Sheep Mini Unit Study

Special Homeschool Section

Bible

Discuss the figurative uses of the words sheep and shepherd: Jesus is our Passover Lamb. Sheep are also figurative of believers who follow the shepherd. One without a leader is like a sheep without a shepherd. Jesus is our Shepherd. Discuss the responsibilities of a shepherd: protect, feed, shelter, etc. Read aloud A Shepherd Looks at the Psalms, by Phillip Keller.

Life Science or Biology

Classify: Learn the classification system. Make a chart showing the classification of sheep. INCLUDE: Animal Kingdom: Mammals: Order Artiodactyla; Suborder Ruminantia; Family Bovidae; Genus Ovis

Research: Some of a sheep’s characteristics includes hoofs, cud-chewing, four-compartmented stomach. They are also placentals. Find out about these and other characteristics and write a definition of each.

Classify: Make a list of several types of sheep and classify by breed. Include wool breed, hair breed, and merino strains.

Write a Report: Choose one of the following sheep behaviors to research and write about: life cycle, lambing; breeding; gestation; and life span.

Animal Husbandry/Agriculture

Agriculture is the science and industry of managing the growth of plants and animals for human use. Agriculture includes the breeding and raising of livestock and dairying, under the science of Animal Husbandry.

Brainstorm and List: What would it be like to have a commercial sheep farm? Think about what is involved with purchasing, raising, and caring for sheep (feeding, lambing, shearing, sheltering, etc.).

Calculate Expenses: Calculate the cost per lamb: a) original cost b) grain cost c) hay cost d) veterinary cost, show fees, etc.

Discuss: What are the advantages and disadvantages of animal supplements such as hormones, antibiotics, vitamins, and other substances used to increase growth or productivity? What are the health risks to humans that consume meat grown with such additives? Find out how much of the meat in a grocery store has been raised with additives?

Discover: Research the sheep dog and its relationship with the sheep and with the master (a fascinating study!), necessary training, innate ability, and dog shows. Read Phillip Keller’s Lessons From a Sheep Dog.

Chart Statistics: Research the number of breeds; how many in the world; and the number in the United States. Make a chart recording your findings.

Investigate: Find out about the sheep industry and products: Research wool manufacturing. Include different types of wool; textiles, production; clothing, manufacturing, labeling, pelts, carpeting, and sheep skins. Research sheep in the food industry. Include lamb and mutton; food processing; preservation, or the world food supply. Sheep also provide milk for drinking and making cheese. Sheep are also used to make parchment.

History

Each of these time periods and countries were involved with sheep or sheep farming. Find out what other events were going on in these places during these times.

World History
6000 b.c. Assyria
3000 b.c. Macedonian
2000 b.c. The Hittites
1250 b.c. Moses outside of Egypt
1000 - 961 b.c. David in Israel
1200-1400 a.d. Mongol Empire
1100 a.d. England (Enclosure began)
1212 a.d. Children’s Crusade
1722 Easter Island

American History
1700+ Modern Pueblo Period
1840-1850 Native Americans - Navajo
1860-1900 American Reconstruction
1990s Sheep Farming Today

Geography

Explore a Country or State: The leading sheep producers in the world are: 1.) Australia 2.) United States 3.) China. In the United States, the leading sheep-producing states are Texas, California, Wyoming, South Dakota, and New Mexico. Choose one each of these countries and states to study.

Compare and Chart Ecosystems: Make a chart showing the variance in the ecosystems sheep live in: grasslands: prairies and plains of North America, the pampas and paramos of South America, the veld of South Africa, and the steppes of Eurasia. Mountain Areas: Various species of wild goat and sheep abound in the Himalayan Mountains of India. Bighorn Sheep, also called Rocky Mountain sheep, are found in the North American continent.

Language Arts

Learn to Research: Research involves the generation, collection, organization, retrieval, and reporting of recorded knowledge. Look up in the encyclopedia: sheep, sheep farming, animal husbandry, zoology, shepherds, and wool. Include these periodicals in your research: Ranger Rick and National Geographic Magazines.

Books and Stories: Bible stories of Jesus, Moses, or David, are sources of references to sheep. You can also find references to sheep in many nursery rhymes, like “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep,” “Mary had a Little Lamb,” and “The Little Lamb,” (Random House Picture Book). Again, look to Phillip Keller’s A Shepherds Look at the Psalms for fiction stories about sheep, or you could find other fictional works. Nonfiction works about sheep and sheep farming include M. B. Goffstein’s The First Books (includes Brookie and Her Lamb).

Creative Writing: Write about a shepherd and his relationship with his sheep, or sheep and sheep farming. Or write an allegory, a folktale, or a story for children. Then write a poem about a lamb. Find out about different types of poetry (figurative, narrative [epics, ballads], dramatic, or lyrics). Younger children can dictate their stories or draw illustrations and explain it.

Add to your Vocabulary: Record all the new words you have heard during this unit. Discuss the meanings or look them up and write the definitions.

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More About Passover

| Simple Seder | Traditional Seder | Seder Checklist | Jewish Customs |
| Ten Plagues | Other Crafts | Sheep Unit | Messiah in Passover |
| Celebrating Passover |