Monday, 7 November 2005
13

Cultivating Agronomic Knowledge in Third Grade Students.

Meredith A. Caldwell, Kara N. Nelson, and Robert Rhykerd. Illinois State University, Department of Agriculture, Campus Box 5020, Normal, IL 61790

An increasing number of youth in Illinois are from non-farm backgrounds and are unaware of the influence agriculture has on their lives. In an attempt to expand their knowledge of agriculture, the Illinois State University Student Agriculture Association (SAA) hosted an agriculture awareness event. This event consisted of a classroom visit and a trip to the ISU Farm. During the classroom visit third grade students were taught about crop production, animal production, the food production process, the water cycle, farm equipment, and farm safety. To reinforce those concepts and give students hands-on learning experience, students were invited on a tour of the university farm. The day at the farm consisted of a safety demonstration, a livestock tour, an activity in which students made plastic from cornstarch, a horticulture lesson where students participated in planting seeds. In addition to SAA's event at the farm, a representative from the University of Illinois Extension office made farm charms with the students. This effort was constructed in order for students to become exposed to the importance of agriculture and how it affects them. Illinois State University students concentrated the event around crop production and how food is produced. Upon evaluation of Ag Awareness Day, it was found to be a success for all individuals involved. A research study was conducted to measure the knowledge before and after the visit to the classrooms. This was conducted to improve the existing event. The third grade students as well as the Illinois State students gained valuable knowledge from this experience.

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Back to The ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meetings (November 6-10, 2005)