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New York Agriculture in the Classroom

Programs

Agricultural Literacy Week

Agricultural Literacy Week ~ March 18-22, 2024

How Does Agricultural Literacy Week (ALW) Work?

In celebration of New York agriculture, volunteers throughout the state will read a book with an agricultural theme to elementary students, with a focus on second grade classrooms. Farmers, FFA and 4-H members, adults engaged in a career in agriculture, and engaged in our food system volunteer to enthusiastically engage your students in a paired hands-on activity related to the book to extend learning. The book will be donated to the school or classroom library with a bookplate recognizing the donor and our celebration of New York Agricultural Literacy Week. 2,300 books were donated last year while 75,000 elementary students participated in an experiential learning activity.

Start to finish the program takes approximately 40 minutes per classroom

  1. Agricultural Literacy Week volunteers work with their county's coordinator to set up visits to local schools
  2. Volunteers read the selected book aloud to the students.
  3. Following the reading, volunteers conduct an activity with students and share their experiences in agriculture.
  4. The book is donated to the school or classroom library for students to enjoy and reference throughout the school year.

All activity materials are prepared by NYAITC and schools get to keep a copy of the book for their school or classroom library.

About This Year's Book

I LOVE Strawberries
Written by Shannon Anderson
Art by Jaclyn Sinquett
I LOVE Strawberries

Jolie LOVES strawberries - and she’s on an unstoppable (and hilarious) mission to grow her own food from seedling to table in this colorful introduction to the joy of growing the popular perennial.

Through Jolie's comical scrapbook-style journal entries, young readers will learn how she convinces the "old people" (aka her parents) to let her grow her own strawberries. Growing strawberries is a lot of work and responsibility, but Jolie is ready with the help of her faithful rabbit Munchy! Together they find out just how delicious, rewarding, and sometimes complicated it can be to grow your own food.

Creating a garden calendar and notebook, how strawberries grow, what pests to look out for in a garden, why ladybugs are helpful, and how a good gardener takes care of strawberry plants are all explained in this fun and educational story.

Educator Resource Guide

Follow this simple guide to sequence the strawberry lifecycle with your students and learn how to extend their experience with ELA and Next Generation Science Standards connections.

Activity Materials

This year's paired activity will be sequencing the strawberry lifecycle. Each student will receive a guided worksheet and stickers with steps of the strawberry lifecycle. The volunteer will then guide them to think about the seed to fruit sequence and place their stickers accordingly. Students will then have the optional activity extension to journal about how/ where they would grow strawberries or draw their own strawberry patch.

Classroom ALW Videos

Companion Lessons and Resources

You can share these additional resources with the classes your volunteers read to so teachers may prepare their students for Agricultural Literacy Week or extend the learning afterwards in their classrooms.

Quizlet

Utilize this resource to explore the vocabulary in this year's book.

Agricultural Literacy Week Archive

Agricultural Literacy Week has helped to bring agriculturally themed books and resources into thousands of classrooms and libraries throughout New York State.

Click book image below to explore past years books and resources.
Tomatoes for Neela
Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table
Chuck's Ice Cream Wish
Right This Very Minute
On the Farm, At the Market
Before We Eat: From Farm to Table
The Grapes Grow Sweet
The Apple Orchard Riddle
Weaving the Rainbow
Who Grew My Soup?
The Beeman
The Honeybee Man
Seed, Soils, Sun
Chicks & Chickens
The Tree Farmer
Sugarbush Spring
Empire State Investigator
Lily's Garden
Extra Cheese Please

Sponsorships & Donations

Would you like to fund the purchase of one or more books?

The books are $12 each and will be donated to the school library after being read.

Contact your county coordinator for more details on where to send your donation. Donors will be recognized on a special bookplate. You may choose to have your donated book sent to a specific school, or to read it yourself to your local school.

For County Coordinators

This area of NYAITC's website is for those who assist with carrying out Agriculture in the Classroom programming. County coordinators should follow the link below to login and access planning documents and information regarding Agricultural Literacy Week.