What is your favorite food? Chances are a soybean product is being used to process it or, if it’s a meat dish, was used to feed the animal. Other living things (microbes) help to make our food, too. Check out these activities to see what’s cooking! This unit features 4 lessons and 18 files. Lessons are aligned to NGSS.

Create experiments to test how abiotic factors impact soybean germination, go into the field and laboratory to determine the impact of aphid populations on soybeans, and experiment with aphid resistant genes (Rag genes) to determine their effectiveness against soybean aphids. This unit features 3 lessons and 10 files. Lessons are aligned to NGSS.

Make biodiesel and create a scale model of an anaerobic digester, while investigating bioenergy and how it is produced. This unit features 5 lessons and 16 files. Lessons are aligned to NGSS.

An introduction to genetic engineering through hands-on and modeling activities that illustrate concepts, which will scaffold student understanding for lab activities to follow, especially focused on the use of bacteria. This unit features 5 lessons and 14 files. Lessons are aligned to NGSS.

If the atmosphere is about 80% Nitrogen (N2), but plants cannot use that form, how do they get nitrogen? In this unit, students plant and care for soybeans under one of five different nitrogen/microbe regimes.

As the plants grow, students analyze and maintain records of their plant’s progress. Students will become familiar with the vegetative and reproductive stages of the soybean (more information and pictures of these stages can be found at the OSU crop extensions sites). Students keep records of the dates in which they observe these reproductive transitions. This unit features 2 lessons and 7 files. Lessons are aligned to NGSS.

In this lesson students will plant and care for soybeans under one of three different photoperiod regimes: First month: 16 hours; Second month: 14 hours; third month: 12 hours (control). 16 hours for all three months (long days). * 12 hours for all three months (short days)

As the plants grow, students will analyze and maintain records of their plant’s progress. This unit features 2 lessons and 7 files. Lessons are aligned to NGSS.

Participate in a simulation that shows how various factors influence plant growth and what role probability plays. Powerpoint with instructions and information included. This unit features 1 lesson and 7 files. Lessons are aligned to NGSS.

Current trends in consumer behavior show that people want to eat healthier and are looking for simple ways to transform their diets. High oleic soybean oil features lower saturated fat while maintaining 0 grams of trans fat, which may lower cholesterol and support heart health. This unit features 2 lessons and 6 files. Lessons are aligned to NGSS.

A lot of questions surround definitions of genetic modification. This unit models two different techniques of genetic modification and tries to help students understand the terms and the consequences of human intervention in food production. This unit features 3 lessons and 6 files. Lessons are aligned to NGSS.

Become a “farmer” on a journey from pre-planting to harvest to see what decisions farmers are making every year as they farm. Growers across the country are gaining access to more and more data about their farms. The data is being gathered through equipment or other precision agriculture techniques, then it must be analyzed so that decisions made will be based on evidence. Scientists in all disciplines use the same practices as farmers. This unit features 5 lessons and 27 files. Lessons are aligned to NGSS.

Soybeans contain several components which innovators and entrepreneurs find valuable when creating greener products. What are the chemical building blocks in a soybean? This unit features 4 lessons and 6 files. Lessons are aligned to NGSS.

Create models to understand DNA and the gene transfer process used in biotechnology. Explore questions: Are there harmful side effects of biotechnology? Can biotech solve world hunger? Should GMO foods be labeled? This unit features 5 lessons and 5 files. Lessons are aligned to NGSS.

Students act as lab technicians working for a cosmetic company and learn the names, functions and units of common lab and measuring equipment by generating soy-based beauty products. Students will learn how to use SLOPs to create soy-based beauty products and research STEM career fields within the cosmetic industry. This unit features 5 lessons and 5 files. Lessons are aligned to NGSS.

About 48 million people (1 in 6 Americans) get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die each year from foodborne diseases, according to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Microbes in food are the culprits. The purpose of these protocols is to investigate the effectiveness of bio-based cleaners at reducing bacterial counts on lab stations. This unit features 4 lessons and 10 files. Lessons are aligned to NGSS.

This unit asks students to create a windmill structure using the Engineering Design Process. A farmer has hired your company, Wind Power Technologies, to engineer a derrick to support a high-efficiency, wind-powered generator for a new electric water pump. This unit features 2 lessons and 2 files. Lessons are aligned to NGSS.

Access to clean water is a critical issue in many countries. In the United States there are few places where we cannot find clean water to drink or swim in. This unit explores some of the potential problems involved in maintaining good water quality. This unit features 3 lessons and 6 files. Lessons are aligned to NGSS.

Have you ever done a DNA extraction? Most DNA extractions are done with a known source and students can visualize DNA. The favorite items are strawberries or students’ own cheek cells. This unit shows what biotech scientists do next. This unit features 2 lessons and 3 files. Lessons are aligned to NGSS.

Understand and appreciate food producers through this case study and determine what decisions must be made on a yearly, monthly, or daily basis to maintain an environmental system that will continue to produce food and products to meet consumer demands while maintaining soil and water quality. This unit features 3 lessons and 7 files. Lessons are aligned to NGSS.

This activity is an indoor lab investigation where students compare and contrast different growing environments for a lima bean seed and discover the optimal conditions needed for growth.

This activity is a teacher-directed investigation where students observe leeches, create questions and determine which ones are investigable. Together, teacher and students design and carry out a test for their question and record the information in a science notebook.