NEW MATRIX LESSON! Sorghum at School: Learn, Grow, Pop, Taste. Grades K-2. Students investigate how and where sorghum is grown and discover its health benefits.

NEW MATRIX LESSON! Sorghum at School: The Sorghum Story. Grades 3-5. Students will investigate sorghum, including the stages of plant growth, production in the United States, health benefits, geography, and positive environmental impacts.

Wheat Germ DNA. Grades 3-5. Using wheat as an example, students explore how DNA determines the genetic traits of a plant and how plant breeders change the DNA of a plant to produce desired characteristics.

Enjoying the Harvest. Grades 3-5. Students identify the parts of a wheat plant and wheat kernel and investigate the process of milling wheat kernels into flour.

Get Popping! Grades 3-5. Students discover how popcorn is grown and explore the phenomenon of how popcorn pops.

FoodMASTER: Grains. Grades 3-5. Students describe the steps of making flour, compare the nutritional value of different cereals, compare cooked and uncooked rice, and identify the parts of a whole grain.

Wheat and Dolls. Grades 3-5. Students investigate how wheat is grown and processed into flour and other wheat products and create wheat puppets to perform a play.

Oat. Grades 3-5. Students will be able to explain the history of oats and locate where they are grown on a Maine map. They will be able to identify what part of the plant oats are from and their climate requirements. Students will also use writing techniques to write about nutrition and the importance of oats.

More Than One Grain of Rice. Grades 3-5. Students investigate the cultivation and identify the parts of rice by reading One Grain of Rice by Demi and removing the hull, bran, and germ from grains of rice.

More Than One Grain of Rice. Grades 6-8. Students will learn about the cultivation and parts of rice while also covering subjects including mathematics, economics, and geography. Activities include reading One Grain of Rice by Demi and removing the hull, bran, and germ from grains of rice.

Wheat: Ancient and Ageless. Grades 6-8. Students will explore the importance of wheat in the development of culture by learning about the advent of agriculture, discussing wheat cultivation in ancient Egypt, threshing a head of wheat with their hands, and making a corn dolly out of wheat stems.

FoodMASTER Middle: Grains. Grades 6-8. Students will learn the physical components and nutritional composition of a grain, understand the function of the protein gluten in the structure of bread products, and investigate how mechanical and chemical digestion begins with salivary amylase in the mouth.

Growing America. Grades 6-8. Students determine corn anatomy and function of plant parts, identify stages of plant development in corn, and research how temperature plays a role in corn growth as they calculate growing degree units (GDUs) for a region.

The Columbian Exchange of Old and New World Foods. Grades 9-12. Students explore New World and Old World food origins to discover how the Columbian Exchange altered people’s lives worldwide.

Looking for more? Explore the Agricultural Literacy Curriculum Matrix HERE

Maine Grain Alliance - Kids Grain Education. Learn all about grains, watch baking videos led by kids, explore fun activities, and do grain math problems!

How Does Rice Grow? Rice is widely eaten worldwide, but did you know we grow rice here in the U.S.? Learn more in this article from the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture.

Wheat Kernel Samples. This kit contains kernels of the six classes of wheat grown in the United States. Samples of Hard Red Winter, Hard Red Spring, Soft Red Winter, Soft White, Hard White, and Durum are included. Use these samples to discuss the different characteristics of wheat. Wheat kernel samples complement the lesson Wheat Germ DNA.

Wheat Bundle. Wheat is the most widely used grain across the globe. Experience threshing and grinding the wheat with your students to accompany any lesson on wheat, flour, or bread. Each wheat bundle has 35 stalks of wheat.

Serious Cereal Science Kit. Use this kit to introduce students to careers that keep cereal on grocery store shelves. Just as grains were foundational in the advent of agriculture thousands of years ago, they continue to play a central role in agriculture and food security today. Corn, rice, and wheat provide more than half of the calories consumed by people worldwide. The science of cereal science is serious business!

Grains and Legumes of the World. This hands-on activity explores grains and legumes common in global agricultural production—barley, dent corn, popcorn, oats, rice, wheat, soybeans, lentils, and pinto beans. Students create their own journals that include important facts, descriptions, and samples of the seeds of these crops. Teachers can use the information to expand students’ knowledge of agriculture while connecting to lessons in social studies and science. This kit contains enough seeds for a classroom of students. A master copy of the grains and legumes information cards is also included.

World Fabric Map. This fabric map is an excellent resource for "hands-on" geography activities. The cotton fabric washes well and can be taken outside. Countries and their capitals, and major bodies of water are identified. Each map has been serged around the edges. Order the map individually, or add on a set of Herbs and Spices Cards, Where in the World Food Cards, or Lunch Cards. Students will use the cards to identify where in the world each of the foods come from.

Get Popping! How does popcorn pop? Investigate this phenomenon by observing how heat affects the water inside a popcorn kernel. See a demonstration of this investigation by viewing the Get Popping! video. This kit contains safety glasses, test tubes, a test tube clamp, an alcohol lamp, balloons, aluminum foil, vegetable oil, boiling stones, and popcorn kernels. This kit complements the lesson Get Popping! 

Popcorn on the Cob. Pop popcorn right off the cob! Place the cob in a paper bag, fold the top of the bag down twice to secure the top, place in the center of a microwave, and heat on high power for 1-1/2 to 3-1/2 minutes. Kit includes a popcorn cob and a brown paper bag. 

Wheat Germ DNA Necklace. Is there DNA in my food? Absolutely! Each variety of wheat has DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) that gives it certain genetic traits or characteristics. Use this kit to extract and observe strands of DNA from wheat germ. Kit includes test tubes, stir sticks, pipettes, microcentrifuge tubes, and yarn with enough supplies for a classroom of students. The Wheat Germ DNA Necklace kit complements the lesson Wheat Germ DNA.