Farm Activities and Books for the Primary Classroom

If you are planning a farm unit, then you have got to check out these farm activities and books for the primary classroom.

There’s something about a farm theme that just clicks with young learners. Maybe it’s the animals, the tractors, or the wide-open fields, but whatever it is, kids can’t get enough! Teaching about farms gives you endless opportunities to blend literacy, science, and social studies into hands-on, engaging lessons. From learning where food comes from to exploring animal life cycles, there’s no shortage of meaningful learning tucked inside this classic theme. Come along to see all my favorites in this fun, farm activities roundup!

Why Farm is the Perfect Classroom Theme

Farm theme is one of those magical topics that bridges curiosity and curriculum so seamlessly. Students love learning about animals and machinery, and teachers love that it naturally ties into topics like living vs. nonliving, needs of plants and animals, and community helpers. It’s also an ideal setting for building vocabulary and comprehension skills, too! Words like harvest, tractor, barn, and dairy come alive when students can see and talk about them in context.

Farm themes are applicable and relatable to even your youngest learners, and bound to keep engagement high! So, whether you’re teaching preschool, pre-k, or kindergarten, the farm theme is one that will help connect learning to the real world in a way that feels both fun, relevant, and age-appropriate. Without further ado, let’s dive into life on the farm and how that translates to classroom learning!

5 Must-Read Farm Books for the Classroom

If you know me, you probably already know I have a deep love for picture books! They’re the perfect way to start any new lesson, and make thematic teaching a breeze. I love using them to start our lessons each day and the farm theme is no different. Here are five of my favorite farm-themed books that make a perfect addition to your farm unit!

Kick off your farm unit with these farm themed read alouds for the primary classroom.

1. Farm Animals by Joanne Mattern

This nonfiction favorite is full of real-life photographs that captivate young readers and bring the farm to life. The simple text introduces a variety of farm animals while teaching key vocabulary and animal facts. It’s perfect for building background knowledge before exploring your farm centers or animal labeling activities. Just make sure to let kids flip through after reading aloud, they will love the photos in this one!

2. Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown

This beloved classic is a gentle, rhythmic story that captures the peaceful life of a barnyard. Students love pointing out animals and joining in the repetitive phrases. It’s an excellent choice for circle time, sequencing, or comparing day and night routines on the farm.

3. How Did That Get in My Lunchbox? by Chris Butterworth

This one is a great bridge between farm life and food production! It helps students connect the dots between farms and their everyday lives—showing how milk, bread, fruit, and more travel from farms to their lunchboxes. Use it to start a discussion about where food comes from or pair it with a sorting activity about farm vs. factory vs. grocery store.

4. Otis by Loren Long

Meet Otis, the kind-hearted tractor who loves to work hard and help his farm friends. This beautifully illustrated story is perfect for lessons on friendship, perseverance, and kindness. Plus, Otis adds a touch of social-emotional learning to your farm theme!

5. Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin

Get ready for laughs! This silly story introduces students to persuasive writing, problem-solving, and a little bit of farmer frustration as cows go on strike for electric blankets. It’s great as a read-aloud, and students will love every minute of it. If you’re looking for a fun follow-up, consider having kiddos write a sentence or two with their own made-up, “animal demand”.

Any of these books are a great place to start, but if you’re looking for even more book inspiration, be sure to check out my full list of farm favorites on Amazon!

Explore How Food Gets from the Farm to the Table

Teach students about farm and foods using this simple video for kids.

Once your students are hooked on farm life through books, it’s the perfect time to bring in some educational videos to dive deeper. One of my favorite videos to show during a farm unit is this one. It’s all about how food gets from farm to our kitchen tables and lunchrooms.

This kid-friendly video explains how food starts at the farm and travels through several steps before it reaches our plates. Students learn about planting, harvesting, and transporting food, and see how farmers play an essential role in feeding the world. It’s a great visual tie-in to the book, How Did That Get in My Lunchbox? and helps students understand that milk doesn’t just “come from the store.”

Be sure to browse around on YouTube for virtual field trip videos, farm songs, and more that you can use as a free resource in your classroom! Just be sure to preview them first!

Farm Activities and Resources to Support Your Unit

Once your students are excited about all things farm, keep that engagement going with these fun, easy-to-use, standards-based activities!

Farm Thematic Unit (and more!)

If you’re looking for a ready-to-use collection of farm activities, my March Thematic Unit is a teacher favorite. While the unit is full of seasonal fun like rainbows and leprechauns, it also includes tons of farm learning options that work perfectly anytime of year! Trust me, you’ll be able to use this one well beyond March! Here are just a few of the farm-themed activities included:

This image showcases centers that are included in my March themed resource.
  • Nonfiction reading passages about farming
  • Full-color nonfiction readers for farm animals
  • Parts of a Cow and Parts of a Chicken posters
  • Farming measurement math center
  • Feed the Horse beginning sounds game
  • Animal labeling activities
  • Animals on the Farm craftivity
  • All About Pigs craftivity

These resources cover reading, writing, math, and science, all with a fun farm-themed twist! They’re versatile enough for a variety of ages and skill levels, and won’t take hours to prep either! They’re the perfect way to add some cross-curricular, thematic fun to your days in the classroom as you explore this topic.

Farm Activities for Skills Practice

We can’t forget about skills practice, too, right?! Don’t worry friend, I’ve got you covered here, too! For an easy-prep, engaging addition to your farm theme, you’ll love my Farm Color by Code Bundle. These pages give students meaningful practice with:

These color by code worksheets can be used to practice sight words.
  • Sight words
  • Uppercase and lowercase letters
  • Number recognition
  • Number sense

Each page has a cheerful farm scene that is revealed as students solve the problems and color in each section according to the code. Aside from being super engaging and fun for your farming unit, another great feature of these pages is that they’re editable! You can type in your own words, letters, or math problems to match your students’ needs using either PowerPoint or Adobe Reader.

It’s quick and easy to create a custom activity that’s perfect for morning work, early finishers, homework, centers, sub plans and more! Color by code is the perfect way to keep learning fun and focused without adding more prep to your plate.

More Simple Farm Activities & Learning Ideas

If you’re looking for even more easy, low-cost ways to bring the farm to life in your classroom, I’ve got just a few more ideas to add to your list:

Add farm activities into your dramatic play center or sensory bins for even more farm fun.
  • Create a Farm Dramatic Play Center: Add toy animals, tractors, and hay bales, for hands-on imaginative play. You can even set up a farm stand where students can take turns selling plastic produce, filling orders, and helping other “customers”.
  • Grow Sprouts or Beans in a Cup: Let students experience planting seeds and observing growth over time with this simple activity. It’s a great way to introduce the plant life cycle, too! Here’s a great video to use with your kids.
  • Farm Animal Sorting: Use photos or toy animals to sort by habitat, diet, or type of animal. You can even make an anchor chart to go along with this.
  • Farm Sensory Bin: Fill a bin with green sand, corn kernels or oats and add plastic animals, scoops, and containers for fine motor play.
  • Sing Farm Songs: “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” never gets old, pair it with animal masks or puppets for extra fun!

Get Started with Your Own Farm Activities

Farm activities and thematic lessons are a wonderful way to connect real-world learning with classroom fun. Whether you’re exploring animals, crops, or machinery, your students will love diving into life on the farm. With rich read-alouds, engaging videos, and hands-on activities, your classroom will be buzzing with excitement and discovery!

If you’re ready to bring the farm to your classroom, be sure to check out my Farm Activities on Teachers Pay Teachers. You’ll find everything you need to make your farm unit both educational and unforgettable!

You can find these March centers in my TPT store.
This bundle of farm activities includes color by code pages targeting letters, numbers, and sight words.

Looking for More Thematic Learning Ideas?

Thematic learning is the BEST! Read these posts next for more fun ideas you can use in your classroom.

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Bring the farm to your classroom with these fun and engaging farm activities and books! 🌾🐮 Perfect for primary grades, this collection includes hands-on learning ideas, crafts, and read-alouds to help students explore farm animals, crops, and life on the farm.