Life Cycle of Dairy Cattle
Teacher Preparation
Learning Goals
1. Upon completion of this lesson students will be able to understand and explain the life cycle of dairy cattle.
Critical Vocabulary:
- Calf
- Cow
- Newborn
- Heifer
- Yearling
- Mature
- Holstein
- Jersey
- Weaning
- Peak Lactation
- Dry Cow
2. Upon completion of this lesson students will be able to understand how producers care for dairy cattle during their lifetime
Learning Standards
- LS1.1 Develop and use models to describe that organisms have unique and diverse life cycles, but all have a common pattern of birth, growth, reproduction, and death.
- WG.5 The student will analyze agricultural and commercial land use.
Resources & Materials
- VT Life Cycle
- Southwest - southland dairy farmers Milk. From Cows to Kids
- NC State Feeding Dairy Heifers
- EPA Lifecycle Production Phases
- US Jersey A Quality Heifer
- PSU Daiy Heifer Growth
- Visuals in the center
- Student tour guides
Lesson Delivery
Anticipatory Set
- How do people grow? - Life stages of people, as a basis for comparison
- Provide students with images of people at various life stages to equate to various
life stages of
cattle
- Infant, child, teenager, adult, elderly
- As you show images to students, ask what the differences are between people at each
age
- Use questioning and sharing to discuss how different people at different life stages can perform different tasks.
- Explain that the same is true in the cows that give us milk; they are able to different things at different life stages.
- Today we are going to learn about what cattle can do at different life stages and learn the vocabulary words used to describe those stages.
- Provide students with images of people at various life stages to equate to various
life stages of
Direct Instruction
1st Learning Goal: Upon completion of this lesson students will be able to understand and explain the life cycle of dairy cattle. (From VT Life Cycle and NC State Feeding Diary Heifers)
Content Outline |
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Newborn Calf
|
6-month-old heifer
|
Yearling
|
2-year-old Cow
|
Mature Cow
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Learning Activity
Students could be provided with a coloring sheet showing the growth stages of dairy cows with blanks to label the ages and name for each life stage.
- Ex.) Under the image of a heifer they could write “6 months old” and “heifer” with help and prompting for spelling
Assessment
- Instructor could ask questions throughout or at the completion of the lesson like
- “How old are the cows we get milk from?” (2, or more)
- “What are the breeds of cows we learned about?” (Holstein and Jersey)
- “What is a heifer?” (A cow that hasn’t had a calf/baby)
- “What happens when a cow turns 2?” (She has a baby and she can be milked or the first time)
- What’s one of the differences between a calf and a cow? (cows give milk, calves live in hutches, calves eat from bottles, etc.)
2nd Learning Goal: Upon completion of this lesson students will be able to understand how producers care for dairy cattle during their lifetime. (From Milk. From Cows to Kids)
Content Outline |
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Feeding
|
Cow comfort
|
Assessment
Instructor should ask questions like:
- “What are some ways farmers help cows stay comfortable?” (Fans, beds, etc.)
- “What are some ways farmers make sure cows are getting the feed they need?” (Ear tags, special feeders, etc.)
- How long do cows spend eating a day? (6-7 hours)
Closing Announcements/Reminders
- Answer any questions they may have
- Show them the robot and viewing windows one more time
- Thank students for coming to the Ferguson Family Dairy