The Minnesota Agriculture in the Classroom (MAITC) program seeks to improve student achievement by applying authentic, agricultural-based content as the context to teach core curriculum concepts in science, social studies, language arts and nutrition. By encouraging teachers to embed agriculture into their classroom, MAITC cultivates an understanding and appreciation of the food and fiber system that we all rely on every day.
Intro to Agriculture Focus Area Grade-Specific Lesson Plans
As we kick off the 2023-2024 school year, we have gathered grade-specific curriculum designed to introduce students at every K-12 grade level to agriculture.. Learn more about these K-12 standards-based lesson plans below.
My Farm Web (Grades K-2)
Students use the visual representation of a web to explore the role of agriculture in their daily lives and understand how most of the necessities of life can be traced back to the farm.
A Day Without Agriculture (Grades K-2)
Students explore the wide scope of agriculture, identify the variety of agricultural products they use in their daily lives, and discuss the difference between needs and wants.
A Search for a Source (Grades 3-5)
Students determine that agriculture provides nearly all of the products we rely on in any given day by participating in a relay where they match an everyday item with its "source."
From Foraging to Farming (Grades 6-8)
Students will participate in a foraging activity, gaining perspective on how scarcity of resources can affect well-being and how agriculture provides the benefit of a steady, reliable food supply. Then they will read about hunter-gatherers and early agriculture and use maps to explore how geography affected the development of early civilizations.
My Agricultural Connections (Grades 9-12)
Describe the local and global complexities in the agricultural systems that provide for our basic needs—food, clothing, and shelter.
AgMag Intro to Agriculture Focus Area Connections
The AgMag Series for grades K-6 introduces students to real-life Minnesota farmers and businesses, highlighting people and organizations that help kids feel connected to agriculture. Explore these AgMag connections from the print and online versions.
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AgMag K: Agriculture is Everywhere!
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AgMag 1: Grown in Minnesota
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AgMag 2: Agriculture: Every Day Every Way
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AgMag 3: What is Agriculture?
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AgMag 4: Science in Agriculture
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AgMag 5: What Makes Minnesota Such a Great State for Ag?
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AgMag 6: Minnesota Agriculture
Looking to plan ahead for October's focus area of Fall Favorites: Apples, Squash, Wild Rice? Check out the virtual field trip, AgMag Connections and standards-based curriculum coming soon!