Lesson 1.2 – A World without Enough
Plants
Preface
What would the world be without enough plants? Plants harvest the sun’s energy
and convert raw nutrients into life-sustaining carbohydrates, fats, and oils. Animals
benefit from the energy stored as carbohydrates in plant material. Plants also
convert carbon dioxide, a by-product of respiration, into oxygen animals need to
survive. Essentially, plants are a vital link required to sustain life on earth.
Humans are dependent upon plants for food, fiber, fuel, and many other important
purposes that add value to our lives. Plant cultivation will be stressed to meet the
future demands of human use, especially as the world’s human population
increases.
Throughout the CASE Principles of Agricultural Science – Plant™ course, students
will explore how plants function and interact with the environment, determine the
requirements plants need to grow and be healthy, learn how plants are propagated,
and investigate the various ways plants are used in everyday life. Understanding of
plant production and management will be necessary to ensure the supply of plant
products will be sufficient for future human needs and wants.
Throughout this course, students will have opportunities to be engaged in
Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) opportunities as classroom projects. The
following are some examples you may wish to invite students to take advantage of
while participating in this course:
 Propagate and grow plant material to be used for instructional activities
and classroom demonstrations.
 Manage specific greenhouse crops grown in the school facility as an
entrepreneurship project during the year of instruction, and sell those
crops as a class project in the spring.
 Participate in an internship at a local crop operation, plant research facility,
or retail nursery outlet.
Students are to be assisted with developing work agreements for their projects and
be provided instruction related to keeping records of their time, expenses, and
income.
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Plant – Unit 1 – Lesson 1.2 – A World Without Enough Plants – Page 1
For more information regarding opportunities related to Supervised Agricultural
Experience (SAE), view the webpage at the following URL:
http://www.ffa.org/index.cfm?method=c_programs.SAE.
Plant science and production provides students with ample opportunities to be
involved in many team Career Development Events, such as Agronomy, Floriculture,
and Forestry. However, students can be involved in several individual activities
including proficiency awards for their SAE projects and Agriscience entries for
science-based projects conducted during class.
Besides career exploration, the FFA encourages students to practice strong values
and ethics. Some of these lessons are incorporated throughout the CASE Principles
of Agricultural Science – Plant™ course through the use of LifeKnowledge®
Connections.
Another goal of the FFA is premier leadership. Students are provided many
opportunities to demonstrate their leadership abilities by participating in Career
Development Events, such as Public Speaking and Parliamentary Procedure.
Included in this course are activities that prepare students to communicate
effectively and develop skills indicative of a successful leader.
For more information about the opportunities, the National FFA Organization has to
offer, visit the following website: http://www.ffa.org/.
When oil prices increase the demand for alternative fuels, such as those produced
from corn and other plant materials, food prices in the country tend to rise. The
question left to ponder is whether the United States, or the world for that matter, can
raise enough crops to meet human demand as the world’s population increases.
This is an example of an issue that concerns many Americans. The issue of crop
production to meet human demands is nothing new in many countries. However, as
non-renewable resources become scarce, Americans face the reality that many
other people around the world have addressed.
LifeKnowledge® Precept E1 – “Address issues important to the community”, is a
good reminder that leadership starts with being aware of issues concerning people
and stepping up to meet the challenge. American agriculture has historically met the
demands for food, fiber, and fuel through invention and research. Leadership is
needed in times of concern, and through the awareness of issues and willingness to
meet the challenges to address those issues students can become the future
leaders working on solutions to these global issues.
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Plant – Unit 1 – Lesson 1.2 – A World Without Enough Plants – Page 2
A variation of the “Go Get It Moment” E-Moment® is incorporated in Activity 1.2.1
Plant Business as an engagement strategy for reviewing the terminology presented
in this lesson. For more about LifeKnowledge® and E-Moments® review the
information found at the following URL:
http://www.ffa.org/ageducators/lifeknowledge/index.html.
Concepts
1. The many different types of plant industries provide career opportunities in plant
production and management.
2. Plants are used to sustain human existence by providing many essential
products, such as food, fiber, fuel, and medicine.
3. Plants have aesthetic value to humans.
4. Environmental factors, such as temperature and rainfall influence crop production
and the types of crops grown in different regions of the country.
Performance Objectives
It is expected that students will
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Present relevant plant industry vocabulary and definitions to the class.
Survey their personal dependency upon plants.
Map regions of crop production.
Investigate environmental influences on crop production.
Record notes and reflections related to information presented in class
regarding the importance of plants.
Begin an ongoing course project researching physical attributes and
growth requirements for several species of plants.
Critical Thinking and Application Extensions
Explanation
1. Students will develop a proposal for crop sustainability over the next decade.
This plan will address the needs for increased production of crops to meet the
growing human demand.
Interpretation
2. Students will create an annotated timeline examining the historical progress of
technology and science used for crop production from the beginning of the
agricultural revolution to present day. From this historical examination, students
will predict the use of new technologies to meet future demands of plant related
products.
Application
3. Students will conduct a survey of agronomic crops produced in their local area to
compare with a survey of crops from a different region of the country. Students
will write a short essay identifying the crops found in the two different regions and
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Plant – Unit 1 – Lesson 1.2 – A World Without Enough Plants – Page 3
discuss the influences of the region’s environment that are the cause for the
different crops found in those regions.
Essential Questions
1. What is meant by the phrase “crop production?”
2. What represents or makes up a plant business?
3. What career opportunities are available in a plant business?
4. How do botany and horticulture differ?
5. How common are plants in everyday life?
6. What uses do plants have for human survival?
7. What is biofuel?
8. Why are certain crops grown in specific regions in the country?
9. Why could there be a shortage of plant related products to meet global
demands?
10. What are the issues facing crop production?
11. What different growth factors must be considered when raising healthy
productive plants?
Key Terms
Aesthetic
Pertaining to a sense of
beauty or to aesthetics.
Agriculture
The broad industry
engaged in the
production of plants and
animals for food and
fiber, the provisions of
agricultural supplies and
services, and the
processing, marketing,
and distribution of
agricultural products.
Agronomy
The specialization of
agriculture concerned
with the theory and
practice of field-crop
production and soil
management. The
scientific management of
land.
Arboriculture
Cultivation of woody
plants, particularly those
used for decoration and
shade.
Biofuel
Broadly defined as solid,
liquid, or gas fuel
derived from recently
dead biological material.
Botany
The science of plants.
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Plant – Unit 1 – Lesson 1.2 – A World Without Enough Plants – Page 4
Cereal
Any grass grown for its
edible grain.
Crop
Any product of the soil.
In a narrow sense, the
product of a harvest
obtained by labor, as
distinguished from
natural production or
wild growth.
Cultivation
The planting, tending,
harvesting, and
improving of plants.
Fiber Crop
Crop grown for its fiber, as
cotton and flax.
Floriculture
The cultivation of plants
for their flowers.
Forage Crops
Those plants or parts of
plants that are used for
feed before maturing or
developing seeds (field
crops). The most common
forage crops are pasture
grasses and legumes.
Forestry
The sciences, arts, and
business practices of
crating, conserving, and
managing natural
resources on lands
designated as forests.
Food
Anything which when
taken into the body,
nourishes the tissues
and supplies body heat.
Fruit
Botanically, the matured
ovary of a flower and its
contents including any
external part that is an
integral portion of it.
Grass
Nonwoody plants with
hollow low jointed stems
sheathed by narrow
leaves, petalless flowers,
and fruit resembling grain:
includes bamboo, sugar
cane, numerous grasses
of lawn, field, and pasture,
and the plants used as
cereal crops.
Horticulture
The science of
agriculture that relates to
the cultivation of
gardens or orchards,
including the growing of
vegetables, fruits,
flowers, and ornamental
shrubs and trees.
Landscape
To beautify terrain as
with plantings of trees,
shrubs, and flowering
herbs; with ornamental
features, such as
terraces, rock gardens,
bog gardens, pools,
walks, drives, etc.
Legumes
A family of plants,
including many valuable
food and forage species,
such as peas, beans,
soybeans, peanuts,
clovers, and alfalfa. With
aid of symbiotic bacteria,
they can convert nitrogen
from the air to build up
nitrogen in the soil.
Medicinal
Pertaining to, or having
the properties of a
medicine.
Nursery
Any place where plants,
shrubs, and trees are
grown either for
transplanting or as
grafting stocks.
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Oil Seed Crop
Any crop grown primarily
for its oil content, such as
soybeans, peanuts,
cottonseed, and linseed
(flaxseed).
Orchard
A grove of fruit or nut
trees.
Plant
An organism
distinguished from the
animals in that it takes
nutrients entirely in liquid
solution, rather than in
solid form.
Research
All effort directed toward
increased knowledge of
natural phenomena and
the environment and
toward the solution of
problems in all fields of
science. This includes
basic and applied
research. Much of the
agricultural productivity of
the United States is
directly the result of
applying research.
Seed
The embryo of a plant;
also kernels of corn,
wheat, etc., which
botanically are seedlike
fruits as they include the
ovary wall.
Vegetables
The edible part of an
herbaceous plant.
Vegetation
Any group or association
of plants; the sum of
vegetable life; plants in
general.
Day-to-Day Plans
Time: 5 days
The teacher should refer to the Teacher Resources section for specific information on
teaching this lesson, in particular, Lesson 1.2 Teacher Notes, Plant Glossary,
Lesson 1.2 Materials List, and other support materials.
Day 1:
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The teacher will present Concepts, Performance Objectives, Key
Terms, and Essential Questions in order to provide a lesson overview.
The teacher will provide students with Activity 1.2.1 Plant Business and
Activity 1.2.1 Student Worksheet.
Students will complete Activity 1.2.1 Plant Business.
The teacher will lead a class summary of Activity 1.2.1 Plant Business by
calling on individual students for a description of each plant related
industry and the three career options associated with the industry.
Day 2 – 3:
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The teacher will provide students Presentation Notes pages to be used
throughout the presentation to record notes and reflections. These pages
are to be added to the Agriscience Notebook.
The teacher will present PowerPoint® Plants in Our World.
Students will take notes using the Presentation Notes pages provided by
the teacher.
The teacher will provide students with a copy of Activity 1.2.2
Surrounded by Plants.
Students will work individually and begin Activity 1.2.2 Surrounded by
Plants.
Day 4 – 5:
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The teacher will have students complete the Conclusion questions for
Activity 1.2.2 Surrounded by Plants and collect activity sheets once
completed.
The teacher will provide students with Project 1.2.3 Growing a
Business. NOTE: This project will be carried through the entire course.
Each lesson throughout the course will address specific information for
this project. Reminders will be provided in various lessons to have
students update their Grower’s Handbook. You may use extra class time
for students to work on this project. More information is provided in
Lesson 1.2 Teacher Notes.
The teacher will present PowerPoint® Your Grower’s Handbook: Your
Ticket to Future Success.
Students will discuss questions presented in the PowerPoint® Your
Grower’s Handbook: Your Ticket to Future Success.
Students will select their four plants from the appropriate lists and report it
to the teacher unless the teacher decides to assign plant species to the
students.
The teacher will distribute Lesson 1.2 Check for Understanding.
Students will complete Lesson 1.2 Check for Understanding and submit
for grading.
The teacher will assess student work using Lesson 1.2 Check for
Understanding Key.
The National Council for Agricultural Education – CASE – Copyright 2010
Plant – Unit 1 – Lesson 1.2 – A World Without Enough Plants – Page 7