Harvest of History

The National Gardening Association is proud to announce the launch of Harvest of History, an interactive Web site and fourth-grade curriculum dedicated to agriculture and rural life. It features interdisciplinary lessons, video clips depicting farming in the past and present, a database of primary sources including museum objects and documents, and links to relevant resources.

Few schoolchildren today understand how food travels from farm to table or the importance of agriculture in history. Harvest of History addresses these concerns by providing a technology-focused experience for learning about agriculture and rural life in a fun and exciting way. It will help students understand their rural roots while they meet state and national education standards for social studies and science.

Harvest of History is funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and is spearheaded by The Farmers’ Museum in Cooperstown, New York. Though the site focuses on agriculture in the state of New York, educators across the country can apply the interdisciplinary lessons. As a collaborating partner, the National Gardening Association provides a science-based gardening component to provide a hands-on learning experience. The garden modules lead teachers through the development of a “school farm project.” Instead of just learning about farming, students become farmers and thus develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for the field of agriculture.

The Harvest of History curriculum includes four modules: Where Are We? Who Are We? How Did We Get Here? Where are We Going? Each includes: an overview with background information on content an essential question links to the New York State Learning Standards a list of desired outcomes/indicators of success a list of student inquiries a list of resources a guide to the procedures social studies activities a garden module gardening activities an assessment activity extension activities

Harvest of History provides resources for teachers of all disciplines, and the curriculum can easily be adapted for other grade levels. Visit the Harvest of History Web site for more information.

Read the experiences of the Harvest of History pilot teachers.