This document printed from the University of Illinois Extension Macoupin County at http://www.extension.uiuc.edu/macoupin/
Agricultural Literacy Resources & Kits
mAgic Kits
Abracadabra! Alohomora! Open the doors. . . of active discovery and watch your students explore the depths of the Agriculture industry. The lessons in the mAGic kits are multidisciplinary, all inclusive, and designed to bring math, science, social studies and English to life through agriculture in every classroom.
Sim Sala Bim! Engage he, her or him . . . with learning English, math, science and social studies through agriculture. The mAGic kits address the Illinois Learning Standards.
mAGic kits include all of the necessary components to allow students to develop skills in Math, Science, Social Studies and English Language Arts, grades 4th-8th. The kit lessons include exercises in:
mapping
graphing
sequencing
reading
writing
experimentation
research and much more.
These kits are available on a free-loan basis. Kits may be reserved in advance.
Insects have a tremendous impact the quality, quantity, and cost of crops and food products. Students will discover this through the lessons and activities in this kit. Mapping exercises allow students to follow butterflies on migration patterns. Students spend the day in the life of a variety of insects, discovering wingspan, life cycles, anatomy, economics, and social hierarchy patterns of common insects.
This kit provides hands-on experiences for students as they become involved in exploring the processes of using milk, acids, enzymes, bacteria, heat and cold to make cottage cheese, yogurt, and ice cream. Students will solve math logic puzzles, determine how much one cow produces in it's lifetime. Students will also dive into history and explore some of our economy's top issues of supply and demand.
Lessons take root in addressing a variety of problem solving topics in plant propagation, production and processing. Students conduct experiments in discovering plants differences and learning plant ecosystems. Students will sequence Illinois plant products moving throughout the state, research the discoveries of George Washington Carver and add up the money Illinois plants funnel into our state and national economy.
Soils are alive and students will discover this by conducting experiments in soil pH, creating soil profiles, learning the soil scientific components and speaking out for soil issues. Students will unveil the history of crop rotation, dig into the Dust bowl, discover the symbols of Illinois and what makes Illinois a unique state. The kit includes math logic puzzles, word and graphing problems.
Poultry mAGic doesn't solve the looming question of, "Which came first the chicken or the egg?" Yet, students will uncover interesting facts about poultry production in the United States. The kit includes math logic puzzles, graphing problems, mapping activities, and a variety of experiments that allow for hands on learning in an industry that they experience in their daily lives.
Students will learn about the history of farm machinery and the impact of modern farming techniques on families and communities. They'll also learn how inventors John Deere and Cyrus McCormick helped shape modern agriculture. Hands-on exercises let students identify machinery parts and estimate machinery costs. This kit has a series of lessons that will allow students to "Tinker Outside of the Box". These "Tinker" lessons utilize all four disciplines and enable your students to use common everyday products to construct a machine that possesses mobility. By utilizing all four "Tinker" lessons, students will take a project from design development, through machine construction and prototype testing, to learning about scale drawings and even applying for a patent.
Farm Fun Resource Kit
Doing a farm unit? The Farm Fun kit provides lesson ideas, several videos and lots of nonfiction books, activity books and coloring sheets for students, posters, bulletin board materials, stickers, stamps, grain samples, and more. Grades PreK-5
AgriLearning Kits:
These kits are designed for K-5 grades to provide a selection of activities and necessary supplies to teach about the chosen topic or theme while addressing Illinois Learning Standards across all subject areas. They are intended to be "resource materials" kits. While some hands-on supplies are provided, because of the number of activities included in the various books and guides within each kit, such supplies are only included to complete some of the lessons. Each kit comes with a teacher's guide, video, books, and lots of other resources. These kits are available on a free-loan basis.
These kits are self-contained teaching units, whereby students learn science and math concepts by hands-on applied agricultural laboratory exercises. These kits come in a tub containing a teacher's guide which includes teacher information, lab instructions and procedures, student worksheets, and handouts. The curriculum addresses the science and math state learning standards and are cited in the teacher's guide. Each kit contains all the necessary materials to perform the learning activities. Even though these kits are very easy to use, instructional videos are provided for additional guidance. These kits are available on a free-loan basis.
For more information, please contact Agricultural Literacy Coordinator Connie Niemann by telephone at (217)854-9604 or e-mail at cniemann@illinois.edu.
