Kisha Maurer –
5th Grade
Lincoln Elementary
Clinton, IL
Project Title: Genetics, Agriculture
and You
Mrs. Maurer began this unit by having students identify traits within themselves and their classmates – freckles, curly hair, widow’s peak, etc. – and then asked them to take a list of their traits home to see which parent (or parents) passed on the trait. The results were recorded into their “Agriscience Journal”. A study of Gregory Mendel and his pea plant experiments lead into an experiment with corn seed traits. All observations were recorded in their journals. The understanding of these two lessons led into a discussion of how farmers might use genetics and trait inheritance while raising crops and livestock. Punnett squares were used to determine traits of offspring. Additional lessons introduced students to agricultural/biotechnological careers. Students finalized the unit by creating a power point presentation to summarize what they learned about genetics and biotechnology.
Lisa Fleming –
7th Grade
Indian Creek Middle School
Waterman, IL
Project Title: Agriculture Measures
Up – Using Mathematics in Agriculture
“I constantly hear ‘What will I ever use this for?’ during my math lessons and this agriculture unit is a great way to give farming and my daily lessons a chance to work together.” Teaching in a school in a farm community and being from a farm herself, Mrs. Fleming saw the need to make students aware of the farmers and land around them. Throughout the year, students learned a real-life understanding of how to measure large areas, use equipment and technology to create maps, measurements, calculations and what a farmer deals with setting up fields, planting crops, applying fertilizers and calculating storage space. Mrs. Fleming used her grant money to purchase the Agriculture Measures Up AgriScience Kit and videos on area, volume and perimeter.
Helen Donsbach –
2nd-8th Grade Art
Iuka Grade School
Iuka, IL
Project Title: From Baa-Baas and Boles to Bell Bottoms and Blue Jeans: Creating Wool and Cotton
Mrs. Donsbach’s 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students discussed where fibers come from and how they are formed and studied various kinds of textiles and textile artist’s work. They viewed video of cotton growth, harvest and spinning and sheep farming, shearing and wool processing. They studied and dissected cotton boles and watched a local craftswoman clean, card, dye and spin wool into yarn. To complete the project students were able to weave their own projects from pot holders, pouches, handles and ropes. An exhibit of the students work was displayed in the school and the 5th grade students completed further research and prepared power point presentations on fiber production and processing.
Debora Martell –
5th and 6th Special Education
Donovan Elementary
Donovan, IL
Project Title: Where Does it Come From?
Mrs. Martell’s students researched different crops and where they are grown. The students noted that corn and soybeans are the main crops grown in their area and then used the internet and reference books to find other places where corn and soybeans grow. The 5th grade students focused on the United States and the 6th graders on countries around the world to correspond with the material they were studying in social studies. As the crops were investigated the students determined the top five countries that produce the crops and located and marked them on US and World maps. Not only did they learn that Illinois is a top producer, but they also discussed need for a specific climate and soil quality. The students were then allowed to select a crop to investigate on their own. These crops ranged from cotton to indigo to fruit cocktail. This project taught the students about crop production, climate, soils, and land features while strengthen their researching and mapping skills.
Sharon Hutton –
Third Grade
Cumberland Elementary
Toledo, IL
Project Title: Ag in the Classroom Library
Mrs. Hutton’s year long project focused on a new Ag Mag Topic each month. The year started of with a study of Apples and Farm Safety in the fall and ended with a study of Corn and Soybeans in the spring as farmers planted the fields around the school building. She purchased 45 books to supplement the Ag Mags. In all, 14 agricultural topics were covered. She coordinated the Technology Ag Mag with their science chapter on simple machines and used the Earth Day and Soil Ag Mags and new books to teach her students more about recycling and conservation.
“Students who had no prior knowledge about farming learned things about their own community that they didn’t know before. I feel at times our curriculum takes us places where the children have absolutely no connection to what they are learning, which is of course part of learning, but we really don’t know much about our own communities! We have so much to learn about what is in our own back yards! This project filled a gap left in our curriculum.”
Diana Uphoff –
Third Grade
Jefferson Park School
El Paso, IL
Project Title: Rural Communities
Mrs. Uphoff purchased 30 agricultural related books with her grant money. She integrated her new books along with activities from our Ag Mags into her Science and Social Science units. Students visited a local dairy, hatched eggs, grew plants, made butter and pumpkin pie. Throughout the study, students kept journals of their activities and the new information they learned. Topics included Dairy, Corn, Pumpkins, Seeds, Sheep, Apples, Cranberries and Poultry.
“My students learned that agriculture is necessary for our survival. They also learned the importance of preserving our land, how farming has changed through the years and the need to continue to find new ways to produce products needed for our world.”
Sandy Kissinger
Eswood District, Lindenwood
Ms. Kissinger’s 17 first graders learned about agriculture while studying reading, writing, science, math, art, and social studies. The students learned about Horses, Dairy, Bees, Cherries, Corn, Tractors, and much more with the new books in their classroom and hands-on activities. They dried apples, made pumpkin pie in a bag, made ice cream in a bag, and even made dirt dessert. One of Ms. Kissinger’s students said, “I love doing Ag. I wish I could do it for the rest of my life!”
Canter Middle School, Chicago
Ms. McNeal’s 105 8th grade science students conducted an activity entitled “Investigating the Solid and Liquid Phases of Urban, Prairie, and Forested Soils.” Her students first read the Soil Ag Mag and then discovered soil and life in a vacant lot. They also recreated the vacant lot illustration using various objects, watched a video series on ecosystems, performed experiments on their soil, wrote lab reports, and presented their field observations.
Solomon School, Chicago
Ms. Lesser’s kindergarten class on the north side of Chicago conducted an activity entitled “What Came First—The Chicken or the Egg?” This activity also included some seed aspects as planted seeds in their classroom and watched them grow. The class read books such as How a Seed Grows, Chickens Aren’t the Only Ones, and The Little Red Hen.
Beecher City Elementary School, Beecher City
Ms. Sandbothe’s Early Childhood Special Education Preschool carried out a grant entitled “Agricultural Resource Center to be used for Supplemental Instruction.” The class participated in themes such as Food and Nutrition, Spring, Farm Animals, Insects, Dairy from Cows to Ice Cream, and Plants/Farm Life/Growing. Ms. Sandbothe set up centers such as farm equipment, a vet clinic, mamas and babies, puzzles, farm felt boards, seeds, and books. Her grant report stated, “I know that the children know that milk comes from cows and bacon comes from pigs. They understand how the farmer plants seeds and harvests them to feed animals and people. These are the basic ideas that I felt were important for this class.”
Grove Elementary, Montrose
Ms. Mammoser’s 19 first graders participated in a unit called “Ag Books for the School Library.” Sixteen titles such as Century Farm, Corn Belt Harvest, Heartland, Leah’s Pony, and Extra Cheese Please: Mozzarella’s Journey from Cow to Pizza were purchased with the Ag in the Classroom grant. Ms. Mammoser read the books with her students and then placed them in the school library. She noticed that they were routinely checked out by students in other classes as well. (Ms. Mammoser received the Ag in the Classroom Top 15 Book List at a Summer Ag Institute. Go to http://www.agintheclassroom.org/resources/resources.htm and click on “Top 15 Agricultural Books for Children to see this list.)
Altamont Grade School, Altamont
Ms. Zimmerman’s 16 first graders participated in a united entitled “Start to Finish: Agriculture and You.” 25 different nonfiction agricultural books were purchased for the students to read. Ms. Zimmerman created a comprehension worksheet using the information in the books. The students completed the worksheets and also made poster and oral presentations about the uses of a particular resource.
Pilsen Community Academy, Chicago
Four 4th grade classrooms at Pilsen Academy participated in a unit entitled “Asset Mapping Illinois Region by Region. Each class was assigned a region of Illinois: northern, west central, east central, and southern. Each class was divided into five groups to study agriculture, climate, ecosystems, landforms, and natural resources. Each student conducted research and reported their findings back to their group. Each group worked together to create a slide show. Then the students made brochures about their region and presented their slide shows to the other classes. Each student took notes during the slide show and created a desk-size map of Illinois using the information. All four classrooms worked together to create a 2’ X 5’ 3-D topographical map of Illinois with railroads, rivers, towns, crops, hills, valleys, landmarks, animals, and prairies.
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