school calendar · 2015. 6. 25. · hungry planet: what the world eats by peter menzel from corn to...

SchooL caLendar2009-2010Photos by Ken Kashian and cyndi cook, Illinois Farm Bureau®

For more photos, go to ilfb.org and click on Ken Kashian’s Photo Gallery

Farmer’s Market - McLean county

Farmer’s Market - McLean county

august 2009

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Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

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Recommended Reading:Pumpkin Jack by Will hubbellThe Very Hungry Caterpillar by eric carleHeartland by diane SiefertlUp, Down, and Around by Katherine ayres

Illinois is the leading state in pumpkin production. We grow 16.6 million pumpkins each year.

What is agri-Tourism? It’s when you visit a working farm or agri-business operation for fun, education, or to participate in its activities.

at the nearly 3,000 farmers’ markets across the country, producers market their fresh, affordable, convenient, and healthy products to consumers.

Morton, Illinois is known as The Pumpkin capital of the World.

U-Pick orchards are the perfect place to pick your own peaches or apples in a beautiful setting. Visit www.agfun.com to find out more.

Pumpkins can be more than just jack-o-lanterns! They are healthy and nutritious and can be used to make soups, pies, and breads.

Visit eckert’s in Belleville, Illinois to see one of the largest pick-your-own orchard operations in the United States.

You can grow your own pumpkins! Visit your local library for books that will help you learn how.

When you buy produce at farmers’ markets, you’re buying it at its freshest!

Want to find a pumpkin patch in your community? Go to www.pumpkinpatchesandmore.org.

“route 66,” a historic road dating back to 1926, runs from chicago, Illinois to Los angeles, california. See what you can find out about farmers’ markets and roadside stands found along the way.

Make a 3-d Pumpkin with your class! Learn how at www.agintheclassroom.org, click on Printable Materials, and then Specialty crop Lessons.

Illinois agri-Tourism

Scenic Barns - Marshall county

September 2009

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Recommended Reading:The Tree Farmer by chuck LeavellI Can Name 50 Trees Today by Bonnie WorthA Tree for All Seasons by robin Bernard

The Shawnee national Forest is in southern Illinois. It’s divided into two Illinois ranger districts; hidden Springs, in Vienna, and Mississippi Bluffs, in Jonesboro.

The Shawnee national Forest is the largest public forest in the state, and offers great outdoor activities like horseback riding and hiking.

Plant life in the Shawnee national Forest is extremely diverse, and more than 500 species of wildlife make it their home.

Fall is the perfect time for hayrides and outdoor fun. did you know that hayrides originated in Kansas?

When sunlight decreases, trees produce less chlorophyll; this causes leaves to change colors.

another name for Fall is autumn. autumn marks the transition from summer into winter.

What do green leaves and unripe bananas have in common? color! The green color in unripe bananas comes from chlorophyll, the same pigment that gives green leaves their color.

Fall Scenes

Seeing red and Green - Sangamon county

october 2009

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Recommended Reading:Corn Belt Harvest by raymond BialCorn by Gail GibbonsOh Say Can You Seed? By Bonnie WorthThe Super Soybean by raymond Bial

harvest is the process of gathering mature crops from the fields. The harvest also marks the end of the growing season.

In the fall, the soybean plant turns brown and the leaves drop off before they are harvested.

Farmers produce and harvest millions of tons of soybeans, making sure there is always a supply of high quality beans available for processing industries and consumers.

The sugar level of mature sweet corn is highest in the morning, making it the best time for farmers to harvest it.

Grain elevators are buildings for storage and shipment of grain. They were invented in 1842 in Buffalo, new York.

Grain elevator operators buy grain from farmers, either for cash or at a contracted price, and then later sell these contracts for the same quantity of grain.

corn is a major component in many food items like cereals, peanut butter, snack foods, and soft drinks.

Soybeans are used in industrial products including oils, soap, cosmetics, resins, plastics, inks, solvents, and biodiesel.

The “corn Belt” includes the states of Iowa, Illinois, nebraska, Minnesota, Indiana, ohio, Wisconsin, South dakota, Michigan, Missouri, Kansas, and Kentucky.

nearly one third of our nation’s corn crop is exported to other countries.

Germinate your own soybean seed! Go to www.agintheclassroom.org and click on Lessons and activities/Soybeans/Beanie Babies.

harvest

Locks #27 & chain of rocks dam - Madison county

november 2009

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Recommended Reading:A Drop of Water: A Book of Science and Wonder by Walter WickOne Well: The Story of Water on Earth by rochelle StraussThis Land is Your Land by Woody Guthrie

dams hold water back on shallow rivers to make the river deeper. Bigger ships can then travel on the river.

dams make it necessary for river vessels to use a series of locks to step up or down the river from one water level to another.

Locks are used to hold back the water to a set depth and then allow the water to rise or fall, depending on which way the boats or barges are headed.

each lock and dam is given an identifying number, but we often just call them by the names of the towns they are located near.

Visit www.epa.gov/kids/ to learn about water and water pollution.

a barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for transporting heavy goods. Barges come in shapes and sizes.

a bridge is a structure built to span a valley, road, railroad track, river, or body of water.

Barges carry more than 60% of the nation’s corn crop and 45% of the nation’s soybean crop down the Mississippi river to countries all over the world.

nearly 97% of the world’s water is salty and undrinkable. another 2% is locked in ice caps and glaciers, leaving just 1% for all humanity’s needs!

The Mississippi river is the longest river in the United States, stretching 2,320 miles.

The Mississippi river flows through or forms part of the border of 10 States (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana.)

river Locks & dams

Snowy day - Jo daviess county

december 2009

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Recommended Reading:The Christmas Tree Farm by ann PurnellThe Beautiful Christmas Tree by charlotte ZolotowChristmas Tree Farm by Sandra JordanSnowflake Bentley by Mary azarian

The tradition of putting lights on the christmas tree began when small candles were used to light the first christmas trees.

In 1882, edward Johnson was the first to use electricity to light a christmas tree. he used eighty small light bulbs to illuminate a tree in new York.

The lighting of the “official” christmas tree in chicago is a tradition for many in Illinois. The tree is decorated with thousands of colorful lights and hundreds of ornaments.

When you think winter, you think icicles. an icicle is a tapered, hanging spike or cone of ice formed by the freezing of dripping or falling water.

There are more than 500 christmas tree growers in Illinois.

While normal annual snowfall exceeds 38 inches in chicago, the southern part of our state receives less than 14 inches.

a blizzard is a severe weather condition characterized by low temperatures and winds greater than 35 mph, along with great amounts of snow.

Try this! Trace snowflake patterns on a piece of wax paper with puffy paints. When dry, peel off the paper. You’ve made window clings!

Illinois Winter

Twin Groves Wind Farm - McLean county

January 2010

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Recommended Reading:My Light by Gail GibbonsMichael Recycle by ellie BethelBeneath the City of Ooze by doug Peterson and Brian cook

ethanol is a clear, colorless alcohol fuel made from the sugars found in grains, such as corn, sorghum, and wheat, as well as potato skins, rice, and yard clippings.

ethanol is known as a renewable resource. Gasoline, which is made from crude oil, is not.

crude oil is made from plants that died millions of years ago, so it is noT a enewable resource!

Wind is simple air in motion. It is caused by the uneven heating of the earth’s surface by the sun.

Today, wind energy is used to generate electricity. Wind is called a renewable energy source because the wind will blow as long as the sun shines.

a turbine is a device with blades, which is turned by a force (wind, water, high pressure steam). The mechanical energy of the spinning turbine is converted into electricity by a generator.

Wind power plants, or wind farms, are clusters of wind turbines used to produce electricity.

In 2003, the clean School Bus USa program updated over 4,000 school buses to eliminate pollutants from being released into the air.

energy

Garden in the city - cook county

February 2010

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Recommended Reading:Hungry Planet: What the World Eats by Peter MenzelFrom Corn to Cereal by roberta BaselExtra Cheese, Please! by cris PetersonGrowing Farm, School and Me! By reiffton School

The chicago Board of Trade (cBoT), established in 1848, is the world’s oldest futures and options exchange.

The chicago Board of Trade (cBoT) was officially founded by 83 merchants at 101 South Water Street, chicago, Illinois. Thomas dyer was elected its first president.

The chicago Board of Trade is a global commodity futures exchange that deals in the trading of treasury bonds, corn, soybean, wheat, gold, silver and more.

an agricultural Futures contract is an agreement between a buyer and a seller that requires delivery of a commodity (soybean, corn, wheat etc.) on a set date for an agreed-upon price.

Mcdonald’s was the first restaurant company to develop a global training center called hamburger University.

hamburger University’s goal is to provide consistent, high quality training for Mcdonald’s employees and managers. More than 5,000 students attend ‘hamburger U’ each year.

The first Mcdonald’s restaurant opened in 1955 in des Plaines, Illinois.

even in major cities like chicago, gardening is possible with the concept of roof top gardens. Both vegetables and flowers can easily be grown in pots and containers, bringing joy to city dwellers!

chicago

Blue Skies - Tazewell county

March 2010

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Recommended Reading:Clarabell by cris PetersonClick, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by doreen croninLeah’s Pony by elizabeth FriedrichThe Perfect Pony by corinne demas

a barn is a large farm building used for storing farm products and sheltering livestock.

a silo is a tall cylindrical structure, usually found next to a barn, in which feed for livestock is stored.

cows are the most popular farm animal. They can change grass, which has little food value and is hard to digest, into milk, which is rich in food value.

Some breeds of cattle are kept purely for beef, others for milk, and some for both.

Long ago, horses did the work of today’s tractors. horses could plow and work the soil, and pull heavy loads on carts.

Today, horses are used in large cities like chicago to help police patrol high traffic areas. horses also provide therapeutic riding for disabled adults and children.

Farming

In The Fields - McLean county

april 2010

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Recommended Reading:April Foolishness by Teresa BatemanA Handful of Dirt by raymond BialDiary of a Worm by doreen croninWhat Shall I Grow by ray Gibson

John deere was an american industrialist who pioneered the manufacture of plows especially suited to working prairie soil.

a plow is one of the most widely used farm implements; its heavy blade is used to break up and cut furrows in the soil to prepare it for sowing.

When a farmer ‘sows’ his fields, he is planting seeds for growing.

Illinois farmers rank second in the country in corn production. In 2007, they planted 13,000,000 acres of field corn, which produced over 2 billion bushels of the golden kernels.

Field corn is processed to make products you use every day, such as cornstarch, cooking oil, sweeteners, high fructose corn syrup, cereal, beverages and fuel.

a combine, also known as a thresher, is a machine that combines the tasks of harvesting, threshing, and cleaning grain crops as it moves through a field.

a farmer’s baler produces the round or square bales of hay you see in many fields.

a baler is a piece of farm machinery that is used to compress a cut and raked crop (such as hay or straw) into bales and bind the bales with twine or wire.

Visit the aITc website (www.agintheclassroom.org) for some fool-ish activities! click on Printable Materials; then check out april Foolishness Lessons for some fun activities!

Planting

rural Windbreak - Southern Illinois

May 2010

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Recommended Reading:Water Dance by Thomas LockerAll Around the Farm by heather alexanderA Tree is Nice by Janice May UdryBerries, Nuts, And Seeds by diane Burns

recycling is the process of converting materials that are no longer useful as designed or intended into a new product.

a windbreak is a hedge, fence, or row of trees that help to lessen or break the force of the wind.

a terrace is a raised bank of earth having vertical or sloping sides and a flat top. Terraces can be man-made and are used to help stop erosion or run-off from occurring.

run-off occurs when all the rainwater is not absorbed by the soil and flows over the ground, picking up debris, chemicals, dirt, and other pollutants as it goes.

conservation is necessary for the protection, preservation and management of wildlife or other natural resources such as forests, soil, and water.

Trees, shrubs and prairie grasses act as buffers for the water you drink. Farmers concerned with water quality may plant riparian buffer strips, which run along a stream or river.

Trees are natural clean-air factories. a more scientific name for this function is “oxygen cycle.”

evaporation occurs when the sun warms water and it changes from a liquid state - water, to a gas state - vapor. It is the opposite of condensation.

Windbreaks/conservation/Soil

Make your own water cycle bracelet! Visit the ag in the classroom website www.agintheclassroom.org and click on Lessons and activities.

Blue ribbons - Iroquois county

June 2010

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Recommended Reading:

County Fair by raymond Bial

July 2010

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Summertime is fair time! Local fairs feature farm products or manufactured goods, along with entertainment, food, and competitions for all ages. The “Illinois...Where Fresh

Is!” logo, found on specialty crops at farmers’ markets and grocery stores, helps us to quickly identify these products.

Illinois has more than 100,000 acres of specialty crops such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, berries, herbs, popcorn and trees.

check out the” Specialty crops” Illinois ag Mag and see the bounty of crops our state has to offer! Get them through your county Farm Bureau.

Math is important to the daily operations of farmers. They use geometry and algebra to adjust the sprayer and planting equipment they use in their fields.

a blue ribbon at the Fair is usually awarded to a project or exhibit which meets or exceeds all of a competition’s judging criteria.

every year the Illinois department of agriculture hosts the Illinois State Fair. Visit the Illinois department of ag website (http://www.agr.state.il.us/) for dates and details.

Fairs & Festivals

Ag MAgs ARe AvAilAble on-line And in clAssRooM sets of 30.

www.iaafoundation.org

Funds for this calendar were provided by The IAA Foundation.

Visit us on our website at www.agintheclassroom.org

1701 Towanda AvenueBloomington, IL 61701

[email protected]

apples

Beef

corn

dairy

horse

The Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom Ag Mags are four-page, colorful agricultural magazines for kids.

They contain information about agriculture, classroom activities, agricultural career interviews and bright pictures.

Ag Mags are available on-line and in classroom sets of 30. Contact your local County Farm Bureau to order some today!

Ag MAgs

horticulture

nutrition

Pork

Poultry

Pumpkin

Soybeans

Specialty crop

Tree

Water

school calendar · 2015. 6. 25. · hungry planet: what the world eats by peter menzel from corn to...

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