube socks or sew heavy flannel in a tube.
• Fill with wheat kernels, dried corn, or beans.
• Provide cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, lavendar, rosemary and other aromatic herbs and spices.
• Allow students to select their own scents to add to the grains.
• To use, place in clean microwave for one minute and apply to sore area.

P.A.S.S. for these activities

Share your ideas.

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December Books

Hospkinson, Deborah, Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt, Knopf, 1995. - As a seamstress in the Big House, Clara dreams of a reunion with her Momma, who lives on another plantation - and even of running away to freedom. Then she overhears two slaves talking about the Underground Railroad. In a flash of inspiration, Clara sees how she can use the cloth in her scrap bag to make a map of the land - a freedom quilt - that no master will ever suspect.

Tiffault, Benette W., Quilt for Elizabeth, Centering, 1996. - Eight-year-old Elizabeth learns to accept the death of her father by learning to sew. She and her grandmother piece together patches of saved clothing that holds treasured memories of her father.

Williams, Sherley Anna, Working Cotton, Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1996. - Shelan, the young child of two migrant workers, follows her parents into the fields to help them pick cotton during a long day of work, in a dramatically illustrated study of migrant family life.

Woodson, Jacqueline, and Hudson Talbott, Show Way, Putnam, 2005.- A Show Way is a quilt with secret meanings. Based on Woodson's own history, the story is of African American women across generations, from slavery and the civil rights movement to the present.

Jordan, Sandra, Christmas Tree Farm, Scholastic, 1993. - Describes the activities that take place on a Christmas tree farm in Rhode Island throughout each season of the year.

Winter, Jeanette, The Christmas Tree Ship, Philomel, 1994. - Based on the true story of Herman Schuenemann, who, beginning in 1887, sailed down Lake Michigan each year from upper Michigan to bring a shipload of Christmas trees to the city. One year, tragedy strikes and his ship goes down in a storm. "When the snows of November blew in again," however, his wife and daughters decide to carry on the tradition, and the tree-laden schooner sails once again.

Recommend a book.

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Ag Art for December

More Agriculture in Art

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Biodegradable Soy Plastic

1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 drops food coloring (any color)
1 teaspoon soybean
(vegetable)
oil microwave (use with adult supervision)
1 sandwich-size resealable plastic bag
water

1. Place the cornstarch into the plastic bag.
2. Add the soybean oil to the cornstarch.
3. Add1 tablespoon water.
4. Close the bag and knead it, mixing the contents.
5. Add two drops of your favorite food coloring to the mixture.
6. Knead to mix.
7. Seal the bag, leaving a corner of the bag open to vent the contents.
8. Heat the bag in the microwave oven for 20 – 25 seconds on high.

Caution: Bag will be hot!

Source: Ohio Soybean Council

Soy Lip Balm

1. Place beeswax in a plastic bag and smash it into small pieces with a hammer.
2. Melt beeswax over low heat.
3. Add oil and flavoring.
4. Pour into container.
5. Cover tightly.

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Do carrots really help you see better?

During the Second World War the carrot was widely used as a substitute for scarce commodities. In Britain the Ministry of Food promoted Woolton Pie, composed entirely of vegetables. Potato, carrot and rutabaga provided the basic ingredients, with onion and cauliflower added when available. British children ate carrots as a substitute for the fruit they could no longer obtain.

Britain's Air Ministry spread the word that a diet of carrots helped pilots see Nazi bombers attacking at night. That was a lie intended to cover a new secret radar system which pinpointed some enemy bombers before they reached the English Channel.

News stories began appearing in the British press about extraordinary personnel manning the defences, including Flight Lieutenant John Cunningham, an RAF pilot dubbed "Cats Eyes" because his exceptional night vision allowed him to spot his prey in the dark. Cunningham's abilities were chalked up to his love of carrots. The Royal Air Force bragged that the great accuracy of British fighter pilots at night was a result of them being fed enormous quantities of carrots. The Germans bought it because their folk wisdom included the same myth.

The disinformation was so persuasive that the English public took to eating carrots to help them find their way during the blackouts

 

Sorghum feeds Oklahoma cattle

Sorghum is a native of Africa, but its drought resistance makes it a crop that grows well in Oklahoma. Oklahoma ranked number six in the nation in the production of grain sorghum in 2006.

Most of the sorghum grown in Oklahoma is grain sorghum, used as a feed for cattle. Sorghum is also grown as silage, another form of cattle feed. In many parts of the world sorghum is an important food for people, too. It is made into unleavened breads, boiled porridge or gruel, malted beverages, popped grain, and syrup, from sweet sorghum. Sorghum is the fifth most important cereal crop in the world, after wheat, rice, maize, and barley.

Early in our history sorghum syrup was widely used as a sweetener because sugar was rare and expensive. Like sugar and honey, sorghum syrup is high in calories.The calories from sorghum syrup are not empty calories like those from sugar, though. Sorghum syrup is a source of iron, calcium and potassium. Before the invention of daily vitamins, many doctors prescribed sorghum as a daily supplement for people with deficiencies in these nutrients.

Sorghum syrup is available in grocery stores in the form of sorghum molasses, although true molasses is made from some of the byproducts from sugar. Molasses is a main ingredient in gingerbread. Gingerbread is a traditional Christmas treat made into gingerbread houses and gingerbread men. For the pioneers gingerbread was often served with meals as a bread, like cornbread. Try this healthy version of gingerbread and serve it warm with butter or whipped cream. It will make your classroom smell wonderful.

Sorghum Gingerbread

1/3 cup sorghum molasses
1/2 cup honey
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 cups milk
Whipped cream

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat molasses, honey, oil and eggs until well-mixed.
2. Combine dry ingredients and add alternately with the milk to the egg mixture.
3. Pour batter into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. Serve warm or at room temperature with chilled whipped cream.

Gingerbread/Sorghum Learning Activities

Before combining the ingredients, set up comparison stations with samples of sorghum molasses, honey and sugar and samples of white flour and whole wheat flour.

• Students will compare and contrast the sweeteners and the flour based on sight, feel and taste.

Students will use online search engines or library references to find countries where sorghum is a primary food for humans.

• Students will locate and use map pins to mark the countries on a large world map or color the countries in on a smaller world map.

Students will use online search engines and library references to research the process used to make sorghum syrup.

• Students will use technology to present their findings to the class.

P.A.S.S. for these activities

More sorghum facts

Toys Then and Now

Many of the toys and gadgets your students are expecting as holiday gifts are made from plastics made with soybeans or corn. Henry Ford experimented with soy-based plastics in the production of his cars. In 1940 he swung an axe at a car trunk to demonstrate the durability of soy plastics.

Make your own plastic from cornstarch and soybean oil.

Great student-made holiday gift: Soy/Beeswax Lip Balm

More Christmas Decorations and Gifts From Oklahoma Ag Products

More soybean facts

Remind your students that expensive toys and electronic games have not always been traditional gifts. "Back in the day," children looked forward to fresh fruit in their stockings and often made their own toys from what they could find around the house and farm. Fresh fruit in winter has not always been as readily available as it is now, so it was a special treat. Help your students experience a simpler time by making their own toys with Corn Cob Toys

P.A.S.S.