Harvesting Wheat Edible Schoolyard Pittsburgh. Fall September

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1 Harvesting Wheat Edible Schoolyard Pittsburgh Fall September MATERIALS World map showing the development of farming through the dispersal of the rice, maize, and wheat Hunter- gatherer vs. farmer game cards Garden scissors Row cover PREPARATION Make sure your wheat is ready to harvest: the color of the stalks should change from green to yellow or brown. The seed heads will tilt toward the ground, weighted down with grains. Taste a few grains by picking a seed head and picking out some grains. Grains that are ready to harvest are firm and crunchy, not soft and doughy. PROCEDURE Part 1: Grains, grains, grains! Tell students the domestication of plants and animals did two main things. 1.) changed wild plants and animals to creatures that depend on humans for support and 2.) changed the diet and lifestyle of the humans who keep them. Have students brainstorm what would happen to chickens and cows (or even their cats and dogs), or the plants in our garden if left unattended. What would happen to humans if we didn t grow food? Part 2: Hunter- gatherer or? Humans have been farming grain for over 10,000 years, but before that, humans all were migratory hunter- gatherers. Explain the definition of each lifestyle to students. Break students into two groups. Have each group think up pros and cons to each lifestyle. What are some of the benefits to a hunter- gatherer lifestyle? Farming lifestyle? Chart the benefits and hardships to each lifestyle with the game cards attached. Part 3: Harvesting Wheat Taste test. Harvest 1-2 seed heads and pull off the grains, rubbing between your palms to remove ch Hand out to each student to taste: are they firm and crunchy as they should be? Tell students, We are going to be harvesting our wheat in small groups using garden scissors. Break wheat bed into sections, assigning each group of students a small section to harvest. Assign one stud each group the task of arranging the wheat stalks making sure all stalks are organized and facing th direction. Have students cut the wheat a few inches from the ground in rotating groups. Once all the wheat had been harvested, using student volunteers demonstrate for the group how to wheat into a sheave (12 circumference bundle.) Cover sheave with row cover to protect against birds, and leave in an undisturbed, airy place in the g for 7-10 days, when it will be ready for threshing, winnowing, and storing or grinding into flour.

2 Harvesting Wheat ENGAGE What have you eaten today? Now, determine how many of these foods had wheat, rice, or corn in them? Rice, wheat, and corn are the earliest crops that were developed on earth, and they are still some of the main sources of food we have in all human diets around the globe. Ask students to think of the qualities of grain foods, and why so many cultures are based around them? (Carbohydrates make us full, give us energy, store well). Does it make sense that they are staples in the human diet? EXPLAIN OBJECTIVES Senses & Surviva Students will understand agriculture as a system created humans, and not a natural process Students will understand the difference between hunter- gatherer and farming Students will understand the definition of domestication as From Hunter- Gatherer to Agriculture applies to humans, plants, and The shift from wild foraging to the planned cultivation of crops took place about 10,000 years ago. This transition from a hunter- gatherer migratory lifestyle to a sedentary, stable farming existence caused a lot of changes. As plants and animals were domesticated, they lost their ability to live in nature without human care. The vegetables, grains, and animals we depend upon for food are no longer wild; instead, they rely on human- maintained technologies to exist. The landscape of the planet has been modified to support the regime of farming. Forty- one percent of the world s population works in agriculture, and growing food takes up 40% of the land on our planet. Most surprising, perhaps, is that humans as farmers have been domesticated as well, both in our dietary needs and our lifestyle. As we developed alongside the culture of farming, our immobile societies were able to develop into complex civilizations. Farming provides a more dependable quota of food to eat, at the sacrifice of mobility and our wild terrain. Agriculture- based existence therefore can support larger populations than the nomadic existence of the hunter- gatherer, and more diverse lifestyles and complicated social structures for members of those societies. It Began with the Grains Rice, maize (corn), and wheat were the first crops, domesticated independently but contemporaneously in the areas around modern day China, Mexico, and ancient Sumeria. As the farming of these hearty, calorie- rich grains spread, modern civilization began to spread, as complex societies were able to form, based on the steady routine that farming requires. ADDITIONAL CONTENT INTEGRATION (see previous page) Humankind has developed a dependency on farmed plants and animals that have developed over millennia. Ask your students to think of other creations of humankind that we depend upon today. What are some human creations and innovations that we use and depend upon every day? Can we imagine a world without them? Have students choose a creation and write what the world would be like without it, how we would survive. ADDITIONAL MATERIALS Science journals EVALUATE Journal prompt: Illustrate the hunter- gather lifestyle versus the farmer s regimen. Label the benefits and disadvantages to each in your picture.

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4 vs. Game Cards Nomadic. People had to move around to follow the animals (who needed fresh grass) and find wild nuts, berries and insects to eat. They could not set up permanent homes or cities and carried their few belongings with them. Farming cultures were totally dependent on their own ability to grow food and care for animals, no matter the weather. If it was too hot or too rainy, their crops might not grow and their animals might not survive. populations were totally dependent on what they found in nature. Nothing else was available. Fruits and nuts needed to be collected in tall bushes and trees, insects needed to be caught and animals needed to be fished, speared or caught. s could plant crops, eat those crops and save seed from some of the crops to plant the coming year all in the same location. These seeds were like insurance for farmers. The idea of saving seeds changed the way people lived and the way food was grown forever. Hunter and Gatherer populations ate a wide variety of healthy foods that grew naturally. s could stay in one place with their domesticated (tame) animals and crops. They no longer had to travel in search of food or fresh grass. These people were very physically fit because their survival depended upon being able to walk to, run after and work hard to find and prepare their food. Processed food did not even exist! Farming cultures had more free time than Hunter Gatherers because they were not spending the majority of their time chasing food. They used this time to invent technology, improve language and create social systems. The majority of a s life was spent chasing after animals and tracking down wild food to eat. There was little time left for other activities like creating art or inventions. s ate mainly meat from animals they raised and tended instead of eating meat (like fish and seal) gathered from the rivers and oceans. Some people say this domesticated meat was less healthy than that of animals found in the wild

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