Assessing Agricultural Literacy Elements of Project Food Land and People in K–5 Using the Food and Fiber Systems Literacy Standards

Abstract

Agricultural literacy has been evolving as a discipline for over 25 years. In agriculture, as other disciplines of education, the body of knowledge can be identified and measured by a set of standards. The Food and Fiber Systems Literacy Standards, developed in the 1990s, have been widely accepted as the standards for agricultural literacy. Also developed in the 1990s was an agricultural literacy curriculum, called Project Food Land and People (FLP). The FLP curriculum, consisting of 55 units, is used in 27 states to teach science, math, social studies and language arts and to promote agricultural literacy in grades Pre–K through 12. This study uses the standards and benchmarks of the Food and Fiber Systems Literacy (F&FSL) to assess the extent to which FLP addresses the agricultural literacy standards for grade levels K–5. Although there were variations in the level of coverage, all standards and benchmarks of the F&FSL were addressed in the FLP units identified for grade groupings K-5. Congruence or incongruence, as measured by F&FSL standards and benchmarks, identified potential strengths and weaknesses to consider in revision of both curricula.