Ag Education Web sites

General Resource

California Foundation for Ag in the Classroom - includes lesson plans, commodity fact sheets, and resource guide. (grades: all)
California Department of Food and Ag - information about all of the top commodities grown in California, Ag Facts, Ag Production, county information, kid pages and games. (grades: 4 and up)
Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom - sample lesson plans. Order curriculum and posters online. (grades: K - 6)
TEACHFREE - National Cattlemen's Beef Association - cyber catalog of free educational curriculum kits. Many topics, also sample lesson plans. (grades: all)
Kids Farm - an educational photo storybook about farm animals, crops, farm equipment and people on the farm. (grades: K - 2)
National Ag Day - includes lesson plans, educational resources and tips for planning an Ag Day. (grades: all)
E.A.T. Foundation Education and Agriculture Together
- offers hands-on Continuing Education (CE) courses in wide variety of agricultural related fields and practices.
Discovery Education - find hundreds of original lesson plans, all written by teachers for teachers.
Central Valley Agricultural Literacy Program - resource for educators. (resource page - a comprehensive listing of ag related web sites)

Food and Nutrition

Nutrition

Healthy Choices for Kids - Growers of Washington State Apples - complete curriculum with activity pages in English and Spanish. (grades: primary)
Dairy Council of California - lesson plans, games, order free curriculum. (grades: all)
Harvest of the Month - provides materials and resources to support healthy food choices through increased access and consumption of fruits and vegetables as well as encourage daily physical activity. It uniquely supports core curricular areas through exploration and study. Harvest of the Month presents a strategic opportunity to bring together the classroom, cafeteria, home and community to promote a common goal and healthier habits for students, especially those in low resource schools.
MyPyramid.gov - one size nutrition doesn't fit all! MyPyramid offers personalized eating plans, interactive tools to help you plan and assess your food choices, and advice to help you make smarter choices, find your balance between food and physical activity, get the most nutrition out of your calories and stay within your daily calorie needs.
Kids Nutrition -University of North Dakota - dozens of links provide fun, educational activities and information for children, teenagers, parents/caregivers and teachers.
Nutrition Explorations - nutrition lessons and activities for all grade levels, a timely calendar of nutrition tips, and an interactive kids section filled with games, activities, fun recipes, and a kids panel to help kids learn about healthy eating and staying active.
The Farmer Grows A Rainbow - This set of lesson activities introduces students to MyPyramid, the food guide developed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). This kit educates students about making nutritious choices and the benefits of a healthy diet. The goal of "The Farmer Grows a Rainbow" is to enhance MyPyramid lessons, integrate them with traditional academic subjects and emphasize the vital role played by the farmer in food production.
Watch videos and download PDFs from North Carolina Agriculture in the Classroom.

Crops

Fruits and Vegetables

Dole 5 A Day - Dole Company - fruits and vegetables - fun facts, history, how thry grow, nutritional value. Great graphics and photos, also teacher information. (grades: 1 - 6)
Tropical Crops and the Rain Forest - Missouri Botanical Garden - fruits, vegetables, nuts, spices are just a small part of this extensive site about rain forests. Select: just for kids (grades: 3 and up)

Almonds

All About Almonds - Almond Board - background and history of almonds.
Almond Varieties - Gold Hills Nut Co. - there are many varieties of almonds, learn about the differences.

Apples

Apples Amazing Adventure - coloring and activity book and apple trivia. (grades: 1 - 3)

Broccoli

Broccoli Town, USA - Mann Packing Company - games, activities and information (grades: K - 4)

Corn

Corn In Our Lives - Ontario Corn - a story with pictures - explains how we use corn throughout our day. (grades: 2 - 4)
Popcorn - Popcorn Institute - history, crafts, and games.
(grades: 3 and up)

Cotton

Cotton - National Cotton Council - field to fabric - how cotton is grown and processed. Also classroom materials available to order. (grades: 3 and up)
Cotton's Journey - an educational story on the growing, processing and use of cotton.

Grapes

Grapes - Table Grape Commission - lesson plans and coloring sheets. (grades: K - 6)

Leafy Vegetables

Leafy green vegetables - Leafy Greens Council - lesson plans and activities; language arts, science/health, math, and social studies. (grades: 3 - 5)

Peanuts

Peanut Butter - Peanut Butter Lovers - history, how it's grown and processed. (grades: 3 - 5)
National Peanut Board - Whether you are looking for information on Dr. George Washington Carver or looking for amusing tidbits about peanuts and peanut butter, the classroom section has it all.

Pears

The Pear Bear Chronicles - Pear Council - a story book.
(grades: 1 - 3)

Rice

USA Rice - facts and pictures about rice history, types, products and nutrition

Seeds

First the Seed Foundation - Non-profit organization provides resources about the importance of the seed industry.

Watermelon

Watermelon Kids - information, coloring pages, puppet and games. (grades: K - 1)

Miscellaneous - Crops

Kids Farm - an educational photo story book about the crops, farm equipment and people on the farm. (grades: K - 2)

Livestock

Farm Animals - all species, all breeds

Oklahoma State University - information and pictures about every breed of farm animal. Species include cattle, horses, goats, sheep, swine, buffalo, camel, donkeys, llamas and poultry. (grades: 3 and up)
4-H Farm - University of California - information about goats, sheep and swine. (grades: 4 and up)

Beef

Teach Beef: California Beef Council Educator Newsletter - Produced for California's educators, this issue highlights teaching kits, Celebrate America, a social studies curriculum for fourth and fifth grade levels, and other free resources that are aligned to California content standards.

Dairy Cattle

Dairy Council of California - Classroom Nutrition Education Programs (grades: K - 12)
Moo Milk - The Story of Milk - a story with pictures Select: virtual tours (grades: primary)
Fun Cow Trivia - Florida Dairy Council - a fun page of information (grades: primary)
Dairy Farm - lesson plan from Newton's Apple. (grades: middle)
Dairy Curriculum - Wisconsin Dairy Council - Dairy cattle information. (grades: K - 6)

Sheep

American Sheep Industry - great kids pages with activities. All about breeds, sheep, lamb, wool and the environment (grades: all)
History of Indian Blankets - Pendleton - order educational materials online for free.

Pigs

National Pork Producers Council - pig by-products, food pyramid activities, games, pork history, lesson plans and more. Select: Food fun for kids (grades: all)

Chickens

The Extraordinary Egg - Canadian Egg Marketing Agency - egg activities, projects, worksheets and information. (grades: K- 6)
EGG-citement about eggs - Education World - cross-curriculum egg-tivities. (grades: K-6)

Bees

National Honey Council - bee facts, trivia, games and pictures. (grades: K - 6)
Bee stings - Newton's Apple - lesson plans and activities.
(grades: 3 - 6)

Forestry and Trees

Project Learning Tree - Florida Forestry Association - tree factory, wood products, tree ID, and coloring book. (grades: K - 6)
Forests and Environment - California Forest Products Commission - plants, wildlife, water and fire.
Christmas Trees and Evergreens - National Christmas Tree Association - fun facts, traditions, types of trees, White house tree and more.
Treetures

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Gardening

KinderGARDEN - Texas A & M - great information of school gardens - activities, books, garden themes, things to consider when starting, step by step guide, and nutrition.
National Gardening Association - grow lab curriculum, ordering information and sample lesson plans. (grades: K - 8)
Garden ABC's

Composting

Backyard Magic - A Composting Handbook - New Brunswick Department of the Environment - a comprehensive website about composting.

Worms and Insects

Bug Scope - Free interactive access to a scanning electron microscope so that students anywhere in the world can explore the microscopic world of insects.
Worm World - The Yuckiest Web site - great information about worms as recycler's, worm body parts, worm bins, type of worms and lots of fun information. (grades: 2 and up)
Entomology Youth Pages - University of Kentucky - good and bad bugs. Bugs as food, mystery bug activity, bug art, lesson plans, pictures and science activities.
Children's Butterfly Site - NBII - beautiful graphics and great information about life cycles.
Insect Lore

Water and Soil

Water Science for Schools - USGS - comprehensive curriculum, information, pictures, activities and science.
Water Education Foundation - a listing of water education posters and curriculum. (grades: 4 and up)
California Farm Water Coalition - water facts in California.
The Groundwater Foundation - Activities for students and educators about groundwater

The Environment

Wetlands

Wetland Activities - National Wildlife Federation and Ranger Rick - great games. (grades: K - 6)
Wonders of Wetlands - sample of lesson plans, order the curriculum online. (grades: all)

Farm to Table

Processing

Hershey Chocolate Plant Tour - includes all of the ingredients and their farm source.

Farming

Tractor Stories - John Deere - Ready Rooster Farm Safety Coloring Book and activities. (grades: K - 3)

Food Safety: From Farm to Fork

This 16-page booklet, brimming with activities, has been updated and aligned to the recently adopted health education standards. Download from the CFAITC Web site, or request a printed version.
The unit provides fifth through seventh graders a better understanding of food safety through real-life examples and enjoyable activities. They learn that everyone has a responsibility in minimizing foodborne illnesses-farmers, transporters, restaurants, grocery stores...and the consumer! Through reading, activities, puzzles, math problems and science investigations, participants identify the roles each one of us plays to ensure the food we enjoy is safe to eat.

Student Storybook

Elmo Minds the Farm - Sesame Street - the student can choose how the story progesses. (grades: K -2)
Buzzy Bee - Children's Books Online - picture book about bees. (grades: primary)

Long, Long Ago

History

Old Sturbridge Village - visit New England and experience farm life in the 1800's. (grades: 3 - 5)
Plymouth Plantation - a virtual tour of the 1600's homes.
(grades: 1 - 4)
John Muir - complete curriculum (grades: all)
Harvest of History - Curriculum that includes 16 interdisciplinary activities in four sequential modules designed for the fourth-grade classroom.

American Indians

Indian Legends about Corn

Miscellaneous Information

Visit a Fair - Big Fresno Fair - pre-fair, fair and post-fair activities. (grades: primary)
Science for Kids - USDA - science stories with an ag science theme and activity. (grades: 2 - 6)
Ag Statistics for Kids - USDA - games and information. (grades: 2 - 4)
Scout Island - complete outdoor environmental education and camp program for students and teachers. Experienced, credentialed teachers are on staff to guide learning experiences using a curriculum that is interdisciplinary and focused on the California Academic Content Standards. A “modular” program divided into learning stations can be customized to meet student needs. The hands-on outdoor activities will enhance classroom learning by making real world applications for curriculum. (grades: all)