ag lit week

Volunteer read to students during Ag Literacy Week 2023.

Agricultural Literacy Week

Ag-in-the-Classroom

Established in 1985, New York Agriculture in the Classroom (NYAITC) is a partnership of Cornell University, the NYS Department of Ag & Markets, the NYS Education Department, Cornell Cooperative Extension, and the New York Farm Bureau. Its mission is to foster awareness, understanding, and appreciation of how we produce food and fiber, what we eat, and how we live, by helping educators, students, and their communities learn about and engage with agriculture and food systems.

NY Ag Literacy Week: March 18 - 22, 2024

The Cornell University New York Agriculture in the Classroom Program and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Nassau County invite you to participate in our annual Agricultural Literacy Week to be held in 2024!  Last year, 2300 books were donated to school or classroom libraries and books were read by volunteers to thousands of second graders throughout New York State. 

The selected book for 2024 is I Love Strawberries written by Shannon Anderson and illustrated by Jaclyn Sinquett

Jolie LOVES strawberries - and she’s on an unstoppable (and hilarious) mission to grow her own food from seedling to table in this colorful introduction to the joy of growing the popular perennial.

Through Jolie's comical scrapbook-style journal entries, young readers will learn how she convinces the "old people" (aka her parents) to let her grow her own strawberries. Growing strawberries is a lot of work and responsibility, but Jolie is ready with the help of her faithful rabbit Munchy! Together they find out just how delicious, rewarding, and sometimes complicated it can be to grow your own food.

Creating a garden calendar and notebook, how strawberries grow, what pests to look out for in a garden, why ladybugs are helpful, and how a good gardener takes care of strawberry plants are all explained in this fun and educational story.

Classrooms that are interested in participating can register here. Any questions, contact us at nassaucounty4h@cornell.edu

Volunteer

In celebration of New York agriculture, volunteers throughout the state will read a book with an agricultural theme to elementary students, with a focus on second grade classrooms. Farmers, FFA and 4-H members, adults engaged in a career in agriculture, and engaged in our food system volunteer to enthusiastically engage your students in a paired hands-on activity related to the book to extend learning. The book will be donated to the school or classroom library with a bookplate recognizing the donor and our celebration of New York Agricultural Literacy Week. 2,300 books were donated last year while 75,000 elementary students participated in an experiential learning activity. Start to finish the program takes approximately 40 minutes per classroom.

Agricultural Literacy Week volunteers work with their county's coordinator to set up visits to local schools Volunteers read the selected book aloud to the students.

Following the reading, volunteers conduct an activity with students and share their experiences in agriculture. 

The book is donated to the school or classroom library for students to enjoy and reference throughout the school year.

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

For more information about volunteering or register as a volunteer click here or contact nassaucounty4h@cornell.edu

Last updated March 20, 2024