Life on the Farm, Part 2: Building a Farm in First Grade
This fall, our first graders have been hard at work as researchers, builders, writers, and scientists in an exciting interdisciplinary project: Building a Farm. Anchored by the essential questions Why are farms important? How are farms different? What happens on a farm? and How does location impact what can be produced?, students have spent the past several weeks exploring how farms sustain communities—locally and around the world.
Learning Through Books, Trips, and Curiosity
The project began in our classrooms with book explorations about the many types of farms—produce farms, dairy farms, tea farms, cranberry bogs, rice paddies, and more. Using the See–Think–Wonder protocol, students carefully studied photographs, illustrations, and diagrams, asking thoughtful questions about how different environments shape what a farm can grow or raise.
Some of the books students read included:
Thank a Farmer by Maria Gianferrari
Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World by Mia Wenjen
I Am Farmer: Growing an Environmental Movement in Cameroon by Baptiste and Miranda Paul
The Farm that Feeds Us: A Year in the Life of an Organic Farm by Nancy Castaldo
Two field trips brought this learning to life. At Wright-Locke Farm, students met an educational farm that focuses on produce, poultry, and bees. They observed beehives, noticed how crops were organized, and asked questions about harvesting and caring for animals. A week later, they visited Great Brook Dairy Farm, home to the first automated milking machine in Massachusetts. Seeing technology at work in a traditional setting sparked rich conversations about how farms grow and change over time.
A visit to Great Brook Farm
Back at school, students compared the two farms—animals, tools, purposes, products—using charts, drawings, and shared discussions. They also watched The Biggest Little Farm documentary, which helped them understand how farms evolve and what it takes for people, animals, soil, and climate to work together.
As part of broadening their global awareness, family members and outside presenters shared stories and images of farms from Greece, Asia’s rice paddies, New England’s cranberry bogs, and more. These connections helped students understand that farming practices reflect both tradition and environment.
Designing and Building: A Math and Engineering Adventure
With this rich foundation, students are now beginning their Final Integrated Project with the guidance of Ms Vicky: designing and constructing their own 3D working farm models! Because this group loves building and design challenges, they eagerly selected their farm types—Chocolate Farm/Factory, Rice Paddy, Dairy and Poultry Farm, or Produce Farm.
Math plays a major role in this stage of the work. Using grid paper, students are creating blueprints that include specific shapes and spatial planning. They will then move from blueprint to construction, creating 3D models at a 1:1 scale in inches, reinforcing their understanding of measurement, precision, and problem-solving.
Literacy in Action
Simultaneously, students are writing both fiction and nonfiction pieces about their farms. Groups are crafting stories about daily life on their farm and composing informational writing that answers key questions: Why is this farm important? What does it produce? How does it support the community? Students are also labeling structures, tools, and crops on their models. These writing experiences allow students to make their thinking visible while synthesizing what they have learned.
Science and Simple Machines
In the atelier, students are studying simple machines and choosing a piece of farm equipment—such as a pulley, lever, or wheel and axle—to build as a working model for their farm. This hands-on engineering work helps them understand how tools make farm work possible.
By integrating science, math, literacy, and creative problem-solving, this project allows first graders to investigate agriculture from multiple angles while building confidence as thinkers, makers, and collaborators. Their farms—and their learning—continue to grow!
