Student's Page

Activity #1

Time: Three Classes

Activity #1 will involve students learning how to establish and run a potato farm. This activity will teach students how to run a farm, to budget money, to learn responsibility and the importance of hard work. The criteria of the activity goes as follows:

Students will be placed in groups of two (1 male, 1 female if possible).
Students will be notified that their bank loan of $100,000 dollars has been approved.
Students will be asked to purchase farming equipment, seeds, building supplies, and hiring employees.
Students will be required to construct a report explaining what they purchased, how much it cost, and how many employees were hired. A list of qualifications you are looking for when hiring an employee. Also, the report will involve a description of a typical year as a potato farmer. Students must include the process of planting, growing and harvesting potatoes. Students should keep in mind that creativity is important in this activity and their imagination is an asset!
Students will be given three classes in the Resource Center to research the material needed to complete their report.
Reports must be completed three weeks from the date the assignment was given.
The length of the report must be 3-5 typed pages.

The following websites will assist students in completing Activity #1:

1. The website, http://collections.ic.gc.ca/potato/index.asp will provide students with history, science and technology, and resources associated with potato farming.

2. The website, http://www.potatonet.com/home.html will provide students with tips for developing a potato farm.

3. The website, http://collections.ic.gc.ca/potato/cycle/index.asp will assist students to construct a typical year as a potato farmer.

4. The websites, http://www.sunspiced.com/pgrowing2.html and http://www.farmcoinc.comwill help students to purchase farming equipment.

5. The website, http://www.atlantic-lifestyles.com will provide students with access to the Agricultural links of Atlantic Canada.

6. The websites, http://www.potatoblossom.com and http://www.robinsons.pe.ca will provide students with an example of a potato farming business.

7. The websites, http://www.bedlingtonfarms.com and http://www.truenorthseed.com/products.htm will be provided to help students purchase seeds for their farm. Each company is based in the United States but sell to Canada. Also, each company has an e-mail address in which the students can contact for a price list.

8. The website, http://www.linkfarm.com will assist students in the growing process of potato farming.

9. The website, http://www.peisland.com/budthespud will provide students with a variety of ideas associated with potato farming.

Activity #2

Time: One class

Activity #2 will involve students discovering the importance of soil conservation. As a farmer, a student must be aware of the techniques required to maintain a long healthy life for their land. The activity will include the following steps:

Students will be required to research a number of techniques used to maintain soil's durability.
A list of some techniques would include: tillage, crop rotation, strip cropping, residue management, cross-slope farming, and mulching.
Students will be asked to choose three different techniques that best suits their farm. Each technique must be described and incorporated into the report from Activity #1.
Students will be given one class in the Resource Center to complete their research on soil conservation.

The following website will assist students in obtaining information on soil conservation:

1. http://www2.gov.pe.ca/af/agweb/library/documents/soilconserv/link7.asp

2. http://www.gov.on.ca/OMAFRA/english/crops/index.html

Activity #3

Time: Two classes

Activity #3 will involve students developing a map of their potato farm. The map must include the following features:

farmland - crops
three techniques of soil conservation from Activity #2
dwellings
legend
title

Materials:

colored pencils or markers

Activity #4

Time: Two classes

Activity #4 will involve students conducting a ten minute oral presentation about their project (map should be incorporated into the presentation). The oral portion of the project will not be required to be written and passed in separately. Oral presentations will begin two weeks after the date the assignment was given.

Activity #5

Time: One class

Activity #5 will involve students preparing a potato dish and bringing it to class for everyone to sample. This is a "fun" activity that can be omitted if necessary.

The following website will help students find potato recipes:

1. http://www.linkfarm.com/

2. http://food.epicurious.com/run/recipe/view?id=40042

Evaluation

Written Report - 25%

Oral Presentation - 10%

Map - 15%

Assessment

Written Report

Organization
Grammar
Sources
Originality

Oral Presentation

Voice projection
Body language
Eye contact
Creativity
Visual aids
Originality

Map

Originality
Creativity
Contains all attributes (legend, title)

Reflection

The purpose of the webquest was to get students thinking! The students should take the time and ask themselves a number of questions about the project. Was the project fun? Did you find the topic interesting? Did it take longer than expected to complete all activities? Do any of you want to be a potato farmer? Would you like to have a career in map making? Does budgeting money make you feel more responsible? Do you think farming is hard work? Do you now appreciate the importance of hard work? Was it exciting to be running your own farm? Did you enjoy listing the criteria you would look for in a good employee? Do you think farming is important? Why or why not?

Conclusion

Overall, the webquest provided students with the opportunity to look at the broader picture of culture in our society. The whole concept of culture can be examined differently from person to person. If you asked the general question, "What is culture?", you will receive many different responses. Answers may range from someone suggesting that culture involves religion while another may focus on schooling, occupations or even food. What ever the case may be, all answers are correct. The main focus of this webquest was to look at one aspect of culture, lifestyles. After completing all activities, students should be aware of the different lifestyle a farmer lives in comparison to a banker or a lawyer. However, it's important for students to realize that all occupations include hard work. There are some jobs that require more mental concentration while others may focus more on physical strength. But both are still hard work. Also, students will learn the importance of responsibility and how it affects their lives. Developing responsibility and understanding the importance of hard work are two lessons that students will carry with them for the rest of their lives.

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