Since 1986, Minnesota Agriculture in the Classroom, a Minnesota Department of Agriculture division, has been publishing a magazine series to enhance classroom curriculum for children ages kindergarten through sixth grade called the AgMag. During the 2023 school year, nearly every school district across the state will have the AgMag as an enrichment tool in the classroom. “It’s our flagship publication! That's really the first thing that Minnesota Ag in the Classroom did when it got started back in the 80s,” said MAITC Education Specialist Keri Sidle.
“What’s really great about the AgMag is it’s a way for teachers to enhance their curriculum. It’s standards-based, but it’s a non-fiction resource about Minnesota agriculture,” explained Sidel. “We try to do this in a really appealing-to-kids way.”
AgMag is not a one-size-fits-all tool; MAITC publishes two issues each year for each grade level, K-6 for a total of 14 issues per year. Not only do they publish 14 issues, but each issue is unique. “Minnesota agriculture is a wide-ranging industry from small farms to big farms, livestock to corn and produce. Our goal is that kids would get [every issue] from kindergarten to sixth grade and really get a full picture of agriculture in Minnesota,” she said.
One of the benefits of the AgMag is that it is standards-based. “We choose the content for AgMag based on the Minnesota Academic Standards. So depending on what topics are covered in each grade level is really what guides what topics we choose; but we make them agriculturally themed,” Sidle shared.
MAITC has former school teachers on staff, including Sidle, and a team of teachers who review each issue before printing.
Seventy thousand issues of AgMag were sent out this school year, said Sidle. And the best part about AgMag is that it is free of charge! Furthermore, MAITC also provides teachers with extra curriculum to extend ag-based learning. “I do think teachers tend to gravitate toward the print because it’s not that often as a teacher that you can find local, state-based content for Minnesota that’s in print and in color, free of charge,” said Sidle. “Our model is teachers go to our website and sign up to receive the AgMag. We like the model in that teachers, individually, sign up and decide to use it rather than it being required.”
Sidle said one of their biggest challenges is getting the word out that AgMag is available. “There are so many resources out there that teachers can use, and there is so much that they need to teach,” she said. The MAITC attends various conferences for teachers and uses online platforms and word of mouth to share its resources.
AgMag can also be found online, so students, parents and teachers can access it at any time. They also have a YouTube channel where they take students on virtual field trips and feature “Harvest of the Month” and “Follow Your Food” videos.
Source: thelandonline.com
Photo Credit: pexels-fauxels
Categories: Minnesota, Education