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Cotton Bolls

$20.00
(20 reviews) Write a Review
Availability:
in stock
Classroom kit:
Includes enough materials for 30 students.
cotton bolls in a bag

Grades K–12 (Kit)

From field to fabric—explore the story of cotton! This kit helps students understand how the fiber in their clothing, towels, and sheets begins as cotton growing in a boll. By hand ginning or dissecting cotton bolls, learners experience the challenge of separating seeds from fibers and discover why the invention of Eli Whitney’s cotton gin revolutionized textile production.

The cotton bolls in this kit can be pulled apart into four distinct sections, allowing groups of four students to share one boll. Through this hands-on activity, students explore cotton as a crop, investigate its processing, and connect agriculture to the clothes they wear every day.


Kit Contents

  • 30 individually wrapped cotton bolls

Additional Supplies

Recommended for classroom use (not included):

  • Scissors or tweezers (optional, for dissection)

Lesson Plans

Use this kit with related lessons available on the National Agricultural Literacy Curriculum Matrix.


Extend the Learning

Watch the Cotton Ginning Tutorial on YouTube to see the process in action. Encourage students to compare hand ginning with machine ginning to discuss productivity, technology, and innovation in agriculture.


Teacher Note

The purpose of this activity is to investigate cotton, the process of hand ginning, and the impacts of the cotton gin. Adjusting this investigation into a role-play or simulation of enslaved labor is absolutely discouraged. No student should be required to hand gin cotton. We recommend consulting your administrator and/or communicating with parents prior to presenting this lesson. Ginning may also be conducted as a teacher demonstration if needed. For resources on teaching about African enslavement, see the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Teaching Hard History: American Slavery.

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  • 5

    Cotton Bolls

    Posted by LeAnne Jones on May 8th 2025

    These real cotton bolls are so difficult to find, and if you can find them, they are quite pricey. I am a 5th grade teacher, and we study US History, including the Civil War. I use these cotton bolls in class to do a math and social studies integrated lesson where my students have the experience to find out how long it would take our class to gin enough cotton to make a pair of jeans. I appreciate Utah AG Classroom keeping the price low enough that I can afford to keep doing this lesson/lab with my kiddos.

  • 5

    Cotton Balls

    Posted by Elisabeth Brandenburg on Jan 19th 2024

    Easy to order. Fast deliver! Very pleased!

  • 5

    Cotton bolls

    Posted by T Walsh on Apr 20th 2023

    Excellent for use in the classroom. Reasonably priced, ships quickly, individually packaged.