Welcome to Teacher Feature: Celebrating Wisconsin's Community of Agricultural Literacy Educators

Welcome to Teacher Feature, your go-to blog for all things related to Wisconsin's Agriculture in the Classroom program! Here, we shine a spotlight on the dedicated educators who are cultivating a love for agriculture among their students. Our mission is to share inspiring stories, innovative teaching strategies, and valuable resources that empower teachers to incorporate agricultural education into their classrooms.

Whether you’re an experienced educator or just starting your journey, Teacher Feature is here to support you in fostering a deeper understanding of agriculture and its importance in our everyday lives.

I discovered Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC) while I was cleaning an old red binder out my file cabinet at my first teaching job four years ago. The binder had activities, lesson ideas, and was labeled “Agriculture in the Classroom.” Since that discovery, the Agriculture in the Classroom program has become a passion of mine and an important part of my students' learning experiences.

As an educator, I understand the curriculum expectations and the lack of time teachers have for their lessons. AITC has national standards based instructional lessons and companion resources that can be used to incorporate agriculture without taking away from the core curriculum. These lessons are no longer in old red binders, rather an online curriculum matrix featuring differentiated lessons to accommodate pre-K to 12th grade students.

My students read a story about a princess and a pizza in Reading. This led to the discovery of Wisconsin being the Frozen Pizza Capital of the World! I incorporated 'Pizza Time!' lesson as an extension of our reading story. This lesson had math, reading, and science components. This turned out to be my student’s favorite lesson and all it took was a quick search of the Curriculum Matrix to find an easy extension to my existing lesson.

There are also featured resources and support materials that use technology to provide students with virtual learning through agriculture tours, simulations, informational videos, and knowledge-based games. My class participates in the Adopt-a-Cow program. As an extension, I utilize the Dairy 360 video which gives a tour and information about dairy cows and dairy facilities. This tour can be found on the National Agriculture in the Classroom matrix under Cowabunga! All About Dairy Breeds.

Agriculture in the Classroom has provided me with many amazing opportunities. I can share my love of agriculture with my students in and outside of the classroom. By attending training and conferences, I have learned new ways to implement age appropriate agriculture into my lessons. I have had the opportunity to build an agriculture summer school program at my school utilizing AITC lessons. AITC has allowed me to utilize leadership skills and show my passion by being part of the Agriculture in the Classroom Ambassador program. This program has also inspired me to look outside of my own classroom and evaluate how I can help promote AITC to teachers in my own county. By incorporating agriculture into my regular classroom curriculum, my students have learned how agriculture affects them and their families daily and the importance of agriculture sustainability.

By providing lessons, resources, scholarships, grants, experiences, and leadership opportunities, Agriculture in the Classroom works for educators and their students. Finding an old red binder in a file cabinet made a huge difference in my life. By continuing to utilize AITC in my classroom, it will make a difference in my students' lives as well!

Have an idea for a Teacher Feature?

Email Beth Schaefer to share an idea or nominate a teacher to be featured!