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Oklahoma Agriculture in the Classroom

Classroom Resources



Agriculture-Related Books

Gardens and Plant Science

A Gardener's Alphabet
Azarian, Mary
Houghton Mifflin, 2000
Grades PreK-4
Alphabet book celebrating the simple joys of gardening through woodcuts.
The Amazing Life Cycle of Plants
Barnham, Kay
Barron's Educational Series, 2018
Grades K-3
How do plants grow? Explore the journey from seed to sapling and beyond. Children have lots of questions about the world around them, and this book helps them discover many amazing and wonderful scientific facts about nature. The charming collage-effect illustrations are inspired by farms and scenery that the illustrator sees around her home in New Hampshire. Lively texts engage children and make this book a favorite to return to again and again. There are also Notes to Parents and Teachers at the end to encourage further exploration and learning.
Big Yellow Sunflower
Barry, Frances
Candlewick, 2009
Grades PreK-3
The petal-like pages open into a larger-than-life sunflower. With each page, a worm, a bee, a bird and other creatures watch as a seed germinates and grows in to a tall plant topped with a big bloom.
Squashed
Bauer, Joan
Puffin, 2001
Young Adult
If only Ellie's potentially prize-winning pumpkin would gain 200 more pounds in time for the Rock River Pumpkin Weigh-In, and if only Ellie could lose 20 or so pounds herself, her life might be perfect. Well, at least it would be perfect enough to give her the courage to make friends with Wes - the cute new guy at school. She's well on her way to winning big on all counts when frost and pumpkin thieves begin to attack! The thing is, Ellie has the sass, humor, and smarts to be a winner - whether or not her pumpkin breaks the scales ... if only she would realize it.
Linnea in Monet's Garden
Bjork, Christina
Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 1991
Grades 4-7
Linnea has visited Claude Monet's garden! In Paris, she got to see many of his actual paintings. Now she understands what it means for a painter to be called an Impressionist. This innovative art book for children contains full-color photos of many of Monet's famous paintings.
The Scarecrow's Hat
Brown, Ken
Peachtree, 2011
Grades PreK-2
Chicken admires Scarecrow's straw hat and is happy to learn he will trade it for a walking stick. She doesn't have a walking stick, but she knows someone who does. Badger will trade his for a ribbon - and so on. Children will enjoy the repetition and refrain.
The Little Scarecrow Boy
Brown, Margaret Wise
HarperCollins, 2005
Grades PreK-1
Little Scarecrow Boy longs to go with his dad, Old Man Scarecrow, to the fields to scare away crows, but he has to stay home and practice scary facial expressions. Convinced he is ready, he sneaks out early one morning and confronts a big black crow in the field. He succeeds in frightening the bird, filling his father with pride.
The Curious Garden
Brown, Peter
Little, Brown, 2009
Grades PreK-2
One rainy day, Liam sights a stairway leading up to an elevated train track, and climbs it, discovering a patch of wildflowers and plants struggling to survive amid the tracks. Liam is determined to turn this mangy growth into a garden, but first he must turn himself into a gardener. He prepares for spring by reading gardening books and gathers the tools and skills to bring his secret garden to full bloom.
Plant
Burnie, David
Eyewitness Books, DK, 2011
Grades 4-7
Photographs of flowers, fruits, seeds, leaves and more offer a view of the natural history of plant anatomy and growth. See the biggest flower in the world, where a seed develops, what the inside of a plant stem looks like, how a flower attracts insects, what a plant's reproductive organs look like, and how a dandelion spreads its seeds. Learn how plants defend themselves, why flowers are brightly colored, how a plant can climb, why some plants feed on insects, and why some plants have no seeds. Discover why some plants have spines and stingers, what plants looked like millions of years ago, how plants survive in the desert, how plants turn sunlight into energy, and much, much more.
The Tiny Seed
Carle, Eric
Little Simon, 2009
Grades PreK-2
Flower pods burst and dispatch their seeds to the wind; the air-borne seeds are subject to many disasters; and the ones that make it through the perils of the seasons to become mature flowering plants are still susceptible to being picked, trod upon and otherwise damaged. But nature allows for survivors, and so the tiny seed grows into a giant flower, releasing its seeds and continuing the cycle. Reissue of the 1970 edition, with expanded, expansive collage illustrations.
How Groundhog's Garden Grew
Cherry, Lynne
Blue Sky, 2003
Grades K-2
Groundhog loves to eat fresh veggies from his neighbor's garden until a friend teaches him to plant his own garden.
Our Shadow Garden
Colburn, Cherie Foster
Bright Sky, 2010
Grades PreK-2
When a beloved grandmother becomes ill and is no longer able to be in the sun, her granddaughter is inspired to create a garden she can enjoy. She and Poppa work together in secret to transform Nana's garden into a night-blooming oasis, a place where she can be with the creatures and plants that bring her happiness. As they work with seeds, trowels and wheelbarrows to cultivate moon flowers, star jasmine and other luminous, pale, sweet-smelling plants, they discover the sensory beauty of the garden at night. Gardening facts and tips accompany the illustrations, which were created by children who are battling cancer.
A Harvest of Color: Growing a Vegetable Garden
Eclare, Melanie
Ragged Bears, 2002
Grades K-3
A group of neighborhood children transforms a bare patch of earth into a vegetable garden, and in so doing, they learn how to plant in straight rows, how to thin seedlings, and how to cope with slugs and worms. They make notes on their efforts and compile useful lists of gardening tips. The result is a colorful, graphic scrapbook-diary-photo album.
Science With Plants
Edom, Helen
Usborne, 2007
Grades 2-6
Basic science concepts are presented in fun, hands-on activities for early elementary students. Topics covered include seed germination, water transportation, tranpiration, stem and leaf structure, pollination, vegetative reproduction, composting and basic soil structure. The book closes with an excellent desription of how our needs are met by plants.
Muncha, Muncha, Muncha
Fleming, Candace, and G. Brian Karas
Simon and Schuster, 2002
Grades PreK-2
After years of dreaming of planting a garden, Mr. McGreely finally takes hoe and watering can in hand and makes his dream come true. Late one night, three hungry rabbits appear. "Tippy-tippy-tippy, Pat! Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!" Packed with repetitive and onomatopoeic phrases, Fleming's tale will keep kids giggling and may even inspire them to chomp on a few carrots themselves.
Seedfolks
Fleischman, Paul, and Judy Pederson
HarperCollins, 1997
Grades 4-7
Using multiple voices, Fleischman takes readers to a modern inner-city neighborhood. where bit by bit the handful of lima beans an immigrant child plants in an empty lot blossoms into a community garden, tended by a notably diverse group of local residents. Toughened by the experience of putting her children through public school, Leona spends several days relentlessly bullying her way into government offices to get the lot's trash hauled away; others address the lack of readily available water, as well as problems with vandals and midnight dumpers; and though decades of waging peace on a small scale have made Sam an expert diplomat, he's unable to prevent racial and ethnic borders from forming. Still, the garden becomes a place where wounds heal, friendships form, and seeds of change are sown.
A Seed in Need
Godwin, Sam
Picture Window, 2004
Grades PreK-2
A colorful parade of inquisitive insects follows the progress of a sunflower seed in this first look at the life cycle of a sunflower.
First Peas to the Table: How Thomas Jefferson Inspired a School Garden
Grigsby, Susan, and Nicole Tadgell
Albert Whitman, 2012
Grades 1-4
Maya loves contests, so she is excited when her teacher announces they will plant a school garden like Thomas Jefferson's garden at Monticello--and they'll have a "First Peas to the Table" contest, just like Jefferson and his neighbors had each spring. Maya plants her pea seeds with a secret head start--found in Jefferson's Garden Book--and keeps careful notes in her garden journal. But her friend Shakayla has plans of her own for the contest...Susan Grigsby's light-hearted classroom story also presents scientific and historical information. Nicole Tadgell's watercolors add both appeal and botanical accuracy.
Grow Your Own: A yummy story about growing (and eating) your own food
Hall, Esther
Macmillan, 2011
Sidney and his mom live a busy life in a busy city. Dinner time is announced by the PING of the microwave, comes out of piping-hot boxes, and is eaten off knees. The closest Sidney ever comes to a vegetable is the mushroom on his pizza . . . and he usually picks that off. But when Sidney goes to visit Granny in the countryside, eating his greens suddenly gets a whole lot more interesting!
My Garden
Henkes, Kevin
Greenwillow/HarperCollins, 2010
Grades PreK-2
A girl, her mother's helper in a flourishing garden, imagines what her own garden would look like: "The flowers could change color just by my thinking about it...The rabbits wouldn't eat the lettuce because the rabbits would be chocolate and I would eat them."
The Man Who Fed the World: Nobel Prize Laureate Norman Borlaug and His Battle to End World Hunger
Hesser, Leon
Durban House, 2006
Young Adult
Nobel Prize winner for averting hunger and famine, Borlaug is credited with saving hundreds of millions from starvation.
The Seed Vault (Great Idea)
Juettner, Bonnie
Norwood House, 2009
Grades 4-6
The Seed Vault was created to preserve plant seeds as a way of protecting and insuring the world's food supply against natural disasters and diseases.
We Grew It, Let's Eat It!
Kenin, Justine
Tenley Circle, 2010
Grades PreK-3
Washington, DC, twins Annie and Veda learn about the White House vegetable garden and want to grow their own fruits and vegetables. But how can they do it, since they live in a city apartment? Watch the twins and senior gardener Ida work and play their way through planting, tending and harvesting in a community garden.
Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots: Activities to Do in the Garden
Lovejoy, Sharon
Workman, 1999
Flip, Float, Fly: Seeds on the Move
Macken, JoAnn Early
Scholastic, 2008
Grades PreK-4
Dandelion seeds drift on a breeze like parachutes. Coconuts plot into the ocean and sail away on waves. Burdock seeds stick to socks, sleeves and bunny fur.
Molly's Organic Farm
Malnor, Carol L., and Trina L. Hunner
Dawn, 2012
Grades K-4
Introduction to an organic farm through the eyes of a stray cat.
Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table
Martin, Jacqueline Briggs
Readers to Eaters, 2013
Will Allen is no ordinary farmer. A former basketball star, he's as tall as his truck, and he can hold a cabbage, or a basketball, in one hand. But what is most special about Farmer Will is that he can see what others can't see. When he looked at an abandoned city lot he saw a huge table, big enough to feed the whole world. No space, no problem. Poor soil, there's a solution. Need help, found it.
Seeds Grow!
Medearis, Angela Shelf, and Jill Dubin
Cartwheel, 2000
Grades PreK-1
Plant germination and growth is described in rhyming poetry. Without complex detail, germination, plant growth, flowering and pollination are identified.
Nibbles: A Green Tale
Middleton, Charlotte
Marshall Cavendish, 2010
Grades PreK-2
When dandelions, the guinea pigs' favorite food, begins disappearing, munched to "nothing more than bitten-down stalks," it's up to Nibbles to rescue the last plant so new seeds can fly through the air.
The Rainbow Tulip
Mora, Pat, and Elizabeth Sayles
Puffin, 2003
Grades PreK-3
Despite her awareness that her Hispanic family is different from toher families in the neighborhood, Stella fits in well and enjoys school. When she goes to the May parade at school in a tulip costume of many colors, she worries she will look different from everyone else. However, her perfect execution of the Maypole dance, her teacher's approval, and, above all, her mother's quiet love contribute to a perfect day for Stella.
Hana in the Time of Tulips
Noyes, Deborah, and Bagram Ibatoulline
Candlewick, 2005
Grades K-5
Rembrandt-inspired illustrations and text tell the story of tulip fever's impact on a Dutch family.
Understanding Photosynthesis with Max Axiom
O'Donnel, Liam and Richard Dominguez
Capstone, 2007
In graphic novel format, follows the adventures of Max Axiom, a science teacher and super-cool, super-scientist as he explains the science behind photosynthesis.
Seed, Soil Sun: Earth's Recipe for Food
Peterson, Cris, and David R. Lundquist
Boyds Mills, 2010
Grades PreK-3
After establishing that most of our food comes from seeds that grow with the help of soil and sunlight, this book talks a little about each element in the title, how it relates to the growing plant and how photosynthesis allows the plant to make energy. The last few pages tell how we consume the plant's energy as food.
A Fruit is a Suitcase for Seeds
Richards, Jean
Millbrook, 2003
Preschool
Introduction to seeds, their purpose, and growth. On each page, one or two short lines of text appear beneath a large illustration. Can be used as a read-aloud discussion starter, a prelude to planting seeds and observing their growth, or in preparation for dissecting fruits and vegetables in order to find the seeds inside. Two final pages in question-and-answer format offer more tidbits of information about seeds. Tiny silhouette people and suitcases parading across the bottom of the pages visually emphasize the suitcase theme.
Seeds
Robbins, Ken
Atheneum, 2005
Grades PreK-2
Robbins uses a simple text and many crisp, large-scale photos to introduce seeds to young children.
Pick, Pull, and Snap: Where Once a Flower Bloomed
Schaefer, Lola M.
Greenwillow, 2003
Grades K-2
Fold-out pages show how raspberries, corn and other foods grow, as plants make blooms, seeds and fruit.
On the Morn of Mayfest
Silverman, Erica, and Marla Frazee
Simon and Schuster Children's, 1998
Grades PreK-3
This is the lass / with hair like a nest / who walked in her sleep / on the morn of Mayfest. So begins the cumulative rhyme that propels this picture book to its celebratory conclusion - a spontaneous Mayfest parade! Best read aloud.
Genetics: From DNA to Designer Dogs
Simpson, Kathleen
National Geographic, 2008
Grades 4-6
Simpson begins with an ancient mystery: An Egyptian mummy is found who may or may not be the long-missing pharoah Hatshepsut, but only DNA testing can prove if she was related to other Egyptian royalty. These archaeological adventures are paired with study of the heredity of pea plants done by Gregor Mendel in the 1800s.
Freaky Flowers
Souza, DM
Franklin Watts, 2002
Grades 4-7
The book begins with a short course in botany that stresses vocabulary and processes. Subsequent chapters discuss different ways plants attract pollinators through colors, odors, and habitats. The last chapter acts as a warning that many plants are endangered because their pollinators are threatened, emphasizing the balance of nature. Small sidebars offer interesting bits of trivia about similar plants.
Tops & Bottoms
Stevens, Janet
Harcourt Brace, 1995
Grades K-4
Hoping to rise above his level of poverty, clever Hare strikes a deal with a rich and lazy bear in which Bear will contribute the land while Hare will provide the labor for a profitable harvest.
A Child's Garden of Verses
Stevenson, Robert Louis, and Gyo Fujikawa
Sterling, 2007
Grades PreK-2
The classic book of poems for children, originally published in 1885, can be used to connect students with agriculture. From golden apples to meadows or climbing cherry trees and enjoying the activities of a cow, these poems celebrate 19th Century farm life.
The Life Cycle of a Sunflower
Tagliaferro, Linda
Capstone, 2007
Grades PreK-2
This early reader book captures the development of the sunflower from seed through germination, growth, flower development and pollination and on to seed development.