 | Primary School Agriculture: Volume I: Pedagogy (GTZ, 1985, 144 p.) |
 |  | Part II: Teaching methods |
| | 2. The structure of teaching units |
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2.1 Breaking down a scheme of work into units
Farming a crop or a crop association is a teaching project which for some crops extends over a whole academic year, sometimes more, for others over one or two terms. Such a project must be divided into smaller units, e.g. farm preparation, farm care, harvesting, storage and processing, according to the seasons. These units in turn consist of sub-units built around one practical activity - practical work or observation-. Sub-units are made up of different lessons, some of them pure class-room lessons, some of them outdoor activities.
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Level |
time needed |
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Project |
determined by growth cycle of crop |
e.g. Maize Farming - Planning - Implementation - End-of-year-revision |
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Unit |
varies with duration of main farm operations |
e.g. farm preparation- planting - farm care - harvesting - storage, processing, marketing |
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Sub-units |
4-6 lessons |
built around a practical activity, e.g. planting, weeding, observation of plant growth, of insect attacks etc. |
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Lesson |
40-55 minutes |
types of lessons: preparation of practical activity, practical activity itself, follow-up lessons |
We shall concentrate on the sub-units and on the individual lessons. The larger units are given in the schemes of work. They require less detailed planning than the sub-units and the actual lessons. The diagram illustrates how units, sub-units and lessons fit together.
The basic element in this approach is the sub-unit. Lessons in a farm project can only rarely be regarded as self-contained, independent blocks. The sub-units, on the other hand, with their sequence of classroom and outdoor activities can be regarded as relatively self-contained, ending with some conclusions at least.
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