1. Teacher Guide
This lesson is designed to teach kids to ask a critical thinking question that you can’t just put into a search box to solve. To do that, we encourage them with smaller questions that search can help them answer. Make sure that you read the notes for each slide: they not only give you teaching tips but also provide answers and hints so you can help the kids if they are having trouble.
Remember, you can always send feedback to the Bing in the Classroom team at You can learn more about the program at bing.com/classroom and follow the daily lessons on our Partners In Learning site.
Want to extend today’s lesson? Consider using Skype in the Classroom to arrange for your class to chat with another class in today’s location. And if you are using Windows 8, you can also use the Bing apps to learn more about this location and topic; the Travel and News apps in particular make great teaching tools.
Alice Keeler is a mother of 5 and a teacher in Fresno, California. She has her B.A in Mathematics, M.S. in Educational Media Design and Technology and is currently working on a doctorate in Educational Technology with an emphasis in games and simulations. EdTech speaker, blogger, and presenter. Founder of coffeeEDU, a 1 hour conference event for educators. New Media Consortium Horizon report advisory panel member. High school math teacher for 14 years. Currently teaching pre-service teachers curriculum, instruction and technology at California State University Fresno. Teaches online for Fresno Pacific University in the Masters in Educational Technology. Passionate that kids are not failures, researches gamification in education to increase student motivation.
This lesson is designed to teach the Common Core State Standard: English Language Arts
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W E Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W D Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic.

2. What are the effects of erosion on farming in the Palouse
What are the effects of erosion on farming in the Palouse? How can erosion be combatted?
©Cameron Davidson/Gallery Stock
Having this up as kids come in is a great settle down activity. You can start class by asking them for thoughts about the picture or about ideas on how they could solve the question of the day.

3. What are the effects of erosion on farming in the Palouse
What are the effects of erosion on farming in the Palouse? How can erosion be combatted?
Glaciers roughed up the terrain of the region in eastern Washington and the Idaho panhandle now known as the Palouse. Despite the lumpy hills dotting the prairie, the region has become an agricultural powerhouse, with wheat and lentils as the top crops. Unlike the generally flat parcels of land in the Midwestern United States, the Palouse proved a labor-intensive challenge to farmers. One of many modifications used to work the earth here is contour farming. Rows of crops follow the slopes and peaks of the land, making for strange-shaped fields such as this one.
Depending on time, you can either have students read this silently to themselves, have one of them read out loud, or read it out loud yourself.

4. What are the effects of erosion on farming in the Palouse
What are the effects of erosion on farming in the Palouse? How can erosion be combatted? 1
Image Search
Use Bing images to locate pictures of farming in the Palouse. 2
Web Search
What farming methods are utilized by farmers in the Palouse? 3
Video Search
Locate a video demonstrating farming techniques by farmers in the Palouse 4
Why is erosion a challenge in the Palouse? 5
What are methods that can be employed to reduce erosion?
There are a couple of ways to use this slide, depending on how much technology you have in your classroom. You can have students find answers on their own, divide them into teams to have them do all the questions competitively, or have each team find the answer to a different question and then come back together. If you’re doing teams, it is often wise to assign them roles (one person typing, one person who is in charge of sharing back the answer, etc.)

5. What are the effects of erosion on farming in the Palouse
What are the effects of erosion on farming in the Palouse? How can erosion be combatted? 5
Minutes
You can adjust this based on how much time you want to give kids. If a group isn’t able to answer in 5 minutes, you can give them the opportunity to update at the end of class or extend time.

6. What are the effects of erosion on farming in the Palouse
What are the effects of erosion on farming in the Palouse? How can erosion be combatted? 1
Image Search
Use Bing images to locate pictures of farming in the Palouse. 2
Web Search
What farming methods are utilized by farmers in the Palouse? 3
Video Search
Locate a video demonstrating farming techniques by farmers in the Palouse 4
Why is erosion a challenge in the Palouse? 5
What are methods that can be employed to reduce erosion?
You can ask the students verbally or let one of them come up and insert the answer or show how they got it. This way, you also have a record that you can keep as a class and share with parents, others.

7. What are the effects of erosion on farming in the Palouse
What are the effects of erosion on farming in the Palouse? How can erosion be combatted? 1
Image Search
Use Bing images to locate pictures of farming in the Palouse.
(Possible Search Query: “Palouse farming”)
Sources

8. What are the effects of erosion on farming in the Palouse
What are the effects of erosion on farming in the Palouse? How can erosion be combatted? 2
Web Search
What farming methods are utilized by farmers in the Palouse?
(Possible Search Queries: “Palouse”, “palouse farming methods”, “strip cropping”)
Sources
Wikipedia:
Washington State University:
Digital Journal:
Wikipedia:
The Palouse region is important for the farming of the legume lentil. Direct seeding is a method of farming in which the seed is planted directly into the ground, thus only minimally disturbing the soil. Strip cropping involves alternating the rows of crops with two different crop types.

9. What are the effects of erosion on farming in the Palouse
What are the effects of erosion on farming in the Palouse? How can erosion be combatted? 3
Video Search
Locate a video demonstrating farming techniques by farmers in the Palouse
(Possible Search Queries: “Palouse”, “palouse farming methods”, “strip cropping”)
Sources
Farming methods of the 1940’s:
Direct Seeding Demonstration:
Strip Cropping:

10. What are the effects of erosion on farming in the Palouse
What are the effects of erosion on farming in the Palouse? How can erosion be combatted? 4
Web Search
Why is erosion a challenge in the Palouse?
(Possible Search Query: “erosion palouse”)
Sources
Washington State University:
After tractors replaced horses to plow the hillsides the types of crops planted that protect the soil diminished. This led to an acceleration in erosion.

11. What are the effects of erosion on farming in the Palouse
What are the effects of erosion on farming in the Palouse? How can erosion be combatted? 5
Web Search
What are methods that can be employed to reduce erosion?
(Possible Search Queries: “erosion palouse”)
Sources
Washington State University:
Till the soil less, reduce fallow fields in the summer, stubble mulching, small grain crops erode less, divided-slope farming and field strip cropping.

12. What are the effects of erosion on farming in the Palouse
What are the effects of erosion on farming in the Palouse? How can erosion be combatted?
This slide is a chance to summarize the information from the previous slides to build your final answer to the question.