Agriculture and Natural Resource Literacy Program

Program Information

News & Updates:

• November 18-24th is National Farm-City Week! celebrate the connections farms have to all of our lives in your classroom during this week.  Check out the National Farm City website at http://www.farmcity.org/.  Click on "Farm-City Materials" to find a downloadable crossword puzzle that you can use with your students to help them learn more about farms and the agriculture industry. 

• Check out Illinois Ag in the Classroom's updated website!  They have a new section called "IL Farm Life."  In this section, you can find very nice YouTube clips that AITC has made to serve as virtual tours of farms.  Make sure to watch "A Day in the Life of a Livingston County Farmer." 

• Looking for books to supplement curriculum or create a reading center?  Check out one of our NEW Book Bundles!  Book Bundles are totes full of 5-10 books that focus on one of 7 themes including Crops & Harvest, Farm Animals & Machines, Food & Nutrition, Gardening, Illinois & the US, Natural Resources & Conservation, and Trees & Nature.  Bundles include both fiction and non-fiction and fit easily into 1st-5th grades.  They are available to borrow over a 2 week time period.  Contact Jenny Wold to borrow one today!

• Mark your calendars! A teacher workshop has tentatively been planned for Jan. 10th.  While at this workshop, teachers will learn about new resources and curriculum available through AITC. 

• There is a NEW Urban Ag Mag!  Contact Jenny Wold for an all in-clusive list of the Ag Mags we have available and to get classroom sets. 

Ag in the Classroom Fall Poster Contest Results

This past month, hundreds of students from around the county learned about harvest through participating in a poster contest held through Kendall County Agriculture in the Classroom.  This poster contest, entitled “Harvest on the Farm,” was open to 1^st-4^th grade students.  In their posters, students were asked to show the crops and harvest related activities taking place on farms in Illinois.  From the over 200 posters submitted, district winners and county-wide winners were selected.  District winners included Matthew Foreman, a 2^nd grade student, from Lakewood Creek in the Oswego School District and Lily Fernanedz, a 4^th grade student, from Emily G. Johns in the Plano School District.  County-wide winners included Zach Carlson, a 1^st grade student, from Lisbon Grade School, Molly Osman, a 2^nd grade student from Cross Lutheran, Alexia Pedroza, a 3^rd grade student, from Centennial in Plano, and Mark Melton, a 4^th grade student, from Southbury Elementary in Oswego.  All winners received certificates and the book All in Just One Cookie by Susan Goodman.  County-wide winners received an additional $25.00 gift card.  Their posters will also be displayed at the Kendall County SWCD office and Farm Bureau office and will be included in several publications.  Great job to all those who participated! 

Smart Board Lessons Available Through Illinois Ag in the Classroom

Do you use a Smart Board in your classroom?  If so, check out the lessons that have been created by Illinois Agriculture in the classroom.  Current lesson topics include:  Apples, Horses, Pumpkins, Sweet Traits, and A Very Hungry Illinois Caterpillar.  You can access these lessons, for free, at www.agintheclassroom.org on the main page under the heading "New." 

Agriculture Facts to Share

• There are approximately 75,900 farms in the state of Illinois.

• Each farmer in IL feeds approximately 156 people. 

• Illinois has almost 1 million farm and farm related jobs.

• The average American will eat two football fields of wheat in their lifetime.

• There are approximately 424 farms in Kendall County. 

Great Kits to Borrow

Do you teach about wheat in your classroom?  If so, plan to borrow the new kit "The Wheat We Eat."  This kit comes with a multi-disciplinary curriculum binder, DVDs, books, and great materials for teaching your students about this important crop.  Contact Jenny Wold @ kendallaitc@yahoo.com to borrow it! 

Easy ISAT Prep

Illinois Ag in the classroom has made ISAT preparation easy with "10 Minutes a Day, the ISAT Way."  This new activity guide gives teachers 20 weeks worth of review materials to use to help prepare their students for the ISATs.  The activities take no more than 10 minutes and use Ag Mags as a resource.  Ag Mags come in a variety of topics and are available for free through our program.  As part of the ISAT prep, students would start the week reading an Ag Mag and the following days of the week would complete vocabulary, math, reading, and extended response activities.  All of the questions/activities are formatted like they would be on an ISAT test.  Teachers could utilize all 20 weeks worth of materials or pick and choose Ag Mags and corresponding ISAT activities related to units being taught currently or seasons.  The current ISAT activity guide was written for 4th grade, but a guide for 6th grade will be released in the fall. Plan to attend "Science in your Shopping Cart" to learn more about this new activity guide. 

Curriculum

• Marvelous Mondays This is a brand new packet provides activities and lessons focusing on both curriculum and agricultural themes.  It also gives great book suggestions. 

• Top 40 Hits of Planet Earth This is a great lesson packet targeted to 3rd grade and up.  It includes great lessons and activities for teaching about the earth, it's resources, conservation, nature, and environmental history. 

• 100 Days of School, 100 Days of Agriculture Activities Booklet by IATC.  This is a great booklet with quick and fun ways to add agriculture to your curriculum.

• Candy- Culture and Creativity by IATC, Farm Bureau, IAA

• where Candy Comes From (Background knowledge for Candy-Culture and Creativity booklet)

• Green Eggs and Agriculture by IATC.  Great lessons & activities for Dr. Seuss's Birthday!

• Exploring Corn by IAITC.  Great lessons and activities for teaching all their is to know about corn...from history to uses!

Related Websites & Links:

Agriculture in the Classroom

• Ag Mags and Related Curriculum:  www.agintheclassroom.org

• University of Illinois Extension, School Online:  http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/state/schools.html

Food & Nutrition Facts

• Great site for learning the truth about hot food topics such as organic vs. non-organic, GMO's, etc.:  www.bestfoodfacts.org

• USDA/My Plate Nutrition Information: http://www.choosemyplate.gov/

Prairies (Great classroom-friendly packet and links)

• Links to Prairie Websites:  http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/~kenr/prairielinks.html

Groundwater

• Great Animated Clip on Groundwater:  http://www.leapingmedia.com/groundwater.html

Wetlands (Great Information and lessons)

• http://www.idahoptv.org/dialogue4kids/

• http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/web/wetlands.html

• http://idahoptv.org/dialogue4kids/season8/forestsdesertswetlands/wetlands.cfm

• http://www.ew.govt.nz/For-schools/Resources-for-teachers/Classroom-activities/Wetland-activities/

Soil (Great information and lessons)

• http://42explore.com/dirt.htm

• http://soils.usda.gov/education/resources/k_12/lessons/profile/

• http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/lessons.cfm?DocID=152

• https://www.soils.org/about-soils

Trees

• The National Arbor Day Foundation:  http://www.arborday.org/

• Table Top Tree Project

Grants Available to Teachers

•  Illinois Agriculture in the classroom, Current Teacher Grant                     images\pdffiles\education\Grant Application 2011-2012.doc

• Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom, 1st Year Teachers Grant http://www.agintheclassroom.org/060605/Teachers/grants/grants_first_teachers.htm

• Illinois School Yard Grant Habitat Action Program, http://dnr.state.il.us/education/CLASSRM/grants.htm

• Illinois Biodiversity Field Trip Grant: http://dnr.state.il.us/education/CLASSRM/grants.htm 

• Lowe's Toolbox for Education, www.toolboxforeducation.com

• Hooked on Hydroponics, www.kidsgardening.org

• Healthy Sprouts, www.kidsgardening.org

• Youth Garden Grant, www.kidsgardening.org

Contact Information: 

Kendall County Soil and Water Conservation District

7775A Rt. 47, Yorkville, IL, 60560

Phone:  (630)553-5821, ext. 3  Fax:  (630)553-7442

Education coordinator:  Jenny Wold, kendallaitc@yahoo.com