Essential Understandings for Agricultural Biology

After the completion of this term of instruction, students will be able to:

1. List and explain the mission and strategies, colors, motto, and parts of the FFA emblem; summarize the history of the National FFA Organization; and recite and explain the meaning of the FFA Creed.
2. Describe the fundamental chemistry of living cells.
3. Formulate and test a hypothesis specific to the effect of changing one variable or another using agricultural examples
4. Describe the fundamental techniques and tools on how scientists/ biologists utilize and investigate living things.
5. Summarize how living organisms interact with one another and their environment.
6. Describe the flow of energy and matter in cellular function.

Essential Understandings for Animal Science

After the completion of this term of instruction, students will be able to:

1. List and explain the mission and strategies, colors, motto, and parts of the FFA emblem; summarize the history of the National FFA Organization; and recite and explain the meaning of the FFA Creed.
2. Discuss the major parts and functions of the skeletal, muscular, digestive, respiratory, circulatory, nervous, and endocrine systems
3. Discuss the interdependencies of an animals systems, and that they mutually depend on each other to work.
4. Recognize that the skeletal system provides the frame support for all the other systems. Dissect an elk leg to evaluate differences in bones and connective tissue.
5. Contrast the function of organs as they are categorized as skeletal, smooth, or cardiac.  Voluntarily consume prepared meat samples of beef, pork, and lamb.
6. Compare and contrast the two types of digestive systems in animals: Ruminant and Monogastric.  Dissect a ruminant stomach to evaluate the four compartments and their structure as they apply to different functions.
7. Recognize that processes are controlled by a central system that sends and receives messages, and that the brain controls this system. 
8. Classify hormones that stimulate a response through the endocrine system and identify various glands in an animal’s body.

Essential Understandings for Horse Management

After the completion of this term of instruction, students will be able to:

1. List and explain the mission and strategies, colors, motto, and parts of the FFA emblem; summarize the history of the National FFA Organization; and recite and explain the meaning of the FFA Creed.
2. Recognize equine gaits as a distinctive rhythmic movement of the feet and legs and identify horses at a walk, trot, pace, canter, and gallop.
3. Be aware of movement defects in horses and identify if an animal is forging, paddling, pounding, or rolling.
4. Develop a report and presentation on an equine breed and associate it to it’s classification of pony, light, or draft. 
5. Identify breeds of horses as they are classified as pony, light, or draft.
6. Gain and understanding of the history of the horse and recognize the theories of domestication.
7. Identify proper prevention and treatment for equine parasites. 
8. Classify parasites as internal or external and identify symptoms for each.

Essential Understandings for Natural Resources
Term 3
After the completion of this term of instruction, students will be able to:

1. Produce a resume, cover letter, job application form, and scholarship application form to demonstrate written communication skills.
2. Explain the importance of soil, describe a soil profile, and relate practices of erosion control.
3. Investigate the water cycle and discuss regulations associated with water quality and pollution.
4. Compare and contrast the various energy resources and their uses and impacts.

Term 4
After the completion of this term of instruction, students will be able to:

• Evaluate range management systems and improvement techniques.
• Analyze the interrelationships between livestock and wildlife on Utah range and pasture.
• Define wildlife habitat and evaluate conservation practices of wildlife habitats
• Indentify and classify wildlife populations including aquatic and game animals.
• Examine forestry practices through ecology, reforestation, forest products, and forest management.