Lesson Title:
Pesticides

Grade Level:
Grade Two Lesson 3

Unit of Study:
People We Depend On

History-Social Science Standard:
2.4.3   Understand how limits on resources affect production consumption (what to produce and what to consume).

Correlation to K-8 California Adopted Textbooks:
Harcourt Brace: Making a difference. Unit 2: Where We Live: Lessons 5-6. Unit 3: We All Work Together: Lesson 5. Unit 6: People in Time and Place: Lesson 6
 
McGraw-Hill: People Together. Unit 2: Earth, Our Home: Lesson 3.

Setting of Context:
There were many things that César E. Chávez wanted to change to make the world a better place. He wanted to improve working conditions for the farm workers. One of the things that he wanted to change was the use of harmful pesticides. Pesticides are chemicals used on plants to kill the bugs that eat them. When bugs attack crops, they cannot be sold and farmers lose money.

At first, no one knew that pesticides were harmful to people. The pesticides were sprayed on the crops when the workers were in the fields. The pesticides also got into the water that the workers drank. Many farm workers started to get sick after being in the fields that were being sprayed. Women who were pregnant began to lose their babies before they were born. Some babies were being born with deformities. The farm workers began to worry that the pesticides were harmful to them. They tried to get the farmers to stop using them but they would not.

Focus Questions:
What is a pesticide?

Why do growers use pesticides?

Why are some pesticides harmful?

Should people eat crops that have been sprayed with pesticides?

Expected Learning Outcomes:
Students will explain the reasons that farmers need to use pesticides.
Students will list the dangers of using some of the most harmful pesticides.
Students will understand that limits on resources affect production and consumption.
Students will understand that the general public does not want to eat products that are harmful.

Assessments:
Script for PSA
Cause and effect graphic organizer on the use of pesticides • List of alternatives to pesticides

Key Concepts:
Interdependence, Safety and Health

Essential Vocabulary:
pests
bugs
pesticides
dangers
side effects
alternatives
deformities

Primary Sources:
Pictures of fields/workers being sprayed with pesticides, pictures of a healthy plant and plants being attacked by bugs, pictures of affected farm workers. See Photo Archives.

Visuals:
Pictures of pesticides, pictures of how pesticides were sprayed (crop dusters, canisters)

Show students the universal symbol for poison (skull and crossbones). Ask students to explain what it means. Ask them what they would do if they saw the symbol on something. Would you touch anything that has that symbol on it?

Procedure

Motivation:
Ask students to list/describe what poisonous items are. How do these things affect people?

Making Connections:
Bring in pictures of items that have the universal symbol for poison on it. Classify the items into categories of use. Many will be cleansers. Prompt students to conclude that many are products that they would use to clean something else.

Guided Instruction:
Part I:  Plants
Show students two tomato plants; one that is healthy, and one that has been attacked by bugs. Give students an opportunity to investigate the plants. If plants are not available, try to get a fruit or vegetable, again having a healthy one, and one that has been attacked by bugs. Ask the students which one they would rather eat and why. Discuss with students that bugs are a big problem for farmers and that in order to kill the bugs they use products called pesticides. When pesticides were first used people thought they would not be harmful to human beings. When farm workers and their families began to get sick, no one believed that it was related to the pesticides. The farm workers asked the farmers to stop using pesticides, but they did not listen. Many people working on farms got very sick. Now we know that pesticides are harmful to people.

Practice/Assessment Opportunity:
Have students draw a picture of a healthy plant and one attacked by bugs.

Begin a class garden with potted plants. If possible leave them outside and begin to watch them for signs of them being attacked by insects. Have students keep a journal of their observations.

Take a trip to a nursery or invite a nursery worker to come in and talk to the students about ways to deal with bugs that attack plants and crops

Part II: Eating is Believing
Bring in a bag filled with fruit from the grocery store. Make sure that it is in one of the plastic produce bags and that the labels on the fruit have not been removed.

Take out a piece of fruit and offer it to a student to eat. Check for a reaction. Some students will not think twice about biting into it. Some may think it is yucky because the fruit has not been washed.

Enter into a discussion on why fruit or any other produce should be washed before it is consumed. Generate a list of reasons of the importance of washing produce before it is consumed.

Practice/Assessment Opportunity:
Generate a list of reasons of the importance of washing produce before it is consumed. The following is a list of possible responses:

Many people have handled it

It can sometimes have dirt (especially underground)

It might have fallen on the floor

It might have been sprayed with pesticides.

Have students create flyers urging people to wash produce before it is consumed.

Part III: Ring around the Apple
César Chávez was very concerned about the use of pesticides in agriculture. He began to see connections between the use of pesticides and the illnesses that plagued the farm workers. He began to ask people like doctors and nurses to start running tests and to study the chemicals used in pesticides. Show students pictures of fields being sprayed. Many workers were working in the fields when the pesticides were being sprayed and they breathed them in. The chemicals would get into their lungs. This made it hard for them to breathe.

Since the growers would not listen to the farm workers, César E. Chávez began to let the public know the dangers of pesticides. He began to point out to them that the produce they consumed had been sprayed with pesticides. Farmers claimed that washing produce before it was consumed made it perfect for consuming. Many farmers illustrated their point that pesticides were not dangerous by eating a piece of fruit right from the field. César knew that some pesticide remained on the crops.

Practice/Assessment Opportunity:
Have students work in pairs. Each pair needs an apple. You will simulate the spraying of pesticides on the apple. Spray each apple with water containing a small amount of food coloring. Once it is sprayed, let the apple sit for a few moments. Have students wash apple with water. Compare these apples to the crops being sprayed in the fields.
Have students write a letter to a friend explaining the sometimes-harmful effects of using certain pesticides.
Part IV: Public Awareness
As more information about the dangers of pesticides was coming into the public eye, more consumers began to be more selective about the produce they bought. There was a big shift to buying organic produce that was grown without the use of pesticides. The public also began to see the illnesses attributed to the use of pesticides as well as the deformities that children were being born with. They did not want this to happen to them or their children. This new public knowledge forced lawmakers to pass laws outlawing the use of certain pesticides. Growers were forced to find other ways to keep the crops pest free. This affected the amount of crops that they were able to produce.

Practice/Assessment Opportunity:
Guide students through discussions on the benefits and dangers of pesticides. They can also do research on the Internet to find out more information about the benefits and dangers of using certain pesticides.

Have students share what they have researched with the class by creating a poster informing other students about the benefits and dangers of pesticides and of not thoroughly washing all fruits and vegetables.