Activity Books Wool & Sheep Activity Book | Page 31

GLOSSARY & ACTIVITIES
MODERN SHEEP OPERATION TERMS
ANTIBIOTICS - any of various substances such as penicillin and
streptomycin produced by certain organisms that are used for the
treatment of disease
BROWSING - eating leaves and twigs from woody plants.
ENTERPRISE - a business operation.
EWE - female sheep.
FARM FLOCK - 10 to 1,000 ewes raised in pastures..
FLEECE - wool produced from one sheep in one year.
FLOCK - group of sheep, can be any size from 5 to 1000 head.
FORBS - green leafy plants.
GRAZING - eating grasses and forbs.
HERDER - a person that lives with the sheep and moves them from
place to place for feed and water.
HERDING DOG - dog used in the herding or moving of sheep. They
are specially trained to guide the sheep in an intended direction.
Common sheep dogs are Border Collie and Australian Shepherd.
LAMB - young sheep under one year of age.
LIVESTOCK PROTECTION DOGS - dogs that are specially bred to
protect sheep and other domestic livestock from animals that will hurt
them. Common guard dogs are Akbash, Great Pyrenees and
Komondor.
PARASITES - insects that live on or in sheep and can affect the health
of sheep.
PESTICIDE - chemical used to destroy insects or parasites on animals
or plants.
PREDATORS - animals which eat other animals.
RAM - male sheep
RANGE BAND - 1,000 to 2,000 ewes.
RANGELAND - natural land that is not cultivated or plowed.
SHEEP PRODUCER - a person that owns and/or raises sheep.
SHEEP WAGON - a wagon a shepherd lives in when tending a flock
away from the ranch.
VETERINARIAN - animal doctor.
WETHER - neutered male sheep.
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Geography
1. Show the students a world map or a transparency of the world.
Color in or mark the following countries:
Australia,
Russia,
New Zealand,
Argentina,
South Africa,
United States.
Ask them if they know what these nations have in common. (They are
the top six wool producing countries of the world respectively.)
2. Look at maps of sheep raising areas either in the U.S. or in the
world. Compare the types of land where sheep are found.
What kinds of land are they - arid, wet, fertile?
Why does the land where sheep are found have so many
variations?
Is this true of the grazing land of other animals?
Social Studies
3. Make a time line with the following dates:
Today,
1800's,
1786,
4000 B.C.,
1493,
1521,
1664,
1765,
2500 B.C.,
ANSWERS:
4000 - B.C. - Wool garments worn in Babylon.
2500 - B.C. - Mesapotamia had developed
important sheep industry.
1493 - Columbus brought sheep to Cuba.
1521 - Cortez brought sheep to Mexico.
1664 - Law passed in Massachusetts that
required youths to learn to spin and weave.
1765 - Restrictions on wool by England
incurred great protest.
1800s - As man settled the middle and western United
States sheep moved with them.
Today - Wool is a renewable resource, a
primary natural fiber in clothing and a source of
other natural by-products.
History, Sociology
4. Sheep raising has been important to humans for their basic needs of
food, shelter and clothing. Explain how sheep were used by
humans as they crossed the many frontiers in the new world.
Because sheep can feed nearly anywhere and provide wool as well
as meat, humans have taken sheep along on their migrations. The
Spanish explorers brought sheep to the new world on their voyages.
Colonists and settlers found sheep invaluable as a source of good
quality protein (red meat) and wool for clothing.
5. Most human beings like to be around other people. Sheep herders
spend many months away from people with their dogs and the