Florida Department of Education
Curriculum Framework 

Program Title:	Agricultural Communications
Program Type:	Career Preparatory
Career Cluster:	Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources

Secondary – Career Preparatory	
Program Number	8117000	
CIP Number	0101080200	
Grade Level	9-12    	
Program Length	3 credits	
Teacher Certification	Refer to the Program Structure Section	
CTSO	FFA	
SOC Codes (all applicable) 	27-3099 -- Media and Communication Workers, All Other	
CTE Program Resources 	http://www.fldoe.org/academics/career-adult-edu/career-tech-edu/program-resources.stml	

Purpose 

This program offers a sequence of courses that provides coherent and rigorous content aligned with challenging academic standards and relevant technical knowledge and skills needed to prepare for further education and careers in the Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (AFNR) career cluster; provides technical skill proficiency, and includes competency-based applied learning that contributes to the academic knowledge, higher-order reasoning and problem-solving skills, work attitudes, general employability skills, technical skills, and occupation-specific skills, and knowledge of all aspects of the Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources career cluster. 

The content includes but is not limited to instruction in instruction in animal and plant production and processing; agriculture marketing and communications; employability skills; mathematics; basic science; biological sciences; and human-relations skills.

Additional Information relevant to this Career and Technical Education (CTE) program is provided at the end of this document.

Program Structure

This program is a planned sequence of instruction consisting of three courses. Planned and Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE) must be provided through one or more of the following:  (1) foundational career exploration, (2) directed laboratory experience, (3) project ownership/entrepreneurship, (4) cooperative education/internship, (5) School Based Enterprise, or (6) Service Learning.

The following table illustrates the secondary program structure:

Course Number	Course Title	Teacher Certification	Length	SOC Code	Level	Graduation Requirement	
8106810	Agriscience Foundations1	AGRICULTURE 7 G
AGRICULTUR 1 @2	1 credit		3	EQ	
8117010	Agricultural Communications 2	AGRICULTUR 1 @2	1 credit	27-3099	3	CT	
8117020	Agricultural Communications 3		1 credit	27-3099	3	CT	
(Graduation Requirement Codes: CT= Career & Technical Education, EQ= Equally Rigorous Science, EC= Economics, MA= Mathematics, 
PL= Personal Financial Literacy)

National Standards (NS): Council for Agricultural Education

Some or all of the courses in this program have been aligned with National Standards AFNR Standards from the Council for Agricultural Education.  If so, the standards have been identified and cross walked with the corresponding CTE standard and/or benchmark. National Standards can be found by accessing the following link: https://ffa.app.box.com/v/Library/folder/52815452676. 

Common Career Technical Core – Career Ready Practices

Career Ready Practices describe the career-ready skills that educators should seek to develop in their students.  These practices are not exclusive to a Career Pathway, program of study, discipline or level of education.  Career Ready Practices should be taught and reinforced in all career exploration and preparation programs with increasingly higher levels of complexity and expectation as a student advances through a program of study. 

1. Act as a responsible and contributing citizen and employee. 

2. Apply appropriate academic and technical skills. 

3. Attend to personal health and financial well-being. 

4. Communicate clearly, effectively and with reason. 

5. Consider the environmental, social and economic impacts of decisions. 

6. Demonstrate creativity and innovation. 

7. Employ valid and reliable research strategies. 

8. Utilize critical thinking to make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. 

9. Model integrity, ethical leadership and effective management. 

10. Plan education and career path aligned to personal goals. 

11. Use technology to enhance productivity. 

12. Work productively in teams while using cultural/global competence. 

Standards

After successfully completing this program, the student will be able to perform the following:

Agriscience Foundations 1
01.0	Examine the history of AFNR production at the local, national, and global level. 
02.0	Employ scientific reasoning to make informed decisions in AFNR systems.
03.0	Apply scientific skills and principles in natural resources.
04.0	Apply scientific skills and principles in plant science.
05.0	Apply scientific skills and principles in animal science.
06.0	Apply scientific skills and principles in food science.
07.0	Apply scientific skills and principles in power, structure, and technical systems.
08.0	Explore AFNR professional development organizations.

Agricultural Communications 2
09.0	Investigate the communications sector of the agricultural industry.
10.0	Identify the forms of communication.
11.0	Develop communication messages.
12.0	Demonstrate oral communications skills.
13.0	Conduct interviews.
14.0	Utilize printed agricultural media.  
15.0	Utilize photography and graphics.
16.0	Develop, design and edit publications and documents.
17.0	Develop audio and video media.
18.0	Investigate ethical and professional issues in agricultural communications.
19.0	Demonstrate leadership, employability, and human relations skills.
20.0	Students evaluate the importance of the food and fiber system to understand the impact on global economy.
21.0	Students examine the scope of career opportunities in and the importance of agriculture to the economy.

Agricultural Communications 3
22.0	Explore the communications sector of the agricultural industry.
23.0	Create communication messages.
24.0	Demonstrate oral communications skills.
25.0	Generate printed agricultural media.
26.0	Modify photography and graphics.
27.0	Create, design and edit publications and documents.
28.0	Create or analyze audio and video media.
29.0	Investigate ethical and professional issues in agricultural communications.
30.0	Demonstrate leadership, employability, and human relations skills. 
31.0	Use online social media.
32.0	Create an agricultural communications campaign.
33.0	Explain the components of the American business system.
34.0	Investigate agricultural cooperatives structure and function.

Florida Department of Education
Student Performance Standards

Course Title: 	Agriscience Foundations 1
Course Number: 	8106810 
Course Credit:	1

Course Description:

This course is designed to develop competencies in the areas of agricultural history and the global impact of agriculture; career opportunities; scientific and research concepts; biological and physical science principles; environmental principles; agriscience safety; principles of leadership; and agribusiness, employability, and human relations skills in agriscience.  Laboratory-based activities are an integral part of this course.  These include the safe use and application of appropriate technology, scientific testing and observation equipment.

Laboratory investigations that include scientific inquiry, research, measurement, problem solving, emerging technologies, tools and equipment, as well as, experimental quality, and safety procedures will be an integral part of this course. Students will interact with materials and primary sources of data or with secondary sources of data to observe and understand the natural world.  Students will develop an understanding of measurement error, and develop the skills to aggregate, interpret, and present the data and resulting conclusions. Equipment and supplies will be provided to enhance these hands-on experiences for students.  A minimum of 20% of classroom time will be dedicated to laboratory experiences.

Agriscience Foundations 1 (8106810) is part of several programs across the Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources career cluster.  To ensure consistency, the standards and benchmarks for this course (01.0 – 8.0) have been placed in a separate document.   To access this document, visit: https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/20706/urlt/Agsci-Fnds1-Core-2425.rtf 

Florida Department of Education
Student Performance Standards

Course Title: 	Agricultural Communications 2
Course Number: 	8117010
Course Credit:	1

Course Description:

This course is designed to develop competencies in the communications sector of the agricultural industry including instruction in developing and editing materials for printed media and media broadcast, utilizing photography and graphics, the importance of the internet in communications, writing technical papers and media scripts and ethical and professional issues in the industry.

CTE Standards and Benchmarks	
09.0	Investigate the communications sector of the agricultural industry. The student will be able to:	
09.01	Describe the importance of and how communication is used in American agriculture and society.	
09.02	Discuss career opportunities in agricultural communications including the educational requirements.	
09.03	Identify professional organizations related to agricultural communications. 	
10.0	Identify the forms of communication. The student will be able to:	
10.01	Explain the different types of communication: verbal, non-verbal, written and visual. 	
10.02	Compare the various forms of communication technologies:  print, video, online media, visual arts and social media.	
10.03	Identify communication barriers and determine methods of overcoming these barriers.	
11.0	Develop communication messages. The student will be able to:	
11.01	Conduct an audience analysis.	
11.02	Research information for message development.	
11.03	Analyze credibility of research and sources.	
11.04	Utilize elements of informative and persuasive messages.	
11.05	Compare and contrast media channels.	
11.06	Identify agricultural messages in the media.	
11.07	Create informative and persuasive messages using various communication methods.	
12.0	Demonstrate oral communications skills. The student will be able to:	
12.01	Determine types of speeches: informative, persuasive. 	
12.02	Identify the importance of public speaking skills in career development. 	
12.03	Explain the characteristics of an effective public speaker. 	
12.04	Explain the steps necessary to prepare a speech. 	
12.05	Present a prepared speech.	
12.06	Present an extemporaneous speech. 	
12.07	Create visual aids for presentations.	
13.0	Conduct interviews. The student will be able to:	
13.01	Research information for an interview (including company or organization information and information about the interviewee to build rapport). 	
13.02	Identify the types of interview questions. 	
13.03	Write interview questions. 	
13.04	Conduct an interview. 	
13.05	Conduct follow-up procedures. 	
14.0	Prepare written agricultural media. The student will be able to:	
14.01	Explain the evolution and relevance of printed media in the agricultural industry.  Describe the components of various styles in written articles.	
14.02	Identify and list the criteria for newsworthiness of a news story.	
14.03	Explain the structure of the inverted pyramid. 	
14.04	List the five W’s and the H:  who, what, when, where, why and how.	
14.05	Compose a news story and news release on an agricultural topic. 	
14.06	Compose a news release on an agricultural topic.	
14.07	Use the Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual to edit articles. 	
14.08	Define the components of an editorial.  	
15.0	Utilize photography and graphics. The student will be able to:	
15.01	 Identify types of photographs and graphics.	
15.02	Describe the importance of photographs and graphics to agriculture communications.	
15.03	Identify key terms in digital photography and photo editing.	
15.04	Compose a quality photograph.	
15.05	Demonstrate the use of technology, software, and hardware used in photography and graphic design. 	
15.06	Explain the difference among digital file formats. .	
16.0	Develop, design and edit publications and documents. The student will be able to:	
16.01	Identify key terms in publication and document design.	
16.02	Explain and apply the components of the publication and document development process. 	
16.03	Identify common mistakes in publication and document design.	
16.04	Use the appropriate software to design a publication and document. 	
17.0	Develop audio and video media. The student will be able to:	
17.01	Explain and implement the electronic media production process. 	
17.02	Write video and audio scripts.	
17.03	Describe the importance of grammar and punctuation in writing scripts. 	
17.04	Draw a video storyboard.	
17.05	Write a video shot outline.	
17.06	Identify a proper video shot sequence (long shot, medium shot, close-up).	
17.07	Create a promotional video. 	
17.08	Demonstrate proper tone and voice inflection for radio and video.	
17.09	Produce a video message with no narration.	
18.0	Investigate ethical and professional issues in agricultural communications. The student will be able to:	
18.01	Demonstrate characteristics of responsible/ethical media professionals:  public relations professional, reporter and editor. 	
18.02	Adhere to all media deadlines.  	
18.03	Describe plagiarism, libel, slander, copyright and intellectual property. 	
19.0	Demonstrate leadership, employability, and human relations skills. The student will be able to:	
19.01	Conduct a job search for a career in agricultural communications.	
19.02	Develop a resume and an application letter.  Identify documents that may be required when applying for a job in the agricultural communication field.	
19.03	Identify and demonstrate proper human relation skills.	
19.04	Complete a job application form. 	
19.05	Write a proper thank you letter.	
19.06	Identify proper workplace and interview attire.	
19.07	Create business letters.	
19.08	Create electronic correspondence.	
20.0	Students evaluate the importance of the food and fiber system to understand the impact on global economy. The student will be able to:	
20.01	Assess the agricultural impact upon the US gross national product and the total global economy.	
20.02	Investigate local, state, and national regulatory laws, industry regulations, and legislation for agricultural businesses.	
20.03	Identify and describe the primary government agencies involved with agriculture.	
20.04	Research new and emerging technologies and their impact on the economy.	
20.05	Recognize the value of the food and agribusiness industry.  	
21.0	Students examine the scope of career opportunities in and the importance of agriculture to the economy. The student will be able to:	
21.01	Define and explore agriculture and agribusinesses and their role in the economy.	
21.02	Evaluate and explore the agribusiness career opportunities in agriculture.	
21.03	Compare how key organizational structures and processes affect organizational performance and the quality of products and services.	
21.04	Demonstrate those qualities, attributes and skills necessary to succeed in, or further prepare for, a chosen career while effectively contributing to society.	

Florida Department of Education
Student Performance Standards

Course Title: 	Agricultural Communications 3
Course Number: 	8117020
Course Credit:	1

CTE Standards and Benchmarks	
22.0	Explore the communications sector of the agricultural industry. The student will be able to:	
22.01	Identify influential, historical, and current issues in the agricultural industry that necessitates agricultural communication.	
22.02	Objectively debate agricultural issues.	
23.0	Create communication messages. The student will be able to:	
23.01	Define what persuasion is and explain how it can be used to influence others.	
23.02	Describe and provide an example of how persuasion is used in the media.	
23.03	Create persuasive media.	
23.04	Identify different types of communication research methods.	
24.0	Demonstrate oral communications skills. The student will be able to:	
24.01	Identify various forms of visual aids for an oral presentation.	
24.02	Present a speech using visual aids and non-verbal cues. 	
24.03	Evaluate a speech.	
25.0	Generate printed agricultural media. The student will be able to:	
25.01	Develop a media kit consisting of a backgrounder, fact sheet, news release and other media.	
25.02	Compose an advance story, feature story, follow-up story, cover story and news release on an agricultural topic. 	
26.0	Modify photography and graphics. The student will be able to:	
26.01	Crop and edit photographs and graphics to enhance an article or news release.	
26.02	Write effective captions/cutlines for photographs and graphics.	
27.0	Create, design and edit publications and documents. The student will be able to:	
27.01	Create a magazine layout, brochure, poster, newsletter, and/or display for an agriculture product or event.	
28.0	Create or analyze audio and video media. The student will be able to:	
28.01	Create or analyze an informational video.	
28.02	Create or analyze a persuasive video.	
28.03	Create or analyze an audio program or podcast.	
29.0	Investigate ethical and professional issues in agricultural communications. The student will be able to:	
29.01	Define key terms related to ethics and professionalism and discuss their relationship to agriculture.	
29.02	Describe the importance of confidentiality in agricultural communications.	
29.03	Respond appropriately to opposing views in a professional manner. 	
29.04	Identify concepts of risk communication and crisis communication. 	
30.0	Demonstrate leadership, employability, and human relations skills. The student will be able to:	
30.01	Demonstrate competence in job interview techniques 	
30.02	Identify or demonstrate appropriate responses to criticism.	
30.03	Answer interview questions competently.	
30.04	Participate in mock interviews.	
30.05	Analyze one's own online presence.	
31.0	Use online and social media. The student will be able to:	
31.01	Compare and contrast the methods of delivering a message through different types of online and social media. 	
31.02	Analyze online and social media for credibility and relevance.	
31.03	Research the agricultural industry’s use of online and social media.	
31.04	Compose a professional e-mail. 	
31.05	Demonstrate an understanding of web design software and language. 	
31.06	Create or analyze an agricultural website.	
31.07	Use proper composition principles to capture images with mobile technology.	
31.08	Access data or information utilizing a mobile app. 	
32.0	Create an agricultural communications campaign. The student will be able to:	
32.01	Define key terms in communications campaign development.	
32.02	Identify and perform the various professional roles in a communications campaign.	
32.03	Identify the strengths and weaknesses of various media for use in communication campaigns.	
32.04	Develop a communications campaign.	
32.05	Develop a research report for the agricultural industry using an industry standard format.	
33.0	Explain the components of the American business system. The student will be able to:	
33.01	Describe the five basic ways American business is organized.	
33.02	Distinguish and identify between the characteristics of each method of doing business.	
33.03	Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages provided by each business method.	
33.04	Evaluate how cooperative principles and practices differentiate cooperatives from other businesses.	
34.0	Investigate agricultural cooperatives structure and function. The student will be able to:	
34.01	Explain the definition of a cooperative.	
34.02	Understand the history of cooperative principles and practices.	
34.03	Describe the five areas that classify cooperative structure.	
34.04	Distinguish and identify between the five types of cooperative structure and their functions. 	
34.05	Demonstrate the need for internal and external communications in a cooperative.	

Additional Information

Laboratory Activities

Laboratory investigations that include scientific inquiry, research, measurement, problem solving, emerging technologies, tools and equipment, as well as, experimental, quality, and safety procedures are an integral part of this career and technical program/course. Laboratory investigations benefit all students by developing an understanding of the complexity and ambiguity of empirical work, as well as the skills required to manage, operate, calibrate and troubleshoot equipment/tools used to make observations. Students understand measurement error; and have the skills to aggregate, interpret, and present the resulting data. Equipment and supplies should be provided to enhance hands-on experiences for students.

Florida Standards for English Language Development (ELD)
English language learners communicate for social and instructional purposes within the school setting. ELD.K12.ELL.SI.1

English Language Development (ELD) Standards Special Notes:
Teachers are required to provide listening, speaking, reading and writing instruction that allows English language learners (ELL) to communicate for social and instructional purposes within the school setting.   For the given level of English language proficiency and with visual, graphic, or interactive support, students will interact with grade level words, expressions, sentences and discourse to process or produce language necessary for academic success. The ELD standard should specify a relevant content area concept or topic of study chosen by curriculum developers and teachers which maximizes an ELL’s need for communication and social skills. For additional information on the development and implementation of the ELD standards, please contact the Bureau of Student Achievement through Language Acquisition at SALA@fldoe.org. 

Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO)

Florida FFA is the co-curricular career and technical student organization for providing leadership training and reinforcing specific career and technical skills.  Career and Technical Student Organizations provide activities for students as an integral part of the instruction offered.  

Cooperative Training – OJT

On-the-job training is appropriate but not required for this program.  Whenever offered, the rules, guidelines, and requirements specified in the OJT framework apply. 

Accommodations

Federal and state legislation requires the provision of accommodations for students with disabilities as identified on the secondary student’s Individual Educational Plan (IEP) or 504 plan or postsecondary student’s accommodations’ plan to meet individual needs and ensure equal access. Accommodations change the way the student is instructed. Students with disabilities may need accommodations in such areas as instructional methods and materials, assignments and assessments, time demands and schedules, learning environment, assistive technology and special communication systems. Documentation of the accommodations requested and provided should be maintained in a confidential file.

In addition to accommodations, some secondary students with disabilities (students with an IEP served in Exceptional Student Education (ESE)) will need modifications to meet their needs. Modifications change the outcomes or what the student is expected to learn, e.g., modifying the curriculum of a secondary career and technical education course. Note: postsecondary curriculum and regulated secondary programs cannot be modified.

Some secondary students with disabilities (ESE) may need additional time (i.e., longer than the regular school year), to master the student performance standards associated with a regular course or a modified course.  If needed, a student may enroll in the same career and technical course more than once.  Documentation should be included in the IEP that clearly indicates that it is anticipated that the student may need an additional year to complete a Career and Technical Education (CTE) course.  The student should work on different competencies and new applications of competencies each year toward completion of the CTE course.  After achieving the competencies identified for the year, the student earns credit for the course.  It is important to ensure that credits earned by students are reported accurately.  The district’s information system must be designed to accept multiple credits for the same course number for eligible students with disabilities.