February 12 is Abraham Lincoln's Birthday.
In 1862 Abraham Lincoln signed into law an act of Congress establishing the US Department of Agriculture.
ACTIVITY: Students research online to find more about the establishment of the US Department of Agriculture in 1862. February 22 is George Washington's Birthday.
George Washington is known as the father of our country, but his great love was agriculture. He was happiest when conducting agricultural experiments on his farm at Mt. Vernon.
ACTIVITY: Students research online to find some of the contributions George Washington made to agriculture through his experiments. Students use Census of Agriculture information to compose a letter about agriculture in the US and translate correspondence about agriculture from George Washington into modern language. (6th-8th grade language arts and social studies) Students will read excerpts from a letter George Washington wrote about agriculture in the US in 1771 and compare his evaluation with agricultural data over time. (8th grade language arts and social studies)
- George Washington on the Farm
- Smart Board Activity
- George Washington's Favorite Song: The Darby Ram
- The Darby Ram performed on You Tube
- Farmer George Plants a Nation (You Tube presentation of book by Peggy Thomas)
- Presidents' Occupations: How many presidents had jobs before or after they were in office that were related to agriculture (farmer, rancher, planter, etc.)
- Seven Presidents Who Farmed