WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation (IALF) is making mini-grants available to support the integration of agriculture into classroom instruction or after school programs with an academic focus.
“The outcomes are so diverse and fantastic! This project allows students to learn more about farming, technology, STEM, and literacy,” said 2019 grant recipient Sara Lawrence. “Hands-on learning and not learning in front of a screen, trial and error to go to the next step, [students learn] ways to fix the problem.”
The Agriculture in the Classroom Teacher Supplement Grants, made possible through support from the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, are designed to help Iowa teachers initiate new projects or expand existing projects that promote agriculture literacy in students. Teachers can apply for $250 grants that can be used to fund innovative lessons, activities, classroom resources, guest speakers, outreach programs, field trips, and other projects. Up to 175 grants will be awarded to teachers throughout Iowa.
One of last year’s grant recipients, Jennifer Mauro said, “For many of the children, this was their first exposure to growing something from a seed and understanding how the food we eat starts out as something so small. They were so excited to watch this natural process from the very start.”
Preschool through 12th grade teachers, librarians, and afterschool program coordinators at Iowa schools are eligible to apply. Grants must relate to social studies, science, math, language arts, or 21st century skills and integrate agriculture into the learning.
“We see this as a valuable resource for teachers because it allows them to connect what they are doing in the classrooms to Iowa’s number one industry,” said IFBF community resources manager, Ronnette Vondrak. “Agriculture in the Classroom and agriculture literacy has been an area of emphasis for the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation for many years.”
The deadline for application is January 10, 2020 and the proposed project must take place between January 15 and June 5, 2020. To apply online or for more information visit www.iowaagliteracy.org.
— Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation
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