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Sheryl Solomonson
Rock Island County Ag Literacy Program Coordinator
University of Illinois Extension
321 W 2nd Avenue
Milan, IL 61264
Phone: 309-756-9978
FAX: 309-756-9987
ssolomo@illinois.edu

Rock Island County Agriculture in the Classroom

Rock Island County Agriculture in the Classroom

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What is AITC?

Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC) is a statewide educational program. Its goal is to help educators, students and the general population gain a greater awareness of the importance of agriculture in their daily lives.

Our program provides educational materials and teacher training to school systems across the state. The program focuses on grades K-8. Its curriculum is designed to be incorporated into language arts, math, science and social studies lessons.

Why do we have AITC?

The Rock Island County AITC program uses agriculture as a medium to teach social studies, language arts, math and science. Students learn about agriculture as they are learning their other lessons. By using agricultural products and animals that are familiar to children, such as pigs, soybeans, corn or cows, new information and ideas will be more meaningful to students and easier to understand. The importance of agriculture in their everyday life is the motivation for learning. Educators can use examples from agriculture to make lessons more interesting and relevant to students. AITC is a wonderful program for teachers and students to achieve their classroom objectives as well as meet the Illinois Learning Standards.

The agricultural literacy program consists of:

  • classroom programs for students (K-12) 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
  • inservices/workshops for educators in which they earn Continuing Professional Development Units (CPDU) for re-certification
  • preservices for education majors at local colleges
  • many free or free-loan resources for schools (hands-on learning kits, lessons on various agricultural topics, books, videos,)
  • public awareness through press releases, radio interviews, county fair displays and presentations to community organizations
  • networking with other agricultural education people to strengthen agricultural literacy efforts statewide and nationally

Check out our Educator Resources to view a listing of curriculum and other resources available through our Agricultural Literacy program.

For more information, please contact Agricultural Literacy Coordinator, Sheryl Solomonson by telephone at (309) 756-9978 or e-mail at ssolomo@illinois.edu.

  • Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom
    Find PDF files of Ag Mags, lessons, and make & takes at the Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom website.

  • National Agriculture in the Classroom
    Agriculture in the Classroom programs are implemented by state operated programs. USDA Agriculture in the Classroom supports state programs by providing a network that seeks to improve agricultural literacy – awareness, knowledge, and appreciation – among PreK-12 teachers and their students.

  • Rock Island County Farm Bureau Foundation
    The Rock Island County Farm Bureau Foundation is a partner with the University of Illinois Extension in Rock Island County for Agriculture in the Classroom.

  • Teacher Resource Booklet PDF
    Listing of Resources available from Rock Island County Agriculture in the Classroom