Wirt County School Enrichment Programs

The WVU Wirt County Extension Service Office is committed to providing high quality, hands-on educational activities to compliment what you’re teaching to your students. Through various funding organizations including the Board of Education and County Commission, we are able to provide a variety of lessons and topics at no cost to teachers or schools.

Request a School Enrichment Lesson

2019 Lesson Showcase

These are only a few of the lessons we can bring to your classroom at absolutely no cost to you or the school! Lessons are organized by grade level. If you're looking for something to specifically fit your curriculum and can't find a match, please contact us to learn about the hundreds of lessons we offer! 

Plant Buddies
Students will learn about the basic things plants need to grow: sun, water, and soil. They will plant a seed in a cup with googley eyes.  This is a good spring lesson. 
Grades: PK - 3
Time: 30 Minutes

Glitterbug
Ever wonder how well your students are washing their hands? This lesson will show students the importance of handwashing using glow in the dark powder.
Grades: PK - 4 
Time: 30 Minutes

Fizzy Foam Fun
This activity introduces youth to chemical reactions.  They will learn how chemical reactions are impacted by a catalyst. In this activity, youth will create a colorful foam fountain by adding yeast to a chemical reaction.
Grades: PK - 4  
Time: 20 Minutes

Rockets Away
Introduce young students to concepts of physics as they create two-three different types of rockets.  The third type of rocket, a stomp rocket, uses PVC pipe and two-liter bottles and is a great outdoor activity.
Grades: K-3 
Time: 30-45 Minutes

Squishy Circuits
Teach youth simple circuitry with this hands-on lesson using one of their favorite toys: Play-doh! Youth will explore how Play-doh can be used to carry an electrical current to turn on an LED light.
Grades: K-5 
Time: 30 Minutes

Bristle Bots
Students will use scientific and engineering practices to design and test bristlebots. These small robots help students learn about function, design, and data collection.
Grades: 2-5
Time: 45 Minutes

My Plate
This lesson teaches students about the basics of MyPlate. They will use simulated food pieces to make their perfect meal and compare it to a balanced meal. For older students, they will calculate how two slices of pizza meets their daily meal needs. This is modified from a larger curriculum called " 4-H Pizza Garden."
Grades: 3-5
Time: 45 Minutes (The larger curriculum is a series of several lessons that can be done over several days.)

Leaning Tower of Pizza
Students will use decision making and math skills in this interactive lesson about pizza. They will decide on the classes favorite toppings using a graph, design their dream pizzeria, and create a menu to appeal to their customers. This is modified from a larger curriculum called " 4-H Pizza Garden."
Grades: 3-5
Time: 45 Minutes (The larger curriculum is a series of several lessons that can be done over several days.)

Super Bugs
When we use pesticides to eliminate insects in a field, some insects are left behind and overtime a resistance develops. Students will simulate this adaption in this lesson. The lesson can also be used to explain how bacteria grow resistance to antibiotics in animals and humans.
Grades: 3-5
Time: 30 Minutes

Monarchs on the Move
Youth participants will be able to simulate the migration patterns of monarch butterflies and the challenges that impact their survival. 
Grades: 3-5
Time: 30 Minutes

The Sky's the Limit
This unit allows student's to explore engineering and design through fun challenges and explorations. Students use different materials to test and build a model flying technology.
Grades: 3-5
Time: Each of the five lessons are designed to be about one hour long. This unit can be incorporated over five days or five weeks of instruction.

It's a Pollinator's World
Students will learn about different types of pollinators and how they use shapes, colors, and odors of flowers to know where to go.
Grades: 3-6
Time: 30 Minutes

Hack Your Harvest (Part of the 2019 National Youth Science Day)
Students will solve and design their own mazes. In this activity, kids are introduced to concepts of automation and efficiency, and teach the basic principles of writing instructions for computers to follow.
Grades: 3-8
Time: 45 Minutes

It's an Outbreak!
This highly adaptable activity is used to explain concepts of biosecurity and health. Students will simulate an outbreak of an infectious disease by unknowingly spreading it by mixing flour and baking soda. This activity can be used to explain disease in animals, plants, or humans.
Grades: 3-12
Time: 30-45 Minutes (depending on grade level)

Coding with Spheros
The Wirt County Extension Office has a set of six Spheros and tablets that can teach youth about the basics of coding. Request these for your classroom for a fun, engaging lesson! 
Grades: 3-12
Time: 30-45 Minutes (depending on grade level)

Strawberry DNA Extraction
This highly flexible activity allows students to physically extract DNA from strawberries and gain a better understanding of the purpose of DNA.
Grades: 4-12
Time: 30 Minutes

Code Your Dance
Students will be introduced to the basic concepts of computer coding. In this unplugged activity, students will use cards that mimic coding language to create their own dance!
Grades: 5-8
Time: 45 Minutes

Digestion Session
Cows can eat grass, why can't we? Students will simulate monogastric digestion like that of humans and then see the differences in ruminant animal digestion that allow them to eat roughages.
Grades: 5-8
Time: 45 Minutes

Pitch Your Passion  (Part of the 2019 National Youth Science Day)
This introductory online coding activity teaches kids how to use code to create an animated pitch about why people should care about one of their favorite topics. This online activity gives young people a voice to express their passions.
Grades: 5-8
Time: 60 Minutes 

Biobased Products
During this adaptable lesson, students are challenged to design an experiment to test the effectiveness of biobased cleaners vs. traditional cleaners.
Grades: 6-12
Time: 45 Minutes

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