What is Agriculture in the Classroom?

Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC) is a statewide educational program. Its goal is to help students and teachers gain awareness of agriculture in their daily lives. By having agricultural educators come into your classroom, students will learn about the industry and take part in hands-on activities that will enrich their lesson. The best part? Everything is FREE.

Check out our Lesson Overview 2024 for more info.

But we live in DuPage County, there are no farms here…

Despite our suburban surroundings, agriculture touches everyone daily. Did you eat breakfast? Brush your teeth? Get dressed? Play with a football? All of these things rely on agriculture. When teachers choose to implement AITC in their curriculum, students gain a larger understanding of the industry that many parts of the state are involved in. By utilizing agricultural topics, we are exposing students to concepts that help them become aware of ideas and products that they might not know of. They will also begin to see how much agriculture is involved in their daily lives. AITC is a wonderful program for teachers and students to achieve their classroom objectives as well as meet current learning standards. Last year, AITC saw 48,854 students in DuPage County.

We would love to come visit you!

We can come into your classroom, your club meeting, after-school activity, special event, career fair, library program, summer camp – if you can learn, we can be there. We teach lessons on many topics, including, but not limited to: apples, careers, corn, dairy, Illinois specialty crops, livestock, pizza, pumpkins, soil, and soybeans. Let’s come up with an idea! These topics can be implemented into many areas of your curriculum.

Important Notes:
As of 2019, we do not host lessons with Pre-K and Kindergarten classes. If you are a teacher of these grades, we invite you to participate in our yearly Pre-K/Kindergarten teacher workshop where you will receive free books and supplies to utilize during the school year. This workshop is held in early August each summer. Contract Kristina if you would like more information or are interested in participating!

Virtual Options

Unable to have visitors at your location at this time? No problem! We are offering live Zoom lessons featuring a new topic every month! Ag Bags are also available to those who cannot fit a lesson into their schedule. These special bags include an Ag Mag, worksheet, word search and small project. These bags are best for 3rd-5th grade. Be sure to check out our recorded lessons, virtual field trips, and online resources in the “AITC Virtual Learning” tab! To schedule a lesson, order Ag Bags, or for more information email Kristina at [email protected].

How Can I Help AITC?

We love providing hands-on activities for our students, but these can get pretty pricey! Each year we put out a call for supply donations. If you would like to help, items can be delivered to the DCFB office: 245 S Gary Ave, Carol Stream, IL 60188.

Items Needed:
Sandwich Size Ziplock Bags
Snack Size Ziplock Bags
3/4″ Brads
Jumbo Cotton Balls
Jumbo Popsicle Sticks
Regular Popsicle Sticks
Napkins
Soda Size Bottle Caps
Red Construction Paper
Black Construction Paper
Yellow Construction Paper
Orange Construction Paper

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Contact Kristina Baumbach to become involved [email protected], or 630-668-8161