IAITC Blog

Read the latest updates from the IL Ag in the Classroom Team!

Authors & AITC: Lisa Amstutz

Join us Thursday, October 9, 2025, for our Authors & AITC Virtual Teacher Event. Special guest Lisa Amstutz will join us to talk about her new book "The Christmas Tree Farm," and we will share about some AITC resources that can be paired with it!

Authors & AITC: Lisa Amstutz
Authors & AITC: Jill Esbaum

Join us Thursday, September 25th, 2025, for our inaugural Authors & AITC Virtual Teacher Event. Special guest Jill Esbaum will join us to talk about her new book "It's Corn Picking Time," and we will share about some a-maize-ing AITC resources that can be paired with it!

Authors & AITC: Jill Esbaum
iREAD 2025

Check out Illinois Ag in the Classroom's iREAD 2025 Summer Reading Companion, complete with ag-accurate book recommendations and accompanying IAITC lessons all aligned with iREAD's summer 2025 theme: Level Up at Your Library!

iREAD 2025
Elf on the Shelf with Illinois Ag in the Classroom

Refreshed for 2024 with five NEW scenes: our fan-favorite Elf on the Shelf resource booklet! This booklet contains 25 agriculture-themed Elf on the Shelf ideas, complete with example photos, materials needed, setup information, book recommendations, ag facts to share, and activities to pair.

Elf on the Shelf with Illinois Ag in the Classroom
Rows of Resources: Corn and Soybean Activities

Thanks to April showers aplenty this year, most Illinois farmers will spend the first part of this month planting rows and rows of Illinois' top agriculture commodities: corn and soybeans, and we will follow suit by sharing rows and rows of our favorite corn and soybean resources!

Rows of Resources: Corn and Soybean Activities
STEM and Inquiry in Agriculture

Fun, hands-on activities to get students thinking and problem solving by carrying out STEM and inquiry challenges with connections to agriculture.

STEM and Inquiry in Agriculture