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Little Star Raising Our First Calf Star Becomes A Mother

This lesson teaches students about the needs of beef cattle by comparing them to human needs. It discusses how beef farmers and ranchers meet the animals' needs for shelter, nutrition, water, vaccinations, medical care, and identity in similar ways that parents care for the needs of children. Students learn that beef cattle need barns for shelter, grains and grass for nutrition, water troughs or automatic waterers, vaccinations from veterinarians, medical care from vets when sick, and ear tags for identification, just as humans need homes, balanced diets, doctors, and names. The lesson aims to help students recognize that farmers provide good care for their animals.

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48 views

Little Star Raising Our First Calf Star Becomes A Mother

This lesson teaches students about the needs of beef cattle by comparing them to human needs. It discusses how beef farmers and ranchers meet the animals' needs for shelter, nutrition, water, vaccinations, medical care, and identity in similar ways that parents care for the needs of children. Students learn that beef cattle need barns for shelter, grains and grass for nutrition, water troughs or automatic waterers, vaccinations from veterinarians, medical care from vets when sick, and ear tags for identification, just as humans need homes, balanced diets, doctors, and names. The lesson aims to help students recognize that farmers provide good care for their animals.

Uploaded by

orases_papreferred
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Title:

Grades:

Animal Care: It Compares to Us!


2-3

Objectives:
Students will:
Identify the needs of beef animals .
Compare the needs of beef animals to the needs of humans.
Recognize how beef Farmers/Ranchers provide care to meet the needs of their animals.
Vocabulary: beef cattle, Farmer/Rancher, shelter, barn, pasture, nutrition, water trough,
automatic waterer, vaccination, veterinarian, ear tag
Materials:

Little StarRaising Our First Calf by Rebecca Long-Chaney


Star Becomes a Mother by Rebecca Long-Chaney
Animal Needs KWL
Animal Care Venn Diagram
Animal Care Worksheet
Anticipatory Set:
1. Ask students, What do you think of when you think of a farm? Lead students to
plants and animals.
2. Explain to students that they are going to learn about cows. Ask students, What do
we call a baby cow? Lead students to calf.
3. Show students the covers of Little StarRaising our First Calf and Star Becomes a
Mother and explain they are going to hear 2 stories about beef cows and calves on a
farm.
Procedures:
1. Read the book titles and ask students, What do you think a calf might need?
2. Have students complete the K on the Animal Needs KWL.
3. Discuss student responses and have students complete W on Animal Care KWL.
4. Ask students, Do you think these animals need similar things to what we need to
live? Collect student predictions.
5. Give students Animal Care Venn Diagram and explain they are to complete the venn
diagram to compare and contrast the needs of human babies to the needs of calves as
they listen to the two stories.
6. Read Little StarRaising our First Calf and Star Becomes a Mother to students.
7. After reading, ask students, Were the things these animals needed similar to what we
need to live? Discuss student responses from all parts of the Animal Care Venn
Diagram.
8. Explain to students that animals need the same basic things we need to stay healthy
and be productive.

9. Ask students, What were some of the things the calves in these stories needed? As
students respond, teach students the different things each animal needs, how it
compares to what humans need, and how the Farmer/Rancher meets each of these
needs for the animal:
Shelter (structure or building that provides cover from weather and/or protection
against danger)
Humans: We have homes to keep us safe, dry, and warm.
Beef Cattle: Farmer/Ranchers have barns (large building on farm to store
grain and feed and to shelter animals) to keep animals warm and dry and
fenced pasture (enclosed area of land covered with plants suitable for feeding
animals) to give them fresh air and food while keeping them safe from other
animals.
Food/Nutrition (process of being nourished with nutrients from food and using
them in the body in order to keep healthy and grow)
Humans: As babies, nutrients are gotten from milk from our mother or
from formula in a bottle. As we get older, we need to eat a balanced diet of
fruits & vegetables (vitamins & minerals), grains (carbohydrates), dairy
(calcium & vitamins), and meats & beans (proteins)
Beef Cattle: For calves, Farmer/Ranchers either allow them to get milk from
their mothers or give them bottles of milk replacer with the vitamins and
nutrients they need. As they get older, Farmer/Ranchers feed their cattle
grains (like corn and wheat) and fresh grass in the pasture or hay (grasses
that are cut and dried and used for feed).
Water
Humans: We should consume at least 8 8-oz glasses of water each day
Beef Cattle: The beef Farmer/Rancher provides water for his cattle with a
water trough (a long narrow open container that holds water for animals) or
automatic waterer (a device from which livestock may drink that provides a
continuous supply of water on demand).
Vaccinations (a shot/injection of a vaccine in order to protect against a particular
disease)
Humans: Babies receive vaccinations to protect them from different
diseases. As they get older, we continue to get vaccinations to protect us
against different diseases (flu vaccines, chicken pox vaccines, etc..)
Beef Cattle: Farmer/Ranchers will give their calves vaccinations against
different diseases. As they get older, the beef Farmer/Rancher decides what
his animals are most at risk for and protects them against diseases they can
contract from wildlife in the pasture.
Medical Care
Humans: We go to the doctor for yearly physicals/check-ups to make sure
we are staying healthy, and also go when we are sick to get medicine to make
them better.

Beef Cattle: Farmer/Rancher brings a veterinarian (someone trained and


qualified in the medical treatment of animals) to the farm whenever a beef
cow gets sick, so they can determine what treatment will make the animal
better.
Identity
Humans: Parents identify their children by giving them names.
Ask students, How might Farmer/Ranchers identify their animals so they
can track their growth and health?
Beef Cattle: beef Farmer/Ranchers will identify their cattle with ear tags
(identification tag attached to the ear of an animal) The ear tag is given to a
calf when it is born and worn its entire life. The ear tag tells the
Farmer/Rancher the sire (father) and dam (mother) of the calf, as well as its
date of birth and gives the calf its own identity based on its birth order and
year it was born.
10. Ask students, Who makes sure the animals needs are met? Lead students to the
Farmer/Rancher (person who cares for plants and animals on a farm)
11. Have students complete the L(what I learned) on the Animal Needs KWL.
Evaluation:
Have students complete the Animal Care Worksheet to demonstrate their knowledge of
how the Farmer/Rancher meets the needs of their animals.
Have students use information on their Animal Care Venn Diagram to write a paragraph
about how beef Farmer/Ranchers care for their animals.
Extension:
Read Little Milk Maids on the Mooove by Rebecca Long-Chaney.
Have students compare and contrast the care of dairy cows to the care of beef cows.
Have students sort products that come from beef and dairy cows using Beef and
Dairy Product Sorting Cards. (cards can be enlarged to use for a class sort)
Have students create a word web of the products that come from dairy cows and
beef cows.
Have students write a paragraph about the products we get from either beef or
dairy cows.

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