Wrapping it up...

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have this theory that if I think long enough about something, I'll get it figured out. Well, I also operate in a similar way with searching, particularly on the web--if I search long enough and enough times, I'll find even more! As I was doing some searching (I think I had actually gone back to a site for a second look), I realized some terms I needed to use for my search that may be more effective: "ag in the classroom" + cotton. That did yield better results than my searches with the county extension sites.
I've been working at the wrapping phase of this project. Earlier I had discussed the possibility of doing a webquest to share my findings. As I thought more about it and realized part of my inquiry was not only finding the answers to my questions, but finding resources for teaching this information to children, I decided a pathfinder would be the best option. That format would also allow for a variety of grade level pursuits. A webquest would have been more limited for a specific grade level.
This information could be used by classroom teachers, but also in other settings as well where learning and curiosity are encouraged, such as an after-school program. A cotton plant could be grown in a library and books about cotton and questions posted around/near the plant may arouse some curiousity as well.
Truly this pursuit has just been a matter of curiousity--life would go on whether I know how cotton grows and what all it's used for. But when I read that "The cotton industry as a whole creates more than 340,000 jobs and generates over $60 billion of business in the United States--the greatest of any crop," it seems important information to know about! (taken from Cotton Journey website).