Farm Facts Revised Lesson Plans Grades 7-12
The grade 7-12 Farm Facts lesson plans have been completely revised and upgraded. The 59-page instructional package contains 6 units and 18 activities for students.  The package includes reproducible student pages, step-by-step activity directions, student quizzes and answer keys. Each unit corresponds with several sections in the 2007 Farm Facts booklet. The units include America's Food Supply- Economical and Safe, America's Farms and Farmers, American Farmers and the Environment, Agriculture and the Government, The Economics of Food, and American Agriculture is a High-Tech Business. Also included for the first time are quotations about agriculture from famous people. Each unit is on a CD ROM as a separate PDF to be read on your computer and printed as desired and the PowerPoint as a two-part package.

This instructional package moves significantly beyond previous editions for this age level. Activities incorporate graph reading, producing graphs, map reading, history and economics. One activity incorporates a scavenger hunt for students to complete to obtain an overview of American agriculture and the importance of agriculture to their daily lives. Each 7-12 instructors guide contains both the lessons and a PowerPoint CD ROM in a single clamshell package.

We strongly recommend using this package in conjunction with the new poster series also available through this Web site.

Farm Facts Lesson plans can be ordered on line for $10.00 for the 7-12th grade version. Follow this link to place an order.

Farm Facts Poster Kit
This poster kit includes five folded posters (18 inches x 24 inches) on heavy, gloss paper, suitable for classroom use or displays at fairs, career shows, farm tours and other events. One-sided posters correspond to pages from the 2007 Farm Facts book – Who pays the least for food? (page 1); Do we still have family farms? (page 7); What is USDA’s budget? (page 12); How are you connected to agriculture? (page 23); and How will we fuel America? (page 26). Use one poster at a time in your display or all five, the choice is yours. Posters are folded and shrink-wrapped into a five poster set. Each set of five posters are available for $10.00 per set. Posters are not available individually.

New Farm Facts PowerPoint CD ROM
The graphic images from the Farm Facts booklet have been made into a 57 frame PowerPoint presentation for presentations. Each of the Farm Facts graphs has been enhanced to appear as one single image per frame suitable for presentation purposes for the classroom or public uses. The CD ROM is intended to accompany the Farm Facts lesson plans for grades 4-6 or 7-12. It can also be used independent of the lessons for giving presentations, displayed at fairs or career shows or to educate the public in other venues. This resource is a great addition to the agricultural education tool chest. One to 10 copies can be purchased for $7.50.  Eleven or more copies can be purchased for $7.00 per copy. Follow this link to place an order.

White-Reinhardt Fund for Education 2008 Awards
For the fifth year, funds from the White-Reinhardt Fund for Education are being distributed for mini-grants and teacher scholarships. Mini-grant funding supports new projects or projects that expand existing agricultural literacy efforts at the county or state level. Each mini-grant provides up to $500 to support K-12 classroom projects to increase agricultural literacy. The teacher scholarships send ten outstanding teachers to the National Ag in the Classroom conference each year. The widest pool of applicants and recipients in the program’s history is included in this year’s White Reinhardt competition. Geographic representation includes all regions. From Alaska and California on the West Coast to Texas and Georgia in the South and Virginia and New Jersey on the East Coast to North Dakota and Illinois in the center of the country, the country is well represented. A total of 82 applications were received for scholarships and mini-grants. More...

Newly Revised Recommended Book List
The American Farm Bureau� Foundation for Agriculture continues to expand its agricultural literacy efforts with the latest edition of our recommended book list. As with all of our efforts, the focus is to identify more accurate information about agriculture. Because of this focus, the majority of books are non-fiction.

The newly expanded list contains 160 recommended books for ages two through adult. Each book on the recommended list has been reviewed and is as accurate a book on the topic as we can identify. This does not mean that every book is perfect. There may be minor problems. It is almost impossible to find a book that is completely without flaw. With the newly revised list we describe those flaws and identify areas which need to be discussed as �teachable moments.� This is actually a very good lesson for students of all ages to learn that just because a statement is in print does not make it true. Learning this lesson is probably more important today than ever before. Overall, however, the books recommended depict agriculture accurately and with modern images and text. We have also worked to ensure that the books are free from stereotypes as much as possible.

Each listing provides the book title, author, International Standard Book Number (ISBN), retail cost, age levels best served by this book and a description. You will find any flaws the book may have and what areas may need to be addressed in this description.

We will be adding to this list and have additional plans for this effort in the future. So check the list on a regular basis to keep your own recommendations up to date.

View our book list in PDF format.

Addressing Misconceptions About Agriculture
Scientists are learning a great deal about how the brain works and how learning occurs. A significant new development in that research deals with misconceptions and misinformation. Researchers now tell us that new information is applied to old linkages in the brain. If an individual holds a misconception about a topic, they apply new learning on top of that misconception. More...

New Beef Ag Mag Teacher's Guide
A new Beef Ag Mag Teacher's Guide to accompany the Beef Ag Mag. Divided into three units the teacher's guide has an activity for each section of the Beef Ag Mag. The 15-page "Nutrition and Food Safety" unit includes Take a Vote which identifies beef preferences of students, Your Nutritional Needs; Serving Size, Nutrition and Fat Content; Nutritional Requirements; Meeting Your Nutritional Requirements; examines factual information about beef as a nutritional food and dispels some myths about beef, and Cooking and Food Safety; and Fun and Easy Recipes to Make with an Adult provide food safety tips and some quick ways to include beef in the diet. More...

New Biotechnology Teacher's Guide
A new Bring Biotechnology To Life Teacher's Guide has been developed to accompany the Bring Biotechnology To Life videotape. Divided into three units, the teacher's guide has activities that connect to the student's previous knowledge, introduce biotechnology and explore one of the issues facing the use of genetically modified organisms in the food system. More...

Seeds for Success A Biannual Newsletter on Agriculture in the Classroom