Mrs. Kaper's Classroom
Champaign County Ag in the Classroom
Welcome 2022!
I am Sarah Kaper, the Ag in the Classroom Director at the Champaign County Farm Bureau Foundation. I am a former classroom teacher who is taking my classroom "to the fields." That means I bring the best Ag lessons to YOU! Best of all, they are FREE. I invite you to explore ways that agriculture can find a place in your classroom, whether in ELA, Math, Science, or Social Studies.
Why should you consider adding AG to your teaching requirements this year?
You will connect students to the Ag Industry: Building a solid foundational understanding of the relationship between agriculture and the environment, food, fiber, energy, animals, lifestyle, the economy, and technology is critical in educating future consumers and citizens of the world.
You will increase Ag Literacy: Agricultural Literacy is fundamental to developing the next generation of scientists, teachers, and policy-makers to ensure a sufficient food supply for the world's inhabitants.
You will help educate Tomorrow's Consumers: By 2050, the world's population will increase to 9 billion. So today's students will drive our food system in the years to come.
https://farmcredit.com/blog/ag-classroom-educates-tomorrows-consumer
How does it work?
Choose a lesson, and I will:
- Present 30 minutes of engaging content and hands-on activities.
- Bring all of the materials for the lesson (excluding some school supplies like pencils, scissors, glue sticks)
- Share and present a Google slideshow and additional links to videos and supplemental learning sites.
- Provide Ag Mags
How do I sign up?
- Call my office or email me your name and school, 2 or 3 options for date and time of visit, and lesson choice.
- Check my availability through Calendly and fill in the required information for the date and time that you would like a lesson. I will make sure it works logistically for me and get back to you with a confirmation. https://calendly.com/sarah-537/ag-in-the-classroom
- For the most impactful visit--schedule several classes for a block of time. If you are scheduling a large group presentation or a presentation with lessons in several classrooms in the building, email me so that I can block out a day to be at your school.
January-February-March Lessons
RUMINATION NAVIGATION
Cows are ruminants. Rumination or cud-chewing is the process by which the cow regurgitates previously consumed feed and chews it further. Rumination data collected by farm sensors attached to cows is very common. This data can be an invaluable tool to assess the well-being of the herd or individual animals. This lesson is a fun, hands-on activity designed to help students understand the process of rumination and how a cow's digestive systems break down food for energy.
-Best for 4th-8th
FARMER GEORGE
In this lesson, students will gain background knowledge on George Washington as a farmer. They will discover the crops that Washington grew on his farm. The focus will be on wheat as a plant and how that plant becomes food. Students identify the parts of a wheat plant and wheat kernel and investigate the process of milling wheat kernels into flour. Teachers will receive a recipe to make individual George Washington Cherry Pies as a class activity.
-Best for K-5th
WHERE DOES MY TACO COME FROM?
Did you know that Americans eat about 4.5 billion tacos every year? That fact alone is an excellent reason to "taco 'bout" where tacos come from. Students "build" a taco during this activity while discovering that each ingredient comes from a farm that grows or raises what we need for our tacos. This activity includes ELA, Math, and STEM options for extension.
-Best for K-5th
Illinois Ag in the Classroom (IAITC)
2. Check out other resources, lessons, and professional development at https://beyondthebarndoor.wordpress.com/
Keeping students in Champaign County GROUNDED IN AG!
Email: sarah@ccfarmbureau.com
Website: www.ccfbfoundation.com
Location: 801 North Country Fair Drive, Ste A, Champaign, IL, USA
Phone: 217-352-5235
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/691133121333352/