Agricultural Literacy

The Ag Literacy Program helps people of all ages better understand the importance of agriculture and natural resources to our area.

The program reaches youth and adults by providing interactive educational learning activities in and outside the classroom. The program is part of the Agriculture Education Partnership which works to educate students, teachers, and the public about agriculture in fun and creative ways. Classroom programs for students (K-12) are available upon request on various agricultural topics such as plants and seeds, soils, water, careers, renewable resources, corn, soybeans, wheat, animal nutrition, agricultural products, fiber/clothing, insects, beef, dairy, pork, embryology, apples, pumpkins, agricultural economics and marketing, biotechnology, genetics, and watersheds.

We also offer free or free-loan resources for schools (hands-on learning kits, lessons on various agricultural topics, books, videos), workshops for educators in which they earn professional development hours, and networking with other agricultural education people to strengthen agricultural literacy efforts statewide and nationally.

Bring agriculture to life in your classroom.

Christian and Montgomery Counties Resources

To check out these resources on a free-loan basis, contact Rebecca Niemeier. Kits may be reserved in advance.

Hands-on Learning Resources 

mAGic Kits: Bring mAGic into your classroom with these kits. The lessons in the mAGic kits are multidisciplinary, all-inclusive, and designed to bring math, science, social studies, and Language Arts to life through agriculture. The mAGic kits address the Illinois Learning Standards with the assessment frameworks identified. The lessons include exercises for grades 4-8 in mapping, graphing, sequencing, reading, writing, experimentation, research, and much more. 

  • Dairy mAGic
  • Illinois mAGic
  • Insect mAGic
  • Machine mAGic
  • Plant mAGic
  • Poultry mAGic
  • Soil mAGic

AgriLearning Kits: These cross-curricular thematic kits contain a collection of resources – lessons, books, videos/DVDs, and more. Many lessons align with the Illinois Learning Standards. Ideal for grades K-4. By using these kits, students will learn that while we purchase our food from the store, it begins with plants or animals raised on farms, which are the heart of the agriculture industry. From the farm, products are transported, processed, marketed, and distributed, involving a multitude of agricultural careers in this chain of events. Through these kits, students will discover that they all depend on agriculture every day of their lives.

  • Adventures Around the Farm
  • Getting to the Core: Apples and Orchards
  • Pigs on the Farm
  • Pondering Pizza: A Slice of Agriculture
  • Pumpkin Patch: A Vine Through Time
  • Seasons on the Farm
  • The Wheat We Eat
  • Unraveling Fibers: More Than Just Clothes

Macoupin County Resources

To check out these resources on a free-loan basis, contact Connie Niemann. Kits may be reserved in advance.

mAGic Kits: Bring mAGic into your classroom with these kits. The lessons in the mAGic kits are multidisciplinary, all-inclusive, and designed to bring math, science, social studies, and Language Arts to life through agriculture. The mAGic kits address the Illinois Learning Standards with the assessment frameworks identified. The lessons include exercises for grades 4-8 in mapping, graphing, sequencing, reading, writing, experimentation, research, and much more. 

  • Dairy mAGic
  • Illinois mAGic
  • Insect mAGic
  • Machine mAGic
  • Plant mAGic
  • Poultry mAGic
  • Soil mAGic

AgriLearning Kits: These cross-curricular thematic kits contain a collection of resources – lessons, books, videos/DVDs, and more. Many lessons align with the Illinois Learning Standards. Ideal for grades K-4. By using these kits, students will learn that while we purchase our food from the store, it begins with plants or animals raised on farms, which are the heart of the agriculture industry. From the farm, products are transported, processed, marketed, and distributed, involving a multitude of agricultural careers in this chain of events. Through these kits, students will discover that they all depend on agriculture every day of their lives.

  • Adventures Around the Farm
  • Getting to the Core: Apples and Orchards
  • Pigs on the Farm
  • Pondering Pizza: A Slice of Agriculture
  • Pumpkin Patch: A Vine Through Time
  • Seasons on the Farm
  • The Wheat We Eat
  • Unraveling Fibers: More Than Just Clothes

Ag Mags for Your Class: To assist you in exploring many topics, request a free classroom set of Ag Mags, a 4-page, colorful newspaper for students that includes information, pictures, classroom activities, and agricultural careers. Interactive versions, including links to other websites for more information, interviews, and lessons to further explore each topic, are available at www.agintheclassroom.org. Ag Mags currently available cover the following topics: apples, beef, careers, corn, dairy, horse, Illinois history, livestock, nutrition, pizza, pollinator, pork, poultry, pumpkins, renewable energy, seasons, soil, soybeans, specialty crops, water, and wheat. Other Ag Mags available online but not currently in print include:  horticulture, urban, and tree at Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom.

AgriScience Kits: Students learn science concepts through hands-on applied agricultural activities utilizing these self-contained teaching units. Kits come with teachers guide and materials for activities. Lessons align with the Illinois Learning Standards. 

  • Eggciting Experiments - Chick Incubation and Embryology
  • Genetics and How We Grow
  • Polymers and Oils in the Classroom
  • Soil Erosion

Resources Available from Our Program: The following items are available on a free-loan basis

  • Field Trip Pack
  • Illinois Birds Trunk
  • Illinois Insects & Spiders Trunk
  • Illinois Pollinators
  • Illinois Tree Trunk
  • Wild about Turkey Education Box

Resource Library: Want to explore the agricultural resources available? Come visit our resource library in the Farm Bureau building located at 220 N. Broad, Carlinville. Dig into the hands-on learning kits to see the lessons, materials, and other resources. Browse through the many books, Ag Mags, and curricular resources. Try hands-on make-and-take activities and take back free materials to use in your classroom. The library is accessible Monday - Friday 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. If you would like to arrange a time when the agricultural literacy coordinator is available, contact Connie. 

Ag Readers for Your Class: To assist you in exploring a variety of topics, these 4-page student readers contain information about each commodity, pictures, and agricultural careers. The following commodity readers are available: apples, beef, cooperatives, corn, cotton, dairy, horses, invasive species, pizza, pollinator, pork, poultry, pumpkins, renewable energy, sheep, soil, soybeans, specialty animals, water, and wheat. 

Books and DVDs: We have a large collection of books and DVDs available on various agricultural topics

Lessons and Links

Everyday Agriculture
At Home Ag-tivities
Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom
National Agriculture in the Classroom
Adopt a Calf - St. Louis Dairy Council
Amazing Wheat
American Egg Board Classroom Resources
Chick 101 & Ask an Eggspert
Circle of Earth Bracelet
Incubation and Embryology hints
Growing Letters
Tops and Bottoms
Garden in a Glove
Raising Beef
Illinois Agricultural Education
Illinois Corn Growers Educational Resources
Illinois Farm Families
Illinois Pork Resources - including Amazing Pig video
Illinois Soybean Association's Pod to Plate
Journey 2050
Maple Syrup Tours in Feb. & March - Lincoln Memorial Gardens, Springfield, IL
Midwest Dairy
My American Farm
Pumpkin Growing and Processing - Libby's
The Great Corn Adventure
Back to School with Agriculture
Baseball Charm
From Tassel to Table Chain with Cereal Box
From Tassel to Table lesson from Plant mAGic Kit
Hatching Science Center by Utah AITC
The Geography of Thanksgiving Dinner

For More Information