Curricula

Publications and Curriculum Development

Effective curriculum materials represent a foundational component of programming in Cooperative Extension. To be effective and consequential, curricula must address relevant societal issues and include up-to-date content; be developed using sound educational theory; be tested ensure learning outcomes are achieved; and be appropriate for the intended audience.

See: Defining and Developing Curricula in the Context of Cooperative Extension

Research has revealed the need for the development of curriculum materials in 4-H. To this end, curricula that address a variety of societal issues (e.g., animal health and husbandry, veterinary science, bio-security, animal welfare, pre-harvest food safety) associated with 4-H (specifically) and UC ANR (more broadly) have been developed, peer-reviewed, and published.

See: Multiple-Methods Needs Assessment of California 4-H Science Education Programming

 

 

Coming Soon!

Best Practices in Your Backyard: Poultry Care and Welfare. This curriculum is focused on the basic needs and practices for raising poultry. More specifically, it is designed to help 4-H youth and adults learn strategies focused on husbandry and welfare for backyard poultry.

Available at: Coming soon

Discovering Healthy Choices. The objective of this nutrition science curriculum is to help youth develop an understanding of nutrition concepts and advance their problem-solving skills so they can make evidence-based decisions about the foods they eat. Designed for upper-elementary-aged youth.

Available at: Accepted for publication

 

National 4-H Goat Curriculum Series: The activities in this program are designed for you to develop an understanding of how to raise healthy and happy goats. This program explores with general knowledge and skills on breed identification, behavior, and animal care.

Available at: Under development

 

Now Available!

Animal Welfare Proficiencies for 4-H. Activities are designed to help youth gain an overall conceptual understanding of animal welfare. Furthermore, youth will learn strategies to help provide for their animals in ways to keep them healthy, comfortable, well-nourished, and safe from harm, and allow them to express normal behaviors.

Free to download here.

 

At the Interface between Livestock and Predators: Reducing Depredation through Livestock Husbandry. The principal focus of this curriculum is to help build knowledge and skills related to livestock husbandry strategies that mitigate the risk of predator attacks on livestock and poultry. The curriculum activities help youth understand the natural food web, how to identify common predators, how to assess the risks of predation on livestock, and how to mitigate against these risks. The curriculum also includes a service-learning component.

Available for purchase here.

 

A “Fear-Less” Approach to Understanding Dogs, Their Care, and Training. The activities in this curriculum are designed to provide youth with general knowledge and skills on breed identification, behavior, animal care, and training of dogs. 

Available for purchase here.

 

 

Veterinary Science

Understanding and Applying Veterinary Science in 4-H is designed to assist youth in developing important knowledge and skills associated with raising healthy animals. This curriculum is intended for 4-H youth who are interested in expanding their knowledge about animal health and husbandry and becoming informed animal owners.

Free to download:

Module 1

Module 2

Module 3

Module 4

Module 5

4-H Youth Curriculum: Youth Development through Veterinary Science is designed for younger 4-H youth who are interested in developing a deeper knowledge of basic veterinary science concepts. The 11 modules present youth with the information necessary for distinguishing the different characteristics, structures, and needs for a variety of species.

Free to download here 

 

Animal Care

Rabbits, From the Animal’s Point of View. Activities in this curriculum are designed to help youth develop knowledge and skills about rabbit behavior, needs, and care. This curriculum is intended for younger 4-H youth who are interested in rabbit health and husbandry; furthermore, it is designed specifically for youth who have never raised an animal before and those who may never have the opportunity to raise an animal.

Free to download here 

 

Sheep, From the Animal’s Point of View. Activities in this curriculum are designed to help youth develop knowledge and skills about sheep behavior, needs, and care. This curriculum is intended for younger 4-H youth who are interested in sheep health and husbandry; furthermore, it is designed specifically for youth who have never raised an animal before and those who may never have the opportunity to raise an animal.

Free to download here 

 

Swine, From the Animal’s Point of View. Activities in this curriculum are designed to help youth develop knowledge and skills about swine behavior, needs, and care. This curriculum is intended for younger 4-H youth who are interested in swine health husbandry; furthermore, it is designed specifically for youth who have never raised an animal before and those who may never have the opportunity to raise an animal.

Free to download here

 

National 4-H Swine Curriculum Series. The focus of this curriculum is on all aspects of raising swine, from selection of an animal, behavior, and breeds, to proper housing, nutrition, and health care. It also includes valuable information on showing and judging.

Available for purchase here 

 

National 4-H Beef Curriculum Series. The focus of this curriculum is on all aspects of raising beef, from selection of an animal, behavior, and breeds, to proper housing, nutrition, and health care. It also includes valuable information on showing and judging.

Available for purchase here 

 

Bio-Security and Pre-Harvest Food Safety

Pre-Harvest Food Safety in 4-H Animal Science. Pre-harvest food safety is focused on protecting the human food supply from disease-causing pathogens, parasites, and other harmful agents. This curriculum helps youth understand basic principles of pre-harvest food safety and methods they can apply to their livestock and poultry projects.

Free to download here 

 

Bio-Security in 4-H Animal Science. Bio-security is an important concept for 4-H involved in Animal Science Projects. This curriculum focuses on disease transmission, bio-security risk assessment, and risk mitigation strategies.

Free to download here 

Other

 4-H Youth Curriculum: There’s No New Water! Water is a finite natural resource that needs to be managed wisely. The curriculum activities engage youth in activities that help build their knowledge and skills related to water resource management and conservation. This curriculum is intended for 4-H youth teens and includes a service-learning module; it also includes a component for teens as cross-age teachers for younger 4-H members.

Available for purchase here

 

4-H Polymers: Be a Scientist! Materials in a Green, Clean World. This curriculum provides youth with the information needed to responsibly reduce, re-use, and recycle plastics and other materials. This curriculum helps youth build foundational skills of science and engineering, including observation, inquiry, categorizing, and communicating.

Available for purchase here