PROGRAMS

Agricultural Literacy Week

Agricultural Literacy Week ~ March 18th - 22nd, 2013

• How does the Ag Literacy Week program work?
• About this year's book
• Teacher Resources
• Ag Literacy Week archive
• I want to be a Literacy Volunteer
• I would like a Literacy Volunteer to visit my classroom
• Sponsor a book for your local school

How does Agricultural Literacy Week (ALW) Work?

In celebration of National Agriculture Week (March 18th-22nd), volunteers throughout the state will read a book with an agricultural theme to second graders. Students and teachers will also benefit from hands-on lessons and receive follow up activities. The book will be given to the school library with a bookplate recognizing the donor and NY Ag Literacy Week. 1,400 books were donated last year while thousands of second graders participated in fun and educational activities. 

2013 Ag Literacy Week begins Monday, March 18th and runs through Friday, March 22nd.

Start to Finish the program takes about 30 minutes per classroom.

1. Literacy Volunteers work with their county coordinators to set up visits to their local schools.
   
2. Volunteers read to students in first through third grade classrooms.
   
3. Following the reading, volunteers conduct an activity with students and share their experiences in agriculture.
   

All activity materials are prepared by NYAITC and schools get to keep a copy of the book for their school or classroom library.

• Click here to view an Agricultural Literacy Week information sheet
• Click here to view a list of coordinators for each county

About This Year's Books

The Beeman

by Laurie Krebs and Valeria Cis

The Beeman by Laurie Krebs and Valeria Cis uses rhyming text and colorful illustrations to show all of the aspects of beekeeping. A young boy tells the story of how his grandfather produces honey, from the clothing he wears and the equipment he uses to the honey extraction process. Not only does this charming book explain the methods of honey production, but it also educates about the various types of bees and how they work together to produce this sweet agricultural product. The book concludes with six pages of additional information about bees, beekeeping techniques and equipment, honey, pollination, and bee dancing.

For the first time, New York Agriculture in the Classroom has chosen a second Ag Literacy Week book. This book was chosen specifically with our urban partners and teachers in mind, with the intention of choosing a title and topic to create agricultural awareness within their student's own unique environment.

 

The Honeybee Man

by Lela Nargi and Kyrsten Brooker

The Honeybee Man by Lela Nargi and Kyrsten Brooker tells the story of an urban beekeeper in Brooklyn, NY named Fred. He keeps his hive on his rooftop and every morning he greets his bees and explains all of their roles in honey production process. Fred wishes the bees a goodbye as they leave to forage flowers for pollen across the neighborhood, while they are gone he dreams about what his honey may taste like from the different flowers the bees are collecting from. Fred extracts the honey in his kitchen and then shares the jars with his neighbors who are amazed by the process and that the honey was produced by the flowers from their own backyard.

Teacher Resources

• Educator Resource Guide
• Buzzy, Buzzy Bee Lesson Plan
  
  Buzzy, Buzzy Bee is an interactive lesson where students play a game in which they pretend to be honeybees and apple trees. In the process, they learn about plant pollination. This lesson is aligned to NYS and the Common Core Learning Standards, which can be found here.
• Vocabulary List
• Additional Books, Resources, and Videos
• Urban Beekeeping Article
• Quizlet of Honeybee Facts and Vocabulary
• Newspapers in Education ELA Resources
  
  The NY News Publishers Association have created a variety of bee and pollination resources. Many of them are focused in ELA and can be a great extension to your ALW activities.

Agricultural Literacy Week Archive

Now in its 7th Year, Agricultural Literacy Week has helped to bring agriculturally themed books and resources into thousands of classrooms and libraries throughout New York State.
Click here to explore past years books and resources.

Literacy Volunteers

Follow the link below to volunteer as a reader for Ag Literacy Week. Your information will be sent to your county coordinator.

Click here to register as a Literacy Volunteer

Teachers

Would you like a volunteer to read and lead an activity in your classroom? Please click the link below and your information will be sent to the county coordinator.

Click here to register your classroom for ALW 2013

Sponsorships & Donations

Many thanks to  Farm Credit East for their generous support of Agricultural Literacy Week through their AgEnhancement Grant.

Would you like to fund the purchase of one or more books?

The books are $10.00 each and will be donated to the school library after being read.

Send your donation to your county coordinator (make checks payable to NY Agriculture in the Classroom and indicate "Ag Literacy Week" in the memo line). Donors will be recognized on a special bookplate. You may choose to have your donated book sent to a specific school, or to read it yourself to your local school.