Join us for the National
Agriculture in the Classroom Conference in Salt Lake City!
June 23-26, 2020
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Join us at Little America Hotel in Salt Lake City, UT, and enjoy:
- Traveling workshops to Utah agricultural operations.
- Onsite workshops that demonstrate how to use agricultural resources to contextualize standards in reading, writing, math, science, social studies, and nutrition.
- Dynamic keynote speakers who provide their perspectives on supporting Agriculture in the Classroom’s mission of promoting the importance of agriculture in our daily lives.
- National teacher award winners who use school gardens, embryology, aquaponics, bees, and more to increase students’ agricultural literacy.
- Early $435 registration rate when you register by April 15, 2020. Registration opens January 15, 2020.
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Apply for a scholarship to attend the 2020 National Conference!
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In honor of our 25
th
birthday, Utah Agriculture in the Classroom is supporting 25 Utah teachers’ attendance at the National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference in Salt Lake City, June 23-26, 2020! Teachers from across the state can apply for a scholarship which covers the registration cost to attend the conference.
Conference highlights include:
- Traveling workshops off-site from the conference center to explore Utah’s diverse agriculture and landscape
- Experiential learning-based workshops featuring teachers and agricultural literacy specialists sharing new lessons and innovative projects
- Engaging and relevant keynote speakers
- National award-winning teachers sharing classroom stories to serve as inspiration to conference attendees
Winning teachers will receive:
- National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference registration (valued at $435) including workshops, keynote addresses, and all conference meal functions
- Certificate of Training offering 20 contact hours of instruction
Eligibility:
- Utah state certified Pre-K through 12th grade classroom teachers in any subject area
- Currently teaching in a Utah school
- Interest in increasing ability to improve agricultural literacy that increases student awareness about agriculture and instills in students an appreciation for our food and fiber system
- Commitment to using educational resources to integrate agriculture into core content and instruction
Selection:
- Twenty-five teachers will be selected based upon the merit of their applications
- Up to two supporting documents may be included, not to exceed 10MB. Supporting documentation may include:
- Letter of support from school administrator or local Farm Bureau
- Examples of student work from past projects or learning experiences
- Captioned photos of students engaged in lessons, project, or farm visits
Application:
- Application is due February 2, 2020, at midnight MST.
- Winning teachers will be notified by February 5, 2020, and will receive a scholarship code to be used at registration.
- You will not be able to save your application if you close out of the JotForm window. It is recommended that you compose your responses in a separate document (e.g., Word) and copy/paste the text into the application when you are ready to submit.
- Questions: Call Bekka Israelsen at 435-797-1833 or email at bekka.israelsen@usu.edu
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Congratulations to our 2019
Classroom Grant Recipients!
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Utah Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC) awarded $500 grants to Utah pre-kindergarten through 12
th
grade core education teachers whose innovative classroom projects use agricultural concepts to teach reading, writing, math, healthy lifestyles, science, or social studies.
The purpose of the Utah AITC Classroom Grant is to encourage teachers to use agricultural concepts to teach core subject areas. The grant is designed to fund projects that will educate Utah Pre-K—12 students about the importance of agriculture.
Utah AITC 2019 Classroom Grant Recipients:
- Brad Hendershot, Excelsior Academy, "Pollinator Science"
- Sharon Mumford, Plain City Elementary, "Are You My Mother?"
- Rachel Bingham, Bell View Elementary, "School Garden"
- Shandi Call, West Haven Elementary, "Dairy Farm Field Trip"
- Katie Peterson, West Haven Elementary, "Dairy Farm Field Trip"
- Emily Judkins, Midland Elementary, "Dwarf Garden Greenhouse"
- Kristen Baddley, Midland Elementary, "Adventures in Gardening: Hydroponics vs. Aquaponics"
- Meaghan Porritt, Lewiston Elementary, "Embryology"
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Featured Lessons on the Matrix
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Seeds are vital to our survival. Without seeds, the plants that provide our food, fuel, fiber, oxygen, and many other essential products would not exist. Seeds are the method by which some plants reproduce. Each seed has a seed coat, an embryo, or baby plant, and a food source in the form of either an endosperm or cotyledons. In order for a seed to germinate, or sprout, it needs warmth, moisture, and air.
Learning about seeds and the germination process offers a wide variety of opportunities for scientific investigations and experiments. Working with moisture, light, air, and temperature as variables, students can design experiments to discover optimal conditions for germination.
In this K-2 lesson, students will observe how a seed sprouts and investigate the conditions necessary for germination to occur.
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In the 1940s, one farmer in the United States produced enough food to feed 19 people. Today, one US farmer produces enough to feed 165 people. The increase in U.S. food production is directly relate to the advancement of agricultural technology.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) projects the world's population to reach 9.7 billion people by the year 2050. With 9.7 billion people on Earth, the world's farmers will need to grow about 60-70 percent more food than what is now being produced. As the global population increases, farmers will need to utilize innovative technologies to produce more food with fewer resources.
In this 3-5 lesson, s
tudents will discover technologies that are used on farms to increase efficiency and yields and decrease costs and environmental impact.
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Journey 2050 Level 7: Technology and Innovations
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Journey 2050 takes students on a virtual simulation that explores world food sustainability and answers the question, "How will we sustainably feed nearly 10 billion people by the year 2050?" The lesson plans and online simulation program allows students to make decisions on a virtual farm and witness their impact on society, the environment, and the economy at a local and global scale.
In level 7, students will explore new technologies that will impact the future of farming, understand the role of developing countries in food security, and explain how consumers influence the production of food.
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Journey 2050 Program Summary:
Project-based Learning
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Journey 2050 is a program helping students engage in world food sustainability at a local and global scale. The program contains seven lessons which are aligned to education standards for both
6-8th grade
and
9-12th grade
. Use this project-based learning approach as a capstone to develop a plan to support sustainable agriculture.
If you are new to PBL or need a refresher, click
here
. These five steps are part of the PBL Planner and help guide the process:
- Project Overview
- Learning Goals
- Project Milestones
- Project Calendar
- Lesson Planner
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Farming is being revolutionized by a technological wave. This 12-minute video highlights technological advancements in both animal and plant agriculture. Learn how drones, robots, GPS systems, hydroponics, vertical farming systems, and more can help grow and harvest crops more efficiently. You can also see tools used in livestock production such as activity monitors, thermal imaging tools, and 3-D imaging which assist farmers in keeping their animals healthy.
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Engage students in virtual agricultural experiences. The
360 Agriculture
webpage contains a collection of virtual reality (VR) agricultural tours and farm field trips. Order VR Viewers online
here
.
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Cultivating Knowledge · Connecting Us All
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