STEM – McLean County Ag in the Classroom

Winter & Holiday Lessons

November 14, 2022 Anna Ziegler

The weather outside may be frightful, but these ideas for your classroom are delightful!

McLean County (IL) teachers can request ag mags and activity kits for their classroom: Click here

Online Reading Materials

Ag Mags: Trees

Ag-tivities

Books to Read – set up a FREE account on openlibrary.org to read these online books for FREE!

Virtual Field Trip to Helmig’s Tree Farm

More Videos:

2022 Summer AITC Teacher Workshop

April 26, 2022 Anna Ziegler

Join us June 6-9 for our 2022 Summer AITC Workshop for Teachers!

4 Days of field trips, tours & hands on lesson ideas
Geared for pre-K to grade 12 educators
Earn 30 PDCHs (professional development clock hours), plus 2 graduate level college credit hours available (optional/additional fee)
Learn about FREE resources for STEM lessons aligned with Common Core & Next Generation Science Standards
Take home lesson ideas, materials & grant opportunities for use in your classroom next year!

Cost is $50 for the workshop.

Tuition for 2 hours of Graduate Credit from St. Francis University is $200

(Course #REAL 694 K Agriscience Educator Institute)

Instructors: Carrie Vogel, McLean County Ag in the Classroom Coordinator & Katie Buckley, University of Illinois Extension

Please note:

Teachers will be responsible for their own transportation to field trip/tour locations, you can arrange your own carpool if desired

Registration deadline May 31, 2022

Click here to register

Ag in the Classroom

Soil Your Undies Challenge

November 10, 2021 Anna Ziegler

We soiled our undies for science!

The Soil Your Undies Challenge is a simple way to test soil biology/microbial activity.

Just bury a pair of 100% cotton underwear for 60 days and then dig it up to see how much has decomposed. If just the elastic remains you have healthy soil!

You can also bury 2 pairs in different spots and compare the results.

Find lesson and activity ideas to do your own Soil Your Undies Challenge here or more learning activities about soil here.

How does it work?

McLean County Ag in the Classroom sponsored a friendly competition among local FFA Chapters for the #SoilYourUndiesMcLeanCounty Challenge. Ag students buried 2 pairs of undies in 2 locations on their school grounds & then dug them up 60 days later.

Thanks to Olympia, Heyworth, Tri-Valley & Lexington FFA Chapters for participating! Check out the results of our experiments in the photos below.

Ag in the Classroom

Summer AITC Workshop

May 7, 2021 Anna Ziegler

Join us June 8-11 for our 2021 Summer AITC Workshop for Teachers!

4 Days of field trips, tours & hands on lesson ideas
Geared for pre-K to grade 12 educators
Earn 30 PDCHs (professional development clock hours), plus 2 graduate level college credit hours available (optional/additional fee)
Learn about FREE resources for STEM lessons aligned with Common Core & Next Generation Science Standards
Take home lesson ideas, materials & grant opportunities for use in your classroom next year!

Cost is $50 for the workshop.

Tuition for 2 hours of Graduate Credit from St. Francis University is $200

(Course #REAL 694 R Agriscience Educator Institute)

Instructors: Bridget Caldwell, McLean County Ag in the Classroom Coordinator & Katie Buckley, University of Illinois Extension

Please note:

Teachers will be responsible for their own transportation to field trip/tour locations, you can arrange your own carpool if desired
Masks & social distancing measures may be in place as per health department guidelines

Registration deadline May 28, 2021

Click here to register