3rd Six Weeks | Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources Cluster | 5 class periods (50 min each)
Lesson Objective
Students connect current sustainable-engineering careers to water, energy, and agriculture problems. They read the three field reports in Find Your Future "Ag-Tech Pest Patrol" (FYF pp. 93-95), turn the reports into design constraints, design and revise a pest-monitoring drone concept, and evaluate how societal trends change careers and work tasks. On Day 5, students complete the required Grade 8 Xello Set goals task by saving at least two goals.
Learning Target: I can use evidence from workers and current sources to design a solution, revise it after feedback, and explain how a societal trend changes careers.
Success Criteria: I will know I am successful when my drone design has six labeled features, three evidence links, and one honest tradeoff; my revision record shows a specific change; and my trends evaluation uses two sourced facts plus one evidence limit.
Demonstration of Learning
Students submit one evidence packet: the final Pest Patrol drone design, a peer-review and revision record, and a two-trend career evaluation. The recommended scoring tool is the 16-point Sustainable Engineering Design and Evidence Rubric.
TEKS Alignment
- d(1)(C): Identify career opportunities through the career/problem guide and the agricultural-engineering work products used in the design task.
- d(1)(D): Research and evaluate emerging occupations related to career interests through the Day 4 trends evaluation.
- d(5)(C): Analyze how employment trends and societal needs affect career choices through sourced agriculture, energy, and water-workforce evidence.
- d(4)(A): Demonstrate goal-setting strategies through two Xello goals with a timeframe, next task, obstacle, and backup plan.
Day 5's Xello Set goals task belongs to the district completion spine. The saved goals and private reflection, not the platform click by itself, provide the d(4)(A) evidence.
Materials Needed
- Chromebooks with district single sign-on
- Find Your Future pp. 93-95, "Ag-Tech Pest Patrol"
- Find Your Future p. 146, "Powerskill: Adaptability," for the Day 5 goal-setting bridge
- Sustainable Engineering Career and Problem Guide
- Pest Patrol Field Notes and Constraints
- Pest Patrol Drone Design Brief
- Pest Patrol Peer Review and Revision Record
- Sustainable Engineering Trends Evidence Guide and Trends Evaluation
- Sustainable Engineering Design and Evidence Rubric
- Xello Goal Check and Private Reflection
- Xello educator resource, "Set Goals," stored in the locked Canvas week folder
- Pencils and colored pencils; Canva or Adobe Express may be used as equal digital design routes
Career Connection
Environmental engineers work on water, air, waste, and pollution-control systems. Agricultural engineers improve farm equipment and systems such as irrigation, spraying, harvesting, and field monitoring. Wind technicians and solar installers maintain energy equipment through different preparation routes. The career guide uses current BLS national data with the measure and date attached, so teachers do not have to verify live H&L titles or search for salary figures during class.
Irving ISD currently lists Sustainable Engineering at Nimitz High School and Drone Engineering at Irving High School. Present these as district options students may investigate. Do not promise admission, a credential, or a job outcome.
Source Boundaries
- BLS figures in the week guides are May 2024 U.S. medians and 2024-34 projections. They are not DFW starting pay.
- H&L remains an optional exploration route. It is not the only source students need to complete the week.
- USDA describes useful agriculture-drone applications and real limits such as cost, calibration, accuracy, and profitability. Avoid presenting a drone as a complete solution by itself.
- Licensed workbook and Xello pages appear only in authenticated Canvas.
Week at a Glance
| Day | Focus | Key Activities | Student Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Careers and resource problems | Fixed career guide; drought and crop problem brief | Private or collected problem-to-career response |
| 2 | Read Pest Patrol field reports | FYF pp. 93-94; constraints record | Field notes and three constraints |
| 3 | Design from evidence | FYF p. 95; paper, Canva, or Adobe route | Labeled drone draft and tradeoff |
| 4 | Review, revise, and evaluate trends | Peer/self-review; fixed trends evidence; Major submission | Visible revision and trends evaluation |
| 5 | Adaptability and required Xello goals | FYF p. 146 bridge; Xello Set goals | Two saved goals and private reflection |
Assessment Plan
Formative: Day 1 career/problem response, Day 2 constraints, Day 3 draft checks, Day 4 peer feedback, and Day 5 Xello completion report.
Recommended major evidence: final drone design + revision record + trends evaluation, 16 points. Grade engineering reasoning, communication, revision/tradeoff thinking, and trend/career evidence. Do not grade platform access, drawing skill, premium-template access, or whether a peer gave perfect feedback.
Canvas Interaction Plan
- Every day has one Teacher Facilitator Guide and one Student Guide.
- Day 1 includes an unpublished, 0-point private response home for the lead career, matching task, weaker comparison, and current fact. Students submit text/an upload or turn in the completed paper guide, not both.
- Day 3 includes an unpublished, ungraded Canvas Assignment for the Pest Patrol draft. Digital students may submit a file, image, text, or private media explanation. Paper remains equal.
- Day 4 may use Canvas peer review only after the teacher manually assigns reviewers. Automatic peer assignment remains off because late or missing submissions can strand students without a review.
- The mapped Major submission belongs after the Day 4 Student Guide. Day 5 stays focused on the required Xello task.
- Day 5 uses a private submission for the goal reflection. Students do not post profile screenshots or personal goals to a discussion.
Print Plan
- Day 1 defaults to digital with zero prints; the no-device route is one double-sided guide per student.
- Day 2 uses one required double-sided field-notes sheet per student.
- Day 3 uses one double-sided Design Brief per student unless the teacher assigns an equal digital evidence route.
- Day 4 uses one revision-record page plus one double-sided Trends Evaluation per student. The trends guide and rubric default to digital.
- Day 5 defaults to digital with zero prints; the one-page Goal Check is printed only for planning support or an outage.
Differentiation and Access
- Keep required directions visible. Place examples, vocabulary, and catch-up help in optional disclosures.
- Offer a simple drone outline, speech-to-text, and oral teacher conference without lowering the evidence criteria.
- Labels may be English, Spanish, or bilingual when meaning is clear. Supply bilingual labels and vocabulary support rather than requiring a full translated packet.
- A student who misses peer review uses the same form for a self-review or teacher conference.
- Paper goal planning supports access but does not replace required Xello completion. Schedule supervised catch-up.