AITC Educational Activities

Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC) is a grassroots program coordinated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and conducted in all 50 states. For background information on the National Agriculture in the Classroom program, follow this link: www.agclassroom.org.

Each state organizes and operates its AITC activities differently. This diversity results in a rich mixture of approaches to agricultural education. The volunteers and professional staff who are involved with Agriculture in the Classroom share creative ideas and information to strengthen programs and help to achieve the common objective of increasing agricultural literacy.

Below are examples of the types of activities offered through Agriculture in the Classroom programs across the nation. Following each category is a list of some states that offer the activity (based on the 2003 State Summaries published by the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service).

Adopt-A-Classroom, Pen Pal Programs

These programs link school classrooms, often in urban areas, with farm and ranch families so children can learn more about agriculture. Once a match has been made, the class and the farm family communicate regularly through letters, e-mail, videotapes, and/or photos. Students have an opportunity to ask questions about life on a farm or ranch. The class usually visits the farm at least once. And farm family members may visit the classroom, bringing items such as seeds, fiber, plants or produce. These programs provide students and teachers with firsthand knowledge of farming and ranching.
IL, MN, NE

Ag Day Celebrations

National Agriculture Day celebrations recognize contributions agriculture makes to everyone's life. The annual events take place around March 20, during spring planting time, and are coordinated by the Agriculture Council of America. Celebrations vary across the country. Many AITC program volunteers take educational materials into classrooms. Some states hold student contests and recognize winners at special ceremonies on Ag Day. Others develop special lesson plans to distribute to teachers for use during National Agriculture Week. For more information on Ag Day, follow this link: www.agday.org.
AZ, CA, IL, IN, IA, KS, MO, MT, NM, OK, WV

Ag Mags & Readers

Using newspaper or magazine formats and lively graphic designs, these publications are aimed at elementary students. Each issue generally focuses on one agricultural topic and includes short articles, word games, fill-in-the-blank sections and other learning activities. Teachers are encouraged to use the publications in ways that best fit with their curriculum. They may receive three or more issues a year, along with supplementary teaching guides with ideas for using the material in the classroom.
CO, IL, KS, MN, OH, WY

Ambassador Programs

Several types of Ambassador programs exist. One type is for teachers who have completed summer institutes and are familiar with Agriculture in the Classroom materials and activities. These teachers serve as Ambassadors in their schools to inform other teachers about available resources and encourage them to become involved with AITC. Another type of Ambassador program uses representatives of organizations such as Farm Bureau to inform various audiences, such as civic organizations and student groups, about today's agriculture. Ambassadors may help to host events like Farm Days at schools.
AR, CA, CO, MO, TN

Awards Programs

A variety of annual awards have been created to encourage teacher involvement with state and county level AITC programs. In Illinois, County Farm Bureaus nominate teachers who have incorporated lessons about agriculture in their elementary classrooms. From the nominees, one teacher is selected for a free trip to the annual National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference. A number of states award scholarships to enable teachers to attend summer training institutes; state or county Farm Bureaus and other agricultural organizations sponsor these scholarships. In addition to recognizing excellent teachers, some programs offer the honored teachers some funding to be used for classroom materials.
IL, IA, KS, KY, MD, MT, NH, NC, NY, OK, UT, VT, WY

Career Events

Part of the mission of many AITC programs is to inform students about the array of careers available in agriculture, in addition to farming and ranching. Some states host Career Day programs that allow children to talk to professionals with agricultural careers in areas such as science, banking, government agencies, and public relations. Other state AITC programs create special brochures, videos and educational packets with agricultural career information. For example, the Iowa Ag Awareness Coalition developed a career poster series for grades K-6 designed to teach school children about the importance of agriculture in their lives. One poster was developed for each grade and the back side has lessons and activities for teachers to use.
AZ, IL, IA, MT

Classroom Calendars

A few state AITC programs develop calendars as part of special contests. The calendars convey facts about agriculture and can be used as teaching tools. In Alabama, winning posters from a student contest during Farm-City Days are used to produce calendars distributed throughout the state. Oklahoma uses winning Ag Day posters developed by fifth graders to illustrate a calendar given to teachers statewide. Illinois offers an amateur photo contest with monetary prizes for winning photos selected for a calendar. The calendar features a new topic each month, along with factual tidbits, vocabulary words, classroom activities and even jokes.
AL, IL, OK

Classroom Visitations

AITC volunteers enjoy visiting classrooms to talk with students about facets of agriculture. In New Mexico, presenters demonstrate skills such as auctioneering, sheep shearing, wool spinning, and branding. States such as Alaska and Tennessee provide teachers with lists of potential guest speakers and resource persons in their areas who are willing to answer specific questions or come into classes.
AK, AZ, AR, GA, IL, IN, IA, MN, MS, NM, NC, TN

Commodity Information

Several state AITC programs produce fact sheets, maps, or bookmarks with information about major commodities grown in the state, to teach students about how various agricultural items are produced, where they are produced, their nutritional value and other significant facts. These items often are produced with funding from commodity organizations and made available to teachers at no cost. For example, the California Foundation for AITC produces 16 commodity and natural resources fact sheets that have lesson ideas, fun facts and classroom activities associated with each commodity.
CA, ID, IN, LA, MS

Contests for Students

To encourage school children to think about agriculture in creative ways, special contests are offered in many states. Students produce posters, banners, bookmarks, bumper stickers, coloring books, or essays and stories to compete for awards, including some cash prizes. Students frequently receive media recognition and are honored at special ceremonies. Contests are often held in conjunction with special events such as Ag Day or Farm-City Days. Example: California's award-winning "Imagine this…" contest is a two-stage process in which 2nd through 8th graders write and submit stories; the six top stories are chosen to be illustrated, narrated and turned into animated videos by high school students.
AL, CA, ID, KS, MS, MT, NJ, NY, OK, VT, WV, WY

Educational Resource Materials

Most state Agriculture in the Classroom programs produce educational materials about their state's agricultural industry for use by teachers in meeting state specific learning standards. Materials generally are developed by current or former teachers and intended for students in elementary or middle schools.
AZ, AR, CA, CO, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, MA, MN, MS, MO, MT, NH, NJ, NY, OR, PA, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, WA, WV, WI, WY

Fairs & Festivals

State and county fairs and special festivals are popular venues for educating school children and the public about agriculture through interactive exhibits and fun learning activities. For example, Farm Bureau members in Story County, Iowa conducted an Ag Mystery Walk for K-8th graders that sent kids to different places at the fair in search of answers to farm questions that were different each day. Prizes from different commodities were awarded each day. Fairgoers at West Virginia's state fair could make a "soy beanie baby" that they wore and cared for.
AZ, AR, ID, IA, MS, MO, NV, NY, SD, TX, UT, WV

Farm-City Activities

National Farm-City Week is commemorated each year during Thanksgiving week to bridge the gap in understanding between America's urban and rural populations and enhance appreciation for their interdependence. Activities and materials are coordinated by the National Farm City Council, made up of representatives of agricultural organizations such as Farm Bureau. Farm-City celebrations involving students take a variety of forms, including poster and story contests and farm tours.
AL, CA, CT, MA, NJ

Farm Tours & Field Days

Nothing compares to the thrill children experience when visiting their first working farm or interacting with farm animals for the first time. The Nevada Agriculture in the Classroom program brings farmers and ranchers to major cities to show kids where food and fiber comes from. Last year's Farm Festival in Las Vegas attracted more than 10,000 students. Some farm and ranch tours are offered only to teachers, in conjunction with summer training sessions. Farmers and ranchers volunteer to host groups in order to create a better understanding of their chosen way of life. At a time when most people are two or three generations removed from farm life, these tours help to educate teachers and students through hands-on activities, demonstrations and presentations. For example, the Living Science through Agriculture in the Classroom program in Wyoming gives teachers an opportunity to earn university credit through 12 hours of science-based class activities and 3 hours of working on a ranch.
AK, AZ, AR, CA, CT, FL, GA, IL, IA, MA, MS, MT, NH, NJ, NC, ND, TN, UT, WV, WY

Gardens & Planting Projects

Several states are helping students and teachers make a connection between gardening and agriculture through outdoor classroom activities. In Tennessee, mini-grants of up to $500 are available to schools, 4-H and FFA groups to fund production agriculture garden sites. Virginia Agriculture in the Classroom encourages K-4 teachers to start vegetable garden projects by donating seeds and lesson plans. "New York Kids Growing Food" provides mini-grants, teacher workshops, instructional resources and support to elementary schools with gardening projects. Baker Elementary School in Pulaski County, Arkansas -- one of the nation's first economics magnet schools -- engages fifth grade students in planting, tending and harvesting a one-acre "rice farm" in cooperation with a local farmer.
AR, NY, TN, VA

Grant Programs

Some states give grants to teachers for developing innovative methods and materials for teaching students about the food and fiber system. The grants are generally awarded through a competitive selection process based on criteria such as creativity, relevance to state learning standards, and project scope. Grant amounts vary. Some are supported by commodity organizations in the state. Example: A second grade teacher in Illinois received a $250 grant for her project, "Celebrating the Land that Feeds the World." Her students grew and harvested seeds in the classroom, studied agricultural careers, visited farms, studied soil and heard guest speakers discuss geological influences on land in their area.
AL, CT, GA, IL, KY, MD, MA, MN, MO, NV, NJ, NY, OK, TN, TX, VA

In-service & Pre-service Workshops

In addition to the in-depth summer institutes, most states offer teachers an array of other training programs during the school year. Pre-service workshops introduce potential teachers to the AITC program and materials while they are still college students enrolled in teacher education programs. Tennessee teachers can choose from one-day agricultural literacy workshops, graduate level agriscience courses, regional and statewide teacher meetings and trainer workshops at ten state universities. A total of 2,000 Tennessee teachers were trained in 1998 to use AITC materials in their classrooms. In Massachusetts, 10 full-day workshops are offered on farms and teachers earn professional development points for attending them. The range of topics for the workshop program, called "Keeping Your Classroom Fresh and Growing", includes herb and school gardening, hydroponics, aquaculture, tissue culture, organic farming, and Christmas trees.
AL, AZ, AR, CA, CT, DE, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KY, LA, MA, MS, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, SD, TN, VT, VA, WV, WI

Learning Barns

Variations on the concept of a model barn filled with educational materials exist in several states and offer a prime example of how states share successful ideas. Mississippi sends eight barns to classrooms throughout the state. The barns contain books, videos, coloring books, comic books, toys and educational kits. Delaware Agriculture in the Classroom offers educational trunks with materials that have been field-tested by teachers and are correlated to state education standards. The Delaware trunks are funded by commodity groups and used in conjunction with teacher workshops. Agriculture in Montana Schools places treasure chests of resource information about agriculture in state schools.
DE, LA, MS, MT, NE

Mobile Classroom Units

The first Mobile Ag in the Classroom Laboratory was developed by Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation, with a matching grant from the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture. It is a learning laboratory used to educate teachers, students and the public about the importance of agriculture in their lives. Maryland's AITC program gives teachers instructional materials they can adapt for classroom use during the mobile classroom visit and throughout the school year. Several other states now have or plan to develop similar traveling educational resource centers.
KY, MD, ND

Newsletters

Regularly published newsletters help state AITC programs keep teachers up to date about new materials, grant programs, awards, contests, and training opportunities. Many newsletters contain seasonally appropriate lesson plans and information related to agriculture. For example, the Acres of Adventures newsletter published for teachers by Illinois Farm Bureau featured a section called "Get Creative in the Classroom with Apples, Corn and Pumpkins" in the fall issue.
AK, CA, CT, GA, IL, KS, KY, MA, MT, NE, NH, NJ, OK, TN, TX, UT, VA

Subject Specific Kits

Some state AITC programs have developed special educational units on specific subjects. For example, Ohio Farm Bureau's "Lessons in Economics -- THIS is Ohio Agriculture" was developed for middle school students and meets state standards for social studies. Each kit includes a video, four lesson guides, transparencies, and a list of related Internet sites. Utah's "Dirt: Secrets of the Soil" includes a video and educator's guide that bring fundamental lessons of soil science into fourth grade classrooms. And the Illinois AITC program offers ten agriscience kits for K-8 students that teach science and math principles through laboratory experiments and fun activities.
IL, MN, NE, OH, UT

Summer Teacher Institute

AITC programs across the nation offer summer teacher institutes for teachers who want to learn how to connect classroom instruction to real world situations. Most summer institutes are one-week programs that expose teachers to today's food and fiber production system through field trips, presentations and hands-on learning. Depending on the program, attendees may be able to earn graduate credits for completing an institute. Often, teachers are given opportunities to create their own lesson plans based on material presented during the summer institutes. Many are surprised to find out that information about agriculture can be incorporated into science, math, language arts, social studies and other subjects.
AZ, CA, CO, IL, IA, KS, KY, MD, MO, NE, NH, NM, NY, OH, OK, PA, SD, TN, TX, VA, WA, WV, WI

Teacher Resource Guides

Teacher resource guides are produced in a number of states to catalog the instructional materials, programs, and services available to teachers at low or no cost through the AITC state program and other agricultural organizations. These guides are valuable tools for teachers who are looking for new ideas. For example, the California Foundation for Agriculture offers an extensive 85-page guide that provides information about conferences, summer programs, newsletters and educational resources. The guide also includes county agricultural information, lists of recommended books, agricultural web sites, a California agriculture quiz and many other useful items of information.
AR, CA, CT, ID, ME, MN, NH, TN, UT, VT, WI