Teacher Resources
We recommend the following additional materials to complement Farm School.
Books
These books are suggested for use by teachers interested in gaining a greater understanding about family farming and community life.
Osha Gray Davidson, Broken Heartland: The Rise of America's Rural Ghetto (New York: Anchor Books, 1991). This examination of the 1980s farm crisis raises critical questions about the future of American agriculture.
John Hildebrand, Mapping the Farm: The Chronical of a Family. (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1995). This book tells the story of the O'Neill farm in the Upper Midwest from the 1880s to the present and explores the changes in farming, the meaning of family, and the values that help define the American dream.
Robert Leslie Jones, History of Agriculture in Ohio to 1880 (Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1983). Drawing on statistical data and personal accounts, Robert Jones provides a wealth of information on the rich history of farming in Ohio.
David Kline, Great Possessions: An Amish Farmer's Journal (New York: North Point Press, 1990). David Kline is a farmer and a member of an Old Order Amish community in Fredericksburg, Ohio. His intimate portrait of Amish Farm life offers a fresh view of our relationship to nature and a window into an Amish view of the world.
Archie Lieberman, Neighbors: A Forty-Year Portrait of an American Farm Community (San Francisco: Collins Publishers, 1993). This celebrated photographer combines interview excerpts and striking images of the people in Scales Mound, Illinois to present local farm life.
Catherine Lewallen Marconi, ed., Handspun of Red Earth: An Anthology of Farm Poems (Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1991). A wonderful collection of poetry capturing agricultural experience.
Dona Schwartz, Waucoma Twilight: Generations of the Farm (Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1992). This ethnography of Waucoma, Iowa combines photographs and personal narratives to explore life in this agricultural community.
William Vitek and Wes Jackson, eds., Rooted in the Land: Essays on Community and Place (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996). This fine collection of essays explores the nature of agricultural communities from ecological, social, and cultural points of view.
Web Sites
These web sites provide valuable information about farming to be used by teachers and students.
The Family Farm Project. Created by students and faculty at Kenyon College, this site includes a variety of materials on subjects including farm types, life, economy, ecology, organizations, and culture. Winner of a 1996 Outstanding Achievement Award from the Ohio Association of Historical Societies and Museums and a 1997 Public History Award from the Ohio Academy of History.
Ohioline. This service of the Ohio State University College of Food, Agriculture, and Environmental Sciences provides a wealth of readable information on topics including food, family, gardening, farming, youth activities, and the University's agricultural programs.
Knox County Extension Service. The Knox County Office of the Ohio State University Extension offers information about farming, gardening, home economy, 4-H, and Knox County, as well as links to additional web sites.
Films
These films are suitable for viewing by children beginning in the sixth grade.
Troublesome Creek: A Midwestern. A film by Jeanne Jordan and Steven Ascher, 1996. West City Films, Inc. 30 Wiltshire Rd., Newton, MA 02458. Phone 617/969-3133, Fax 617/969-3101, E-mail info@westcityfilms.com. Judged best documentary film at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival and nominated for an Academy Award, Troublesome Creek tells the moving story of one Iowa family's struggle to hold onto their family's farm. 90 minutes
Changing Faces on Our Land: Once Upon a Time on the Farm. A film by Joe Munroe, 1993. P.O. Box 308, Orinda, CA 94563. Phone 510/254-5112. From 1945 to 1975 award-winning photographer Joe Munroe captured daily life on farms across America. Winner of a C.I.N.E . Golden eagle Award in 1994, Changing Faces on Our Land documents the dramatic changes in farming in these years through these photographs, narrated by Mr. Munroe. 28 minutes
Audio Tapes
This audiotape is suitable for classroom use and discussion beginning in the sixth grade.
Rural Delivery: Family Farming in Knox County, Ohio. Produced by the Family Farm Project, 1995. Kenyon College, Gambier, OH 43022. Phone 614/427-5850. This boxed set includes a cassette tape of thirteen, five-minute programs featuring visits with family farmers and a thirty-two page booklet with an essay on Knox County farm history, photographs, and biographies of participating farm families. Topics explored include changing farm technology, farm history and folklore, religion and farming, farm aesthetics, women on the farm, farm organization, and values. Winner of a 1996 Outstanding Achievent Award from the Ohio Association of Historical Societies and Museums.