Programs
Schoolyard Sugaring
Classroom Connections
Much of the content that is taught in the classroom is used within the sugarbushes and sugar houses of maple syrup farmers from season to season and day to day. As students engage with the art and science of maple production, they are able to recognize, engage with, and apply core concepts and standards in an authentic real-world learning environment. The following lessons and resources can help create such a learning environment in the classroom and are grade-level appropriate.
Why Use Maple Syrup Prouduciton in your Classroom?
Elementary
Exploring Maple Syrup Lesson
This lesson will aide students in understanding the steps and process of turning maple sap into maple syrup, and using their senses to analyze syrup's qualities.
How Sweet is Maple Sap? Activity
Through this simple to implement activity, students will learn the difference between maple sap and maple syrup.
NYS Maple Producers Association Maple Education Resources
These maple educational videos, worksheets, activity book, coloring book, and production poster are developed to engage students with many of the concepts the learn about in the classroom through the lens of maple production.
New York Agriculture in the Classroom Maple Resources
Use these great maple lessons, worksheets, smart board presentations, and maple companion resources to help reinforce core concepts of weather, ecosystems, geography, math, Ela, and more.
Tapping into Maple Tradition: Lessons and Resources
New Hampshire Agriculture in the Classroom - Tapping into Maple Tradition digs deeper into maple sugar production to uncover a wide variety of core academic concepts.
Cornell Maple Program
Middle School
Maple Sugar Molecules and Crystals by NH Agriculture in the Classroom
Students will learn about what sugar crystals look like on a larger scale and how removing water allows for crystallization by making rock candy.
Tapping into Maple Tradition: Lessons and Resources
New Hampshire Agriculture in the Classroom - Tapping into Maple Tradition digs deeper into maple sugar production to uncover a wide variety of core academic concepts.
Sugar Concentration and Hydrometers by NH Agriculture in the Classroom
Students will make and test out their own hydrometer, and use the hydrometer to test the sugar concentration of different grades of maple syrup.
Forest Farming Videos
Cornell University's Dr. Mike Farrell has a collection of 12 short and exceptional videos explaining the many facets of sap collection, reverse osmosis, evaporation, filtering, grading syrup, and more. Highly recommended resource to show your students these engaging and interesting videos.
Cornell Maple Program
High School
Maple Economics by NH Agriculture in the Classroom
Students will simulate the relationship between producers and consumers while learning about the maple syrup industry in the United States and its competitors.
Tapping into Maple Tradition: Lessons and Resources
New Hampshire Agriculture in the Classroom - Tapping into Maple Tradition digs deeper into maple sugar production to uncover a wide variety of core academic concepts.
Sugar Concentration and Hydrometers by NH Agriculture in the Classroom
Students will make and test out their own hydrometer, and use the hydrometer to test the sugar concentration of different grades of maple syrup.
Forest Farming Videos
Cornell University's Dr. Mike Farrell has a collection of 12 short and exceptional videos explaining the many facets of sap collection, reverse osmosis, evaporation, filtering, grading syrup, and more. Highly recommended resource to show your students these engaging and interesting videos.
Maple Virtual Field Trips
Take your students on virtual tours of New York maple farms to learn from real New York maple farmers about maple syrup production, career opportunities within the maple sector, value-added products, and much more.
Mapleland with Farmers and Brothers David and Terry Campbell
Learn how a large-scale family maple operation works from trucking in maple sap, boiling on large gas fired evaporators, to using giant RO systems to be more efficient in syrup production.
Uihlein Cornell Maple Research Facility with Director and Maple Scientist Adam Wild
Follow along as Adam Wild shares about his career as a maple researcher and highlights what maple production at a university research facility looks like.
Shaver Hill Maple Farm with Entrepreneur and Maple Farmer Damian Hill
Third generation maple producer and entrepreneur Damian Hill gives a behind the scenes tour of his family’s maple farm and how they collect and process maple syrup for retail and bulk syrup sales as well as create and develop value-added maple products.
Vernon Verona Sherrill (VVS) FFA and Stockbridge Valley FFA School Based Maple Programs
On these two separate tours you will learn how school based agricultural maple programs were started and how they are managed through a collaboration with agricultural educators and students.