Serving Montana Agriculture and growing prosperity under the Big Sky

Ag in the Classroom K-8 Projects

K-8 Projects

Explore the tabs below for a variety of education projects and curriculum materials related to Montana Ag topics!

Lesson plans for K-8 covering the importance of pollinators to agriculture and our food.

We would like to welcome you to the Montana Pollinator Education Project (MPEP)! This educational project has many components, including posters, pollinator ID cards, lesson plans, illustrations, and resource documents. The project was a collaborative effort between the following organizations: DNRC, NRCS, the Montana Department of Agriculture, and the Gallatin County Conservation District. Other agencies whose help was certainly appreciated include Montana State University Entomologists and the Xerces Society. Many photographers donated their photos so that students could see actual exceptional photos of pollinators, to them we give a huge thanks!

Pollinator Lesson Plans

Learning & Bulletin Board Resources

Teachers may order a complete color set of the pollinator cards, a poster, seeds for a pollinator garden, and other educational materials through the contact below. (Postage fees will be charged for orders outside of the continental U.S.) Contact Montana Agriculture in the Classroom to place an order.

Additional Resources

Be sure to share any other resources you find excellent for teaching about pollinators by sending the links to: agr@mt.gov. We will add them to our list and share them!

Pollinator Education Reading List

Click on the images below for more information about each book.

The Honey Makers

by Gail Gibbons

A Bee's Life Cycle

by Ruth Thomson

photo of bee on flower

Bees: A First Discovery Book

by Gallimard Jeunesse

photo of bee climbing inside flower

Bumblebees

by Sara van Dyck

photo of be and pollen

Butterflies

by Gallimard Jeunesse

First Discovers - Illustration of Butterflies

Why Do Bees Buzz

by Carol Butler & Elizabeth Evans

up close photo of bee

Attracting Native Pollinators

from the Xerces Society

Attracting Native Pollinators - pictures of flowers
Bee Basics: An Introduction to Our Native Bees

from USDA, by Beatriz Moisset, Ph.D. and Stephen Buchmann, Ph.D.

illustration of several bees on flowers

Getting Started

We would like to welcome you to the Montana Noxious Weed Education project. This educational project has many components, including posters, noxious weed identification and fact cards, common core aligned lesson plans, illustrations, and resource documents.

Lesson Plans for Grades K-9

All lessons are Common Core Aligned.

Also refer to the What Plants Talk About documentary, available on YouTube .

Learning & Bulletin Board Resources

One way we can communicate educational materials to a wide variety of learners on subjects as important as noxious weeds is to create school bulletin boards. This information packet has illustrations on all of the 32 noxious weeds in Montana. Please have students color the illustrations according to the correct colors of the noxious weeds, paying attention to the plant details.

Photos for all weeds are on the illustration pages and also on each of the 32 cards. Photos of each noxious weed can also be seen on the accompanying poster for this educational unit.

The 3 Ways to Know Montana Noxious Weeds lesson plan for grades K-2 and Unwanted Neighbors lesson plan for grades 5-7 both include activities for preparing a bulletin board.

We invite you to PLEASE share photos of your bulletin boards with us and other classrooms on Facebook. Our Facebook site is Montana Agriculture in the Classroom. Thank you for your educational help in the fight against noxious weeds in Montana

Noxious Weed Information Cards

All info cards linked below are in PDF format. If you are not able to view or download the files, Download and install Adobe Reader.

Introduction Information Card ( please read first)

Weed Weed Weed
1. Yellow Starthistle 12. Yellowflag Iris 23. St Johnswort
2. Dyer's Woad 13. Blueweed 24. Sulfur Cinquefoil
3. Japanese Knotweed 14. Hoary Alyssum 25. Common Tansy
4. Purple Loosestrife 15. Canada Thistle 26. Oxeye Daisy
5. Rush Skeletonweed 16. Field Bindweed 27. Houndstongue
6. Scotch Broom 17. Leafy Spurge 28. Yellow Toadflax
7. Tansy Ragwort 18. Whitetop 29. Saltcedar
8. Meadow Hawkweed Complex 19. Russian Knapweed 30. Curlyleaf Pondweed
9. Orange Hawkweed 20. Spotted Knapweed 31. Eurasian Watermilfoil
10. Tall Buttercup 21. Diffuse Knapweed 32. Flowering Rush
11. Perennial Pepperweed 22. Dalmatian Toadflax  

Noxious Weed Coloring Page Illustrations

All illustrations linked below are in PDF format. If you are not able to view or download the files, Download and install Adobe Reader.

Weed Weed Weed
1. Yellow Starthistle 12. Yellowflag Iris 23. St Johnswort
2. Dyer's Woad 13. Blueweed 24. Sulfur Cinquefoil
3. Japanese Knotweed 14. Hoary Alyssum 25. Common Tansy
4. Purple Loosestrife 15. Canada Thistle 26. Oxeye Daisy
5. Rush Skeletonweed 16. Field Bindweed 27. Houndstongue
6. Scotch Broom 17. Leafy Spurge 28. Yellow Toadflax
7. Tansy Ragwort 18. Whitetop 29. Saltcedar
8. Meadow Hawkweed Complex 19. Russian Knapweed 30. Curlyleaf Pondweed
9. Orange Hawkweed 20. Spotted Knapweed 31. Eurasian Watermilfoil
10. Tall Buttercup 21. Diffuse Knapweed 32. Flowering Rush
11. Perennial Pepperweed 22. Dalmatian Toadflax  

Additional Educational Curriculum & Resources

Links for More Information

For more information on classroom integration of this project, please contact:

Shantell Frame-Martin: shantell.frame@montana.edu

Getting Started

We would like to welcome you to the Montana Invasive Species Education project (MISE). This educational project has many components, including posters, invasive species ID cards, lesson plans, and resource documents.

The project was a collaborative effort between the following organizations in order to combine resources into one comprehensive educational unit: DNRC, NRCS, the Montana Department of Agriculture, Fish Wildlife and Parks, Montana Noxious Weed Education Campaign, and other agencies who supplied time and funding. Many photographers donated their photos so that students could see actual exceptional photos of pollinators, and to them we give a huge thanks!

Reference Materials

Note: All materials listed below are in PDF format.

Lesson Plans

Note: All lesson plans listed below are in PDF format.

Recommended Reading List

For Students:
For Teachers:

Extended Online Resources

Download Extended Online Resources List as a Single PDF File (.8MB)

Montana Resources:
National Resources:

Montana Rangelands, Getting to Know the Pieces

Download a Montana Rangelands Poster
Download a Montana Rangelands Poster: Vocabulary List

Montana Rangelands Lesson Plans

Grow and Know with Montana Agriculture

Science, Math, Reading, Communication Arts, and Art integrated lessons. (Listings by Grade Level, Title, and Montana Standards)

Additional Gardening Curriculum Resources

Contact

 



Stay connected with us on Facebook & Twitter. Up-to-date-information will be shared about grants and workshops.

  

Return to the Ag in the Classroom home tile