Farmers Market Field Trip

Rachel Hudek
Lesson Plan #5
Fruits and Vegetables
Grade: 3
1. Theme/Title for the day’s lesson with a brief description:
All about the Farmers Market in Winona, MN
The class will be visiting the local farmers market in Winona. They will learn how the Farmers Market is structured and what its purpose is. They will also learn about the history of the Farmers Market in Winona and gain knowledge on its recent production.

2. Materials/resources needed:
Book: “Farmer’s Market” by Marcie Rendon and Cheryl Walsh Bellville, crayons, markers, blank white paper, bus, first aid kit

3. Goals for today’s lesson:
-Students will gain knowledge on locally grown fruits and vegetables.
-Students will understand that the Farmers Market is a vital contribution to the community.

4. Objectives for the day’s lesson:
-Given the trip to the Farmers Market, the student will gain knowledge on the markets history in Winona.
-Given the book, “Farmer’s Market,” the student will receive a brief overview on Farmers Markets.

5. Procedure:
Introduction:
Begin by reading pages 6-11 and 34-39 in the book, “Farmer’s Market.” This book describes the importance of Farmers Markets to local communities and families. It also describes why Farmers Markets sell the fruits and vegetables that they do and how the growing process of the fruits and vegetables works. Allow time for questions and comments. (5 minutes) Next explain to the students that they will be getting their coats on and then loading the bus to go the Farmers Market in downtown Winona. The rules and procedures of the field trip have already been discussed prior to today, so time does not need to be spent on that unless the students have questions or concerns. (3 minutes)

Developmental Procedures:
Once arriving at the Farmers Market, one of the directors will come and greet the students and give a basic overview of the field trip. He/she will explain to the students some of the fruits and vegetables they will be seeing, inform them that they will get to plant their own fruit or vegetable to take home and grow, and that they will also be meeting some of the local farmers. (3 minutes)
The class will be broken into small groups, so the students will get more one on one instruction at each station. At least one chaperone will accompany each group. The groups will tour the different areas of the Farmers Market. These areas include: planting their own fruit/vegetable, talking with local farmers, looking at different fruits and vegetables, tasting different fruits and vegetables, and viewing newspaper clippings and websites that inform others about the Winona Farmers Market. Each station will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. (1 hour and 40 minutes)
Take time to allow the students to ask any final questions they may have about the Farmers Market. Have the students thank everyone at the Farmers Market that was involved in helping with the field trip. The students will then load the bus. (10 minutes)

Closure:
Once the class has arrived back at the school and taken off their coats, have them sit at their desks. Hand out a blank white piece of paper and crayons/markers to each of the students. Instruct them in making a “Thank You” card for the people at the Farmers Market that assisted with the field trip today. Ask them to be as neat as possible, include something they learned from the field trip, and to sign their name on the card. Tell them that they will be mailed to the director of the Farmers Market so he/she knows how much the class appreciated and enjoyed their visit. (20 minutes)

6. Assessments used during the lesson:
Assessments for today’s lesson will be reading the “Thank You” cards to see what each student learned from the field trip. If each student can say that they learned something new from the trip then it was a success.