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.

Insect mAGic

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.

Dairy mAGic

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.

Plant mAGic

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.

Soil mAGic

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

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.

Machine mAGic

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.

Illinois mAGic

This kit provides hands-on experiences for students as they map their route through Illinois, all the while, stopping at locations taking them from stockyards to skyscrapers, looking into the land of the livestock and trading futures on the Chicago Board of Trade. The Illinois kit allows students to see the 7 Wonders of Illinois, watch prairie plants adapt right before their eyes and tour Illinois Indian cultures.

As the prairie state unfolds in these lessons, students will experience the Lincoln Douglas debates, investigate Illinois sites, meet famous Illinoisans, stop at McDonald's for a bite of history, and discover all the great things that come from Illinois. Navigating Illinois waterways will allow the students to see just how diverse our state is, with Amish settlements and coal mines throughout the state. Yet the wealth of our state is found in its' soil.

Students will measure and learn to treasure Illinois trees and discover how Illinois products are processed. This kit provides lessons that move Illinois plant products throughout the state, unveil the history of Illinois agriculture, dig into the research of Illinois inventors and add up the money Illinois agriculture funnels into our economy. Students will solve logic puzzles, dive into history and explore some of our Illinois' greatest attributes.

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.

• Getting to the Core: Apples and Orchard
• Pumpkin Patch: A Vine Through Time
• Pondering Pizza: A Slice of Agriculture
• Unraveling Fibers: More Than Just Clothes
• Dairy Cow Capers: Exploring Dairy Farming & Nutrition
• Eggsploring Poultry: Cracking the Egg

AgriScience Kits:

These kits are self-contained teaching units for grades 7 - 12, 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.

· Biological AgriScience

· Physical AgriScience

· Hydroponics

· Biotechnology Applications in Agriculture

· Growing Better Every Day Using Genetics

· Horticulture Careers

· Horticulture