Make the connection between history agriculture and the future! The California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom provides teacher-tested, standards-based, educational materials for K-12 educators statewide to enhance all curriculum disciplines.

1. Connecting History, Agriculture and the Future in the Classroom California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom

4. One day a stranger came to the field of the Three Sisters - a Mohawk boy. He talked to the birds and other animals - this caught the attention of the three sisters. Late that summer, the youngest and smallest sister disappeared. Her sisters were sad. Again the Mohawk boy came to the field to gather reeds at the water's edge. The two sisters who were left watched his moccasin trail, and that night the second sister - the one in the yellow dress - disappeared as well. Now the Elder Sister was the only one left. She continued to stand tall in her field. When the Mohawk boy saw that she missed her sisters, he brought them all back together and they became stronger together, again. The Legend of the Three Sisters

5. These crops played an important role in the agriculture and nutrition of most of the Native people of the Americas. In a three sisters planting, the three partners benefit one another: Corn provides support for beans. Beans, like other legumes , have bacteria living on their roots that help them absorb nitrogen from the air and convert it to a form that plants can use. (Corn, which requires a lot of nitrogen to grow, benefits most.) The large, prickly squash leaves shade the soil, preventing weed growth, and deter animal pests. The three sisters also complement each other nutritionally. The Legend of the Three Sisters

21. California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom Web site: www.LearnAboutAg.org Email: info@Learnaboutag.org