Sign-up to have a farmer or rancher visit your classroom (virtually or in-person); Enter to win our package giveaways; and more!

January 28, 2021 • Order Resources • Donate • Curriculum Matrix • Digital Library

The Colorado Literacy Project is a way to bring agriculture into the classroom while reinforcing reading comprehension. During the spring, farmers and ranchers across Colorado will visit classrooms and read a book to the students. They answer questions and talk about their farm or ranch. The class keeps the book!

This year's book is a new book and features Colorado farming and ranching families. The book is titled Still Good: The Faces of Family Agriculture. It was written by Rachel Gabel and illustrated by Liz Banman-Munsterteiger. The publication of this book is a joint project between the Colorado Foundation for Agriculture (CFA) and the Bessie Minor Swift Foundation on behalf of The Fence Post Magazine. Learn more about this new book by reading this article.

This program is appropriate for students in preK through fifth grades and reinforces Colorado Academic Standards for Reading, Writing, and Communicating; Social Studies: History; and Science: Life Science. Instruction guides, a vocabulary list, and activities are provided for the different grade levels. Visit will take place from mid-February to May.

Individual school/class participation options: CFA will connect you with a farmer/rancher to read to your class/school. Or you may find your own guest reader if you have volunteers you work with on a regular basis. You are also welcome to simply read to your own class without the need of a guest reader. It will be up to the school contact and guest reader to schedule the individual visits (CFA will share contact information). Visit will take about 30-45 minutes.

Alternative: Ag Day group participation option: To celebrate National Ag Day, CFA will host several special virtual reading sessions during the week of March 22-26, 2021. These sessions will be conducted over Zoom and open to multiple classes, day cares, or individuals from across the state to participate at the same time. Once scheduled, CFA will send the details of days and times, as well as the name of the person who will be reading for each session (we hope to line up several special guest readers). These sessions will be 30 minutes in length.

More information about the program and various participation options can be found on the sign-up forms or on the CFA webpage. Teachers and volunteers may sign up for this program using the links below. Early sign-ups are encouraged!

The 2021 Colorado Literacy Project is sponsored by the Bessie Minor Swift Foundation, Colorado CattleWomen, Inc., Bank of Colorado, and various individual donors. Additional sponsors are needed to ensure this program is fully funded. To make a donation, visit the CFA online donation form or to inquire about sponsorship opportunities, email Jennifer Scharpe, CFA executive director, or call 970-818-3308.

Show Your Love for Colorado Agriculture

Enter now to win any of our 10 packages.

Show your love for Colorado agriculture by participating in the Colorado Foundation for Agriculture's package giveaway fundraiser. We are offering ten fun and interesting packages that showcase Colorado agriculture and appeal to a wide variety of audiences. Enter to win any of the packages for yourself, your classroom, or think about entering on behalf of your favorite teacher or class (or gifting them the package if you win).

Check out the unique line-up of packages. There's something for everyone! Click on the package number to view the details for each package and to enter to win.

Package 1: Dr Temple Grandin Class Visit & Books
Package 2: Colorado Beef Tour and Photo Shoot
Package 3: Colorado State Fair PRCA Ram Rodeo with Casey Donahew Tickets
Package 4: Author's Special with Rachel Gabel
Package 5: Wind Farm Tour
Package 6: Fall Excursion at CALF's Lowell Ranch
Package 7: Colorado State Fair PRCA Ram Rodeo with Dustin Lynch Tickets
Package 8: Bushel of Books - 20+ Children's Books
Package 9: Bee Family Centennial Farm Museum Tickets and $100 for Lunch
Package 10: Colorado State Fair PRCA Ram Rodeo with Diamond Rio Tickets

How this Package Giveaway Fundraiser works:

For each $10+ donation, we'll enter your name into a drawing to win that package. Donations will be accepted until 12:00 Noon on Sunday, February 14, 2021. Drawings will be held on the afternoon of Valentine's Day. Enter to win as many packages as you'd like. The more you donate to each package, the greater your chances are of winning. All proceeds support Colorado Agriculture in the Classroom®.

Search the National Agriculture Curriculum Matrix for lesson plans and resources!

January Featured Resources

Check out these lesson plans and resources from the National Agriculture Curriculum Matrix.

1. Four Season on a Farm (K-2)

2. From Wool to Wheel (3-5)

3. Flower Power (6-8)

4. Filling the Global Grocery Bag (9-12)

5. Wheat Kernel Samples Kit

Colorado Reader - CORN: It's Feed. It's Fuel. It's Food. It's Everything!

Of all the crops grown in Colorado, corn is king! Learn about the different types of corn grown in Colorado, the corn plant life cycle, and the many uses of corn.

This issue was sponsored by the Colorado Corn Administrative Committee and Corteva Agriscience and Pioneer.

Read the digital flip version by clicking here.

Visit our Store to order free copies for your class.

Subscribe to the Colorado Reader by completing this form.

Recognize Environmental Education Student or Teacher

Award Applications due February 19, 2021

The President’s Environmental Youth Award (PEYA) recognizes outstanding environmental stewardship projects from kindergarten through 12th grade by promoting environmental awareness and encouraging community involvement. Also established by the 1990 National Environmental Education Act, the Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators (PIAEE) recognizes outstanding K-12 grade educators who integrate environmental, place-based experiential learning into school curricula and school facility management across the country. The White House Council on Environmental Quality, in partnership with EPA, administers the PIAEE awards program.

EPA is seeking PEYA and PIAEE award applications for projects on a variety of environmental topics, including (but not limited to):

Reducing food waste and loss and excess food recovery efforts.
Reducing contributions to ocean and marine litter.
Solutions in recycling.
Using science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to teach environmental education.
Environmental sustainability.
Sustainable agricultural practices.
Healthy school environments.

For the PEYA awards, EPA will select up to two winners in each of the agency’s 10 Regions – one regional winner for grades K-5 and one regional winner for grades 6-12. The winning projects will be highlighted on EPA’s website. All student projects must be sponsored by at least one adult over the age of 21. And, if the sponsor is not a teacher, the project must have a teacher as a co-sponsor. The application and eligibility information are available on EPA’s PEYA page.

Up to two teachers from each of EPA's 10 regions, from different states, will be selected to receive the PIAEE award. Teachers will receive a presidential plaque and an award of up to $2,500 to be used to further professional development in environmental education. Winning teachers’ local education agencies will also receive awards of up to $2,500 to fund environmental educational activities and programs. Next year’s winners will be highlighted on EPA’s website. The application and eligibility information are available on EPA’s PIAEE page.

Applications for both award programs are due no later than February 19, 2021.

PreK-12th Grade eLearning Lessons

When the spread of the coronavirus led to social distancing and school closures, NAITC and the National Center for Agricultural Literacy (NCAL) at Utah State University recognized the need to act quickly. Although the NAITC website already had hundreds of lessons and activities available in a searchable database called the National Agricultural Literacy Curriculum Matrix, the resources were developed for teachers to use in the classroom.

The NCAL team began revising lessons to make them easy for students, parents, or teachers directing instruction online. The lessons are formatted in Google Docs to help teachers easily fold the lessons into their virtual platforms. Some lessons even have YouTube tutorials to guide students through the lesson or answer questions.

The result: An eLearning page available online, free of charge, and without a need to set up an account. To access the preK-12 lessons and activities, please visit NAITC eLearning. Thank you to sponsors Corteva Agriscience, Del Monte Foods, and Pivot Bio for their support of the NAITC/NCAL eLearning project.

Search and follow #agbyte on social media to see the archive of resources and stay up to date on new ones being developed.

More Distance Learning Resources

We have compiled a list of some of the best FREE virtual learning opportunities that use agriculture or natural resource topics as a theme to help teach common core subjects. These resources are from the Colorado Agriculture in the Classroom program, the National Agriculture in the Classroom Organization, and other Agriculture in the Classroom programs across the country, as well as from partnering organizations. All resources have been fully vetted. The list has been divided into four categories:

Educational Videos & Virtual Field Trips
Online Learning Resources
Movies and TV Series
eLearning Lessons

West Greeley Conservation District's Annual Scholarship Opportunity

West Greeley Conservation District (WGCD) hosts a scholarship award program annually for eligible graduating high school seniors whose families live within WGCD boundaries and are taxpayers to the District. Applicants must be enrolled full-time to attend a Colorado institution of higher learning with studies focused on agriculture, conservation, natural resources or related degree fields in the fall.

To be eligible, the student has earned a 3.0 or better grade point average (GPA). Scholarship Application packets are due by 4:00 p.m. on Friday, March 26, 2021. no exceptions, to be considered for a $5,000 scholarship award. To learn more and check eligibility, please visit www.WGCD.org.

Ways you can support Colorado Agriculture in the Classroom

Link your King Soopers/City Market loyalty card and support the Colorado Foundation for Agriculture every time you shop. Visit the King Soopers Community Rewards page to sign up for this free program.

Thank you to all who gave to CFA during Colorado Gives Day on Tuesday, December 8, 2020. If you haven't yet made a contribution, you may set up your gift at any time through the Community First Foundation.

You Shop. Amazon Gives. Every time you shop, AmazonSmile donates to the Colorado Foundation for Agriculture.

Thank You Sponsors!

It is through the generous support from our sponsors and donors that the Colorado Foundation for Agriculture has been able to continue and shift operations and programs, even during these unprecedented circumstances. Gifts, of any dollar amount, are still needed to ensure we are geared up for the 2020-2021 school year, be it virtual or face-to-face instruction. Make your contribution today at https://bit.ly/givecfa.

A special thank you to the sponsors listed below who have contributed $4,000 or more during the 2019-2020 fiscal year. To view the entire list of sponsors, visit our sponsor page.

Giving is not just about making a donation.

It's about making a difference!