Our lesson kits and loan out materials are developed in accordance with national and state learning standards, and are available to be utilized by county educators and home-school groups. The Coles County Soil and Water Conservation District is a proud partner of Illinois Ag In the Classroom, providing a refreshing and flexible educational program designed to supplement and enhance the teacher’s existing curriculum. Many more kits are available, but some of the most popular ones are described below!
Getting to the Core: Apples and Orchards (K-4)
How do apples grow? Where do all the varieties of apples come from? Learn the answers to these questions and more. Take an inside look at apples and their history. Getting to the Core: Apples and Orchards includes hands-on activities and games, things to make and things to eat, videos, posters, worksheets, and teachers guides with objectives listed.
Pumpkin Patch: A Vine Through Time (K-4)
Discover the wonders of pumpkins. Watch tiny seeds grow into several varieties of pumpkins in a time-lapse video and learn how to prepare the soil for next year’s crop. The Pumpkin Patch contains posters, books, hands-on activities, recipes, and fascinating pumpkin facts.
Pondering Pizza: A Slice of Agriculture (K-6)
Pondering Pizza provides a uniqueway to learn about food, plants, and animals. By looking at a slice of pizza, users will learn how all the ingredients begin on farms, are processed, distributed, and made into a tasty meal. Students will explore Planet Pizza via video and visit a real “pizza farm.” Includes a pizza fractions game and many other resources.
Dairy mAGic
Hands-on exercises let students explore the processes of using milk, acids, enzymes, and bacteria to make cottage cheese, yogurt, and ice cream. Students will find out how much milk one cow produces in its lifetime. They’ll also dive into history, and they’ll learn about issues of supply and demand in the dairy industry.
Poultry mAGic
Students will uncover interesting facts about U.S. poultry production through exercises and hands-on experiments. They’ll learn about the anatomy and nutritional value of an egg. They’ll also learn about the history of egg production and find out how poultry dishes are prepared around the world.
Eggsploring Poultry: Cracking the Egg
Crack the mystery of eggs and see a miracle in 21 days! Eggsploring Poultry is filled with books on embryology, videos, poultry facts, games and other hands-on activities.