News: Teacher stories

At Bethel-Tate High School, Samantha Williams’ honors biology students performed the fermentation in a bag lab. Each student group created their own experiment plan to test their chosen variables. Students then added various enzymes, yeast, various feedstock/corn stock, and warm water to snack size baggies. Then they measured the height of each bag to see how much they inflated. Students also used a breathalyzer to determine alcohol content, which …

Kelly Staley, 7th grade science teacher at Clear Fork Middle School, shares how she’s using what she learned at the summer 2-day Feed the World workshop sponsored by Ohio Corn & Wheat: My students begin this unit by studying the properties of water. They perform tests examining cohesion, adhesion, specific heat, and the pH of different sources of water. The students enjoyed the opportunity to choose from four different labs, …

After covering photosynthesis, Rebecca Scott of Field High School took her students through cellular respiration, including the corn fermentation in a bag activity. The activities and supplies were provided from Ohio Corn & Wheat-sponsored Feed the World workshop. Scott said, “First and foremost, the breathalyzer sure captured their interest! I would like to think that we had accurate results; one of our readings was .9!” Since the bags weren’t inflating quickly, …

Recently the 10th grade biology students at Fort Jennings High School worked on the Corn Fermentation in a Bag lab experiment. Teacher Jeff Jostpille, a Feed the World alumni educator, first reviewed cellular respiration and organic molecules. Next, he talked about commercial ethanol production, reminding students about the two local ethanol facilities. He explains the fermentation activity: “Students could choose from a variety of feedstocks, including sugar, honey, blue agave, …

The water cycle and erosion are part of Ohio’s fourth grade science standards. Julia Moncrief’s students at Meigs Intermediate School in southeastern Ohio did chemical water tests for dissolved oxygen, pH, nitrate, and phosphates of the water in the local stream behind the school. She expanded the activity to the garden club to include students from other classrooms. These students live in an area where there has been a history …

Did you know that water quality can be assessed by the number and type of organisms in the water? The Ohio Corn & Wheat-sponsored Feed the World workshops include great hands-on lessons and also provide teachers with the supplies needed to share the lessons with students. Kecia Slob-Stewart of River Valley High School attended the summer workshop and took advantage of the great fall weather to do the lessons with …

Wendy Baker teaches a water quality unit to her 4th graders at Grover Hill Elementary each year, including Ohio Corn & Wheat sponsored-Feed The World water quality lessons in that unit. To begin, Patrick Troyer from the Paulding County Soil and Water Conservation District came to Baker’s class to talk about macroinvertebrates. She said, “We walk to the stream where he uses swoop nets to bring some out for the …

The National FFA convention offers lots of opportunities for learning in the teacher workshop strand. This year, Courtney Bockbrader, Whitney Short, and Meredith Wolfe led a session on bringing hands-on, science-based labs to life in a variety of classes. Approximately 30 people attended the session. Presenters covered water quality and led the group through several activities including a stream simulation with biotic sampling and water quality testing of temperature, pH, dissolved …