Lesson Cycle
Names: Rachel Bennett & Ashley Wedeman
Lesson Title/Topic: Food Processing
Grade(s): High School, 9th-12th grades
Target Concept: Wholesale Cuts of Beef
Standards/Rationale: TEKS § 130.14 (C) (2) (C)
Lesson Objectives: Given a blank diagram
of a cow divided into wholesale cuts,
students will be able to label each cut (10)
from memory with 75% accuracy.
Assessment: Exit Ticket
Materials: Notebook paper (10 pieces); copies of cow diagram; scissors; washable markers; dryerase markers and dry-erase board; stopwatch/cell phone to keep time
Lesson Cycle: (Direct instruction)
The teacher will:
Focus/Mental Set:
Greet students at the door and assign them each a
number (1-4). This number will designate which
group they will be in. Tell students to look on the
board for instructions.
The student will:
 Watch video.
 Take out materials
 Create/brainstorm a list of all the
beef cuts they know (retail or
wholesale) as a group.
As students are entering the room have the YouTube
video playing.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48H7zOQrX3U)
Instruct the students to get into their groups (These
instructions will also be written on the board). Each
person will take out a piece of paper and a pencil.
Set up the stopwatch function on a cell phone.
Give students 2 minutes to brainstorm and list as
many cuts of beef as possible (Both retail and
wholesale cuts will be acceptable answers). The first
group to list 5 will stand up. The group that stands up
first with all correct answers will win. All other
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groups will continue to work until the time has
elapsed.
Write student responses on board and review. Give
feedback regarding accuracy. Correct responses will
be emphasized during introduction to diagrams of
wholesale cuts of beef in guided practice.
Teacher Input:
1. Read aloud/paraphrase the following:
Almost everything we eat comes from plants or
animals. Today we’re going to focus on which parts
of beef cattle or commonly turned into food, and
which cuts of meat come from each of those parts.
2. Ask students the following questions and
record their answers on the whiteboard:
 What parts of beef cattle do the meat
and meat products we eat come from?
(From all over the animal.)
 What are wholesale cuts? (Large
sections of an animal carcass that are
divided up roughly following the
animal’s bone structure. Some parts of
the carcass are more popular and
scarcer, and therefore more valuable
than others, which can also influence
how the carcass is divided into
wholesale cuts.)
3. Read aloud: Wholesale cuts can also be
called “primal cuts”. Consumers tend to
prefer the flavor, tenderness, and texture of
some cuts over others, and these popular cuts
come from relatively small areas of the
animal, so they’re somewhat scarce. These
factors combine to drive up the wholesale and
retail cost of those cuts. We will discuss retail
cuts in a later class.
4. Present PowerPoint/Prezi: Diagram of
wholesale beef cuts will be displayed. Ask
students: Which meals can be made from each
of these cuts? After students provide answers,
students will be shown each cut with a picture
of a corresponding meal.
 Chuck- shoulder area; pot roasts
 Rib- rib eye steaks and prime rib



Take notes on wholesale cuts of
beef, using key words.
Fill in a diagram detailing the ten
wholesale cuts of beef. They will
have approximately 2 minutes to
accomplish this task.
Discuss and make connections to
the different cuts of meat and
which meals are prepared from
them.
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







Short loin or loin-home of the T-bone
steak
Sirloin-contains more tender steaks
Round-the animal’s back leg
Shank-front leg of the animal; one of
the least tender cuts.
Brisket-the animal’s chest; large and
boneless.
Short plate: below the rib. Seldom
seen at meat counter; boned for
ground beef
Flank-small, located just below the
short loin; each carcass contains just
two flank steaks.
Rump-sometimes considered a part of
the round.
Guided Practice:
In groups of three, give student’s (individually) cow
diagrams in which each cut is designated by a letter
and have the corresponding words (cuts of beef) in a
word bank.
Independent Practice:
Tell students to group themselves into pairs. Students
will have a choice between two activities:
1) Making a cow puzzle and playing a game
2) Matching meals with the wholesale cuts from
which they originate.
Students will be given markers and printer paper.


Label their own diagram (with
only a word bank).
Students will label 1 diagram:
wholesale cuts of beef given a
visual model from teacher.
1st activity choice
 Draw their own “Cow puzzle”
with partners. They will then cut
out their “puzzles” and scramble
them. Their partner will then
have to try to ask for as many
parts from memory as possible.
For example, “Chuck, shank,
brisket”. They will then give
their partner the cut they have
requested. Their score (the
number of correct answers out of
the total number possible) will be
kept and then students will
switch. Once both partners have
taken a turn, the puzzles will be
put together and the students will
discuss the cuts they forgot or
omitted. They can use the
diagrams they labeled during
guided practice in order to assist
them.
3
Closure:
Exit ticket/assessment: Students will recite or write
down 3 wholesale cuts of beef. If they choose to say
them, they cannot repeat the cuts that a classmate as
just said.
Options:
Enrichment:
2nd activity choice
 Matching worksheet:
 Students will be expected to
match each cut of beef with its
corresponding meal (Same
answers as provided in
PowerPoint/Prezi [refer to
teacher input section]).
 Students will demonstrate their
learning by generating wholesale
cuts when requested by teacher.
Reteach:
Modifications/Correctives:
References:
The University of Kentucky:
http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agripedia/agmania/ias/asc106/BEEFPROD.HTM
The Nibble
http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/meats/beef/glossary7.asp
Megan Aden, FCS educator at Panorama High School
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