Kansas College and Career Ready Standards

Science

• LS1-5. Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms.
• LS 3-2. Develop and use a model to describe why asexual reproduction results in offspring with identical genetic information and sexual reproduction results in offspring with genetic variation.
• ESS3-2. Evaluate competing design solutions for developing, managing, and utilizing energy and mineral resources based on cost-benefit ratios.

Language Arts

• RI.3.1. Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
• RI.3.7. Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur).
• W.3.2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
• SL.3.1. Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher led) with diverse partners on Grade 3 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

Mathematics

• HSN.Q.A.1. Use units to understand problems and to guide the solution of multi-step problems.
• HSN.Q.A.2. Define appropriate quantities for the purpose of descriptive modeling.
• HSN.Q.A.3. Choose a level of accuracy appropriate to limitations on measurement when reporting quantities.

Learning Objectives

• Students will understand how corn goes from vegetative to reproductive stages.
• Students will be able to classify and label the major parts of the corn plant.
• Students will be able to determine the number of kernels in a bushel of corn, the number of corn plants in an acre, and even the equivalent of how many corn kernels make up the human body through quantitative measurements.
• Students will know how to interpret graphs, tables, infographics, and data involving all aspects of the corn industry.
• Students will learn how to determine the growth stage of a corn plant through dissection.
• Students will understand the process of planting corn and its stages until harvest.

Materials

•  PowerPoint

Materials for Introduction to Corn

• Introduction to Corn Student Sheets (pg. S1)
• Butcher paper
• Markers or colored pencils
• Timer (if you want groups to rotate at a certain time)
• Optional: Kahoot: Explore Corn: Introduction to Corn
• This can be done at the end of the reading a graffiti notes activity.
• Students will need computers or mobile devices if having students complete the Kahoot!

Materials for Corn Stages Video and Doodle Notes

• Doodle Notes Worksheet (pg S2)
• Headphones (if you prefer to have them listen to it on their own)
• Corn Stage Growth Videos

Materials for Mathematics with Corn

• Corn Kernel Math Worksheet (pg. S3–27)
• Minimum of six ears of corn
• Scale (reads at least two decimal places)
• At least 50 kernels
• See-through container with enough kernels to fill that container
• Masking tape
• Colored markers to mark seeds
• Ruler or tape measure
• Website and iBook: Abnormal Ears of Corn: https://www.agronomy.k-state.edu/extension/crop-production/corn/

Materials for Breakout Box Activity

• Breakout Box
• Color code lock

Materials for Corn Plant Dissection

• Leaf Collar Method Student worksheet (pg. S8-S9)
• Corn Stage Growth Videos
• Knife
• Cutting board

Safety Considerations

• Students will be using a cutting utensil with a sharp edge to dissect corn. Show proper handling of the cutting utensil.

Background Information

Why is corn such a valuable crop? How does corn grow, pollinate, and produce kernels? What farming
techniques are important to increase corn yield?

Corn is a grass, native to the Americas. Evidence in central Mexico suggests corn was used there about 9,000 years ago. Various Native American tribes shared their knowledge of corn, known as maize, with early European settlers, saving many from starvation. Early American colonists ground dried corn as a meal for flour to use in porridge, cake, and bread. Sweet corn, served as “corn on the cob,” was not developed until the 1700s.

Along with wheat and rice, corn is one of the world’s major grain crops. It is the largest grain crop grown in the United States. About 9 percent of all the corn is used to produce food for humans: corn meal, cooking oils, margarine, corn syrups, and sweeteners (fructose). About 64 percent of all corn is used for livestock feed. Corn is harvested for either grain or silage, with most of the grain going to dairies, animal feeding operations, and poultry operations. Corncobs have been used in the manufacturing of nylon fibers as well as being a source for producing biodegradable plastics. Ethanol, made from corn, is a renewable fuel used in today’s cars.

Corn is pollinated by wind and is typically planted in 30-inch rows. A single seed, or kernel, of corn may produce a plant that yields more than 600 kernels of corn per ear. Approximately 22,000 to 35,000 individual plants may be grown on an acre of land. Hybrid corn is developed to produce from one to two ears per plant. More than 80 million acres of the heartland are planted in corn each year. That’s almost as big as 60 million football fields!

After corn is harvested, farmers begin to prepare the soil for the next season by mixing in nutrients, such as potassium and phosphorus, with some form of tillage (breaking up soil) to incorporate them. In the spring, farmers will do a light tillage pass to create smooth bedding for planting. When the ground temperature is ready (50°F and expected to rise), farmers will plant the corn seeds. Farmers will then add fertilizer, two inches deep and two inches to the side of the kernels to help the seeds get a healthy start. After the seed is planted, most farmers will spray a pre-emergent herbicide to prohibit weed growth. When seedlings emerge and grow, farmers will inject the soil with some form of nitrogen fertilizer before the V8 (eighth leaf development) stage. This spring fertilizer will allow for the plant to “green-up” and establish good photosynthetic activity through harvest.

Farmers will continue to scout the crop through maturity for any additional pests. Farmers will harvest the crop when it is ripe in the fall.

Classroom Discussion

Introduction of Corn

Length of Time for Classroom Teaching

• 20-25 minutes
• 30-35 minutes with use of Kahoot

Begin by using these classroom discussion questions to find out what students already know (or think they know) about corn and where it is grown. This discussion can be done with the entire class, small groups, or as bell work:

• Where is corn grown?
• Why is it grown there?
• How is corn grown?
• Are there specific stages that corn goes through when it grows?
• When can you harvest corn?
• How many ears of corn are there on one stalk?
• How many kernels of corn are found on each ear?
• How many corn plants can be grown on an acre of land?
• What types of corn are there?
• What products are made from corn?

Once the discussion is finished, hand each student the Introduction to Corn article and instruct them to read it.

• Encourage students to highlight, in a specific color, important concepts they would like to further explore.
  Also, have students highlight, in a different color, important facts or take-a-ways from the world of corn.
  They should have at least 5-10 pieces of information/facts highlighted.
• Have students agree on one image that represents a fact from their sheets, ONLY 1 for the whole group.
  Hand each group a big sheet of butcher paper and a box of colored markers or pencils.
• When they are finished selecting and drawing their one group fact, they need to go to the butcher
  paper of another group. They will draw an image that represents a fact. They are not able to draw an
  image that is already on that paper representing a fact. For instance, if one group has a football field,
  representing the acres planted with corn, already on their paper, something else would have to be drawn.
  No Words!
• After giving enough time to complete this activity (about 15 minutes), ask each group to return to their
  butcher paper and write next to the images what fact from the reading that it relates to. Feel free to call
  on a few groups to share their graffiti notes with everyone.

Procedure for Instruction

Corn Stages Video and Doodle Notes

Length of Time for Classroom Teaching

• 30-45 minutes

Now that we know a little more basic information about corn, it is time to learn more about how it grows.

• Hand out the Corn Stages Doodle Notes Worksheet to each student.
• Have students watch videos from the Corn Growth Stages YouTube playlist. Specifically play the “Corn
  Dissection” video and “Stages” video. Students can watch the video(s) independently and take notes or
  watch as a class. Watching as a whole class does allow time to pause and discuss.
•  Start by discussing:
  • What do you already know about corn staging?
  • Why might corn staging be important to a farmer?
  • What kind of differences do you think you might notice in a corn plant that is at an earlier stage
    versus a later stage?
• Students can fill in their notes while adding color and highlighting important information in the video.
• These notes are a great tool for students to have in their interactive notebooks or lab journals and will be
  very beneficial to refer to when they are dissecting their corn plants later in the lab.

Mathematics with Corn

Length of Time for Classroom Teaching

•  120 minutes

This lab activity will have students explore ears of corn while incorporating math concepts involving averages,
conversions, accuracy, percent error, and quantity estimation.

• Handout the Corn Kernel Math worksheet to each student.
• Each group or station will need anywhere from three to six ears of corn, at least 50 loose corn kernels,
  and scales for getting the mass of the kernels.
• The teacher will need to determine the mass of a clear container, then fill it up with as many corn kernels
  as it can hold. The number of kernels in that container will need to be hand-counted.
• The teacher may want to think of a small prize for the student(s) or group that gets closest to the actual
  number of kernels in the container.
• When determining the number of corn plants per acre in Part 4, the teacher can use tape any length
  longer than 17.5 feet.
• The teacher will then use a colored marker to create a dot on the tape to represent a planted corn seed.
• The distance of the “seeds” can be anywhere from 6-12 inches apart. The teacher may make the
  following changes:
  • Alternatively, the teacher can place a piece of tape on the floor that is exactly 17.5 feet and the students can count how many steps it takes to walk that distance.
  • In addition, the teacher can place multiple lengths of tape with different seed spacing, ranging from 6-12 inches.
• K-State has published a PDF and an iBook (for iPads only). The title is Abnormal Ears of Corn and can be found under Publications with the following link: https://www.agronomy.k-state.edu/extension/cropproduction/corn/

Breakout Box Activity

Length of Time for Classroom Teaching

• 45 minutes

The Breakout Box activity is intended to help the students learn more about corn with the use of a Mystery of
Corn Reader. Once the students figure out the combination, they will receive the supplies for the corn dissection
lab. Depending on the class schedule this breakout box activity can be used to finish up discussion for the day
and introduce them to what will happen during the next class period. If you have enough time in your class
period, this activity can lead right into the corn dissection lab.

Setup

• Put corn plant dissection materials in a breakout box (knives, mats, lab sheets, etc.)
• Place hasp on the breakout box and add the multidirectional color lock. This lock will need to be set to the
  combination that matches the reader you plan for students to use. Feel free to mix the groups with middle
  and high school reader groups so they cannot easily share the combination.
• Give every group/student a reader (Reader #1 Could it be Corn?)
  • NOTE: There are middle and high school readers. The lock combinations are different because the
    readers are different.
• Place the clue on the board or have it printed out and placed on tables.
• Students will be using the reader to solve the color combination lock.
• Once they open the box they will have the supplies to complete their own corn stage dissection of a small
  and a large plant. This will be done as a group.

Middle School Breakout Activity

Setup

To unlock the breakout box lock, students will need a copy of the Middle School Reader #1 Could it be Corn? Provide them the clue below on the projector or board in your classroom:

• A prize awaits, but for that you must read. Carefully, slow, so clues you won’t miss. Like kernel parts and corn products; most definitely on the list. What’s a barbeque without a plate? A fossil fuel can be made
  from corn, that would be great? Plastic from cornstarch…I’ll need a fork for that feast. Sorry to be so
  cryptic. I hope you’ll do well. When you finally solve it, don’t you dare tell.

Lock Combination
Green, White, Blue, Red, Black

• The lock on the box is a color lock. They will use the reader and clue to find the correct 5 colors and insert them into the lock. When the lock comes off and the box opens, they will find tools and information for how to complete the corn dissection. You could sub out these tools for other Kansas Corn Lab Materials if you desire and feel that your students are ready or would benefit from completing the lab.

Reflection Questions

(These can be used to make sure that students interacted with the material from the reader)

• What are the four parts of a corn kernel? Starch, Germ, Starch and Gluten, Hull and Fiber
• Name three products that are made from corn? Answers will vary
• The majority of corn by products are made from/or have what kind of corn in them? Dent Corn
• What is the fossil fuel that can be created from corn? Ethanol
• Describe a renewable resource and a bioplastic? Answers will vary

High School Breakout Activity

Setup

To unlock the breakout box lock students will need a copy of the HS History of Corn Reader. Provide them the clue below on the projector or board in your classroom:

• A prize awaits, but for that you must read. Carefully, slow, so clues you won’t miss like kernel parts and fuel; most definitely on the list. What’s a barbeque without a plate? What’s a sugar with yeast? Play
  without the y…I’ll need a fork for that feast. Sorry to be so cryptic. I hope you’ll do well. When you finally
  solve it, don’t you dare tell.

Lock Combination
Green, Red, Blue, Black, Orange

• The lock on the box is a color lock. They will use the reader and clue to find the correct 5 colors and insert
  them into the lock. When the lock comes off and the box opens, they will find tools and information for
  how to complete the corn dissection. You could sub out these tools for other Kansas Corn Lab Materials if
  you desire and feel that your students are ready or would benefit from completing the lab.

Reflection Questions
(These can be used to make sure that students interacted with the material from the reader)

• What are the four parts of a corn kernel? Starch, Germ, Starch and Gluten, Hull and Fiber
• One bushel of corn can produce how many gallons of ethanol? 3 Gallons of Ethanol
• The majority of corn by products are made from/or have what kind of corn in them? Dent Corn
• What is the process of breaking down the starch in corn into simple sugars and then feeding those sugars
  yeast? Fermentation
• What does PLA stand for? Polylactic Acid Plastic

Corn Plant Dissection

Length of Time for Classroom Teaching

• Leaf Collar Dissection Method Lesson (45 minutes)

Once the students have completed the breakout box activity the students can stay in their own groups, or you can divide them into new groups of three to five students.

• Students will be working with cutting utensils for this portion.
• Hand out the Leaf Collar Method Student worksheet (pg. S8-S9)
• Give the students 5-10 minutes to read the background information and directions.
• Show the Growth Stages playlist on YouTube that covers the determination of corn growth stages.
• Specifically play the “Stages” and “Critical Stages” videos. https://bit.ly/441Gl7U
• Students will use a knife and cutting board to carefully split the stalk of a corn plant in half, vertically, and down to the roots.
• Remember, the first four nodes are often indistinguishable within the crown. Refer to the Doodle Notes from the previous activity and the “Corn Dissection” video as a reminder.
• Count the number of nodes to determine the vegetative stage that the corn plant is in.
• Compare the nodes counted within the stalk to the number of leaf collars found on the outside of the plant.
• Have students complete the reflections section individually or as a group before coming together as a class to discuss.

Reflection Questions

By the end of this section, students should be able to answer the following.

• How do we know when we have a fully developed leaf stage? A collar has been formed.
• Why is it important for a farmer to know the development stages their corn plants are in? At various
  stages of growth corn plants will need inputs such as fertilizer, water, etc.
• Why do we have to split the stalks instead of using the collar method? As the plant gets larger not all
  leaves are present to help identify the location of every collar. Splitting the stalk helps identify the collars.

Science and Agriculture Careers

• Crop adjuster
• Data processor
• Extension agent
• Grain buyer
• Geospatial analytics specialist
• Precision agriculture specialist
• Climate change analyst
• Ecologist
• Environmental engineer
•  Environmental scientist
• Nutrient manager
• Pest control advisor
• Produce inspector
• Irrigation specialist
• Aerial applicator

To learn more about agriculture careers, visit https://agexplorer.ffa.org.

Sources

• Resources adapted with permission from Ohio Corn and Wheat, https://ohiocorneducation.org/
• Introduction to Corn Article, https://ohiocorneducation.org/curriculum/growing-ohio 

Disclaimer

Any educator electing to perform demonstrations is expected to follow NSTA Minimum Safety Practices and Regulations for Demonstrations, Experiments, and Workshops, which are available at https://static. nsta.org/pdfs/MinimumSafetyPracticesAndRegulations.pdf, as well as all school policies and rules and all state and federal laws, regulations, codes and professional standards. Educators are under a duty of care to make laboratories and demonstrations in and out of the classroom as safe as possible. If in doubt, do not perform the demonstrations.