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Oklahoma Agriculture in the Classroom

Calendar


April

Goats

April
by Yvor Winters
The little goat
crops
new grass lying down
leaps up eight inches
into air and
lands on four feet.
Not a tremor -
solid in the spring and serious
he walks away
Photo

In 2016 Oklahoma had 91,000 meat and other goats and 6,600 dairy goats.

Producers have found that meat goats are easy to handle and inexpensive to maintain. For this reason they are popular as show animals. One of the reasons they are easier to handle is because of their smaller size.

Activities
  • Students use the Facts about Goats and other resources to write short papers on the following topics:
    • Goats in World History
    • The Goat as an Economical Food Source
    • The Care and Feeding of Goats
    • The Many Uses for Goats.
  • The US is the largest importer of goats. Discuss this fact and possible reasons for it. Then have students research online to find answers and share their findings.
  • Students read through the Facts about Goats and organize the information in outline form.
  • Younger students list words that rhyme with goat and write short poems about goats, based on some of the goat facts.
  • Students list descriptive words about goats, based on the goat facts.
A Market for Goats
Students read about goat production in Oklahoma and learn about the market for goats among various ethnic groups. Students will look at works of art related to goats.
The Fable of Franny and Her Fabulous Fainting Goat
Learn about some goats with an unusual trait.
Taming the Wild Aurochs
A time line of animal husbandry
Books
Bregoli, Jane, The Goat Lady, Tilbury, 2004. (Grades 4-6)
Based on a true story about an elderly French Canadian named Noelle who drew criticism from the people in her town because she kept a herd of white goats in her yard. The author and her children befriend the woman, and the author paints a series of portraits of her, which end up in a local art museum. The story is told from the point of view of one of the children and is ideal for reading aloud. A winner of the Aspca Henry Bergh Children's Award.
Green, Emily, Farm Animals: Goats, Bellweather, 2007. (Grades K-2)
Early reader provides very basic information about goats. Includes a glossary.
McBrier, Page, Beatrice's Goat, Aladdin, 2004. (Grades PreK-3)
An impoverished Ugandan family begins to flourish after receiving a goat from Heifer International, a nonprofit group working to end global hunger by providing livestock to people in need. As the months pass, the animal provides the family with milk to enjoy and sell and with a pair of kids to sell. With the goat's bounty, the family soon has enough money to send Beatrice to school. (Story inspired by actual events.)
Miller, Sarah Swan, Goats (True Books: Animals), Children's, 2001. (Grades 3-6)
Includes sidebars, a glossary and index, plus a "To Find Out More" section listing books, organizations and internet sites.
Ray, Hannah, Goats (Down on the Farm), Crabtree, 2008. (Grades PreK-2)