For Educators

FOR EDUCATORS:

As a nonfiction writer I hope that my titles are useful in the classroom and help you teach content. But more importantly I hope these stories encourage students to be curious and concerned with the world around them.

Below you'll find handouts, lesson plans, and whole curriculum guides. Some were developed by me, but others were created by educators, the publisher, or Agriculture in the Classroom.

If you are a teacher and have developed materials based on one of my books, I would love to hear from you and, with your permission, add your ideas to this list for other teachers to use.

Educator's Guides, worksheets and lesson ideas:

The Soil In Jackie's Garden:

Educator's Guide from Feeding Minds Press
Coloring Sheet from Feeding Minds Press

English Language Arts
Story Sequence - Activity
Poetry Garden - Poetry Exercise

Social Studies
  Community Connections - exploring community, resources, agricultural heritage
  Growing New York - activity; New York county map
  Math M&M Garden - area/perimeter activity, Square foot grid Coordinate Grid Worksheet

Social Emotional Learning
  My Dream Garden - SEL exercise in cooperation and consensus; Activity sheet; Graph

Science
  "These are the Visitors" - Beneficial vs Harmful, AFBFA Lesson Plan
Soil Slurry - Activity exploring sand, silt and clay
Make a Mini Composter & page 2 - Activity exploring decomposition and composting
Earthworm Habitat - Maine Ag in the Classroom
Celery Science - Activity exploring xylem and phloem
Breathe In - Demonstration of stomata
Everything Begins with Soil - worksheet
Everything Ends with Soil - "Soil Your Undies" Activity from Illinois AITC

Lincoln Clears a Path:

Classroom Activities and Lessons
Clear A Path Project - An SEL activity
Finding Your Single Thread - Writing worksheet
Begin With a Bang Writing worksheet
Abraham Lincoln Clears a Path - Ag Literacy Lesson Plans from National Ag in the Classroom

Farmer George Plants A Nation

Lesson Plan Matrix - National Ag in the Classroom

Snow Dance Reader's Theater

School Visits:

I am available for in-person and virtual school visits and would love to work with you to produce a program that is entertaining, and educationally beneficial for your students. For in-person visits within 1 hour drive, I charge $1500 (includes 4 presentations plus book signing).

Contact me at [email protected] for availability.

Here are a few programs that are popular and can be tweaked to fit your students' needs.

A Writer's Life
What does a writer do all day? How do they get their ideas? How many people does it take to create a picture book like The Soil in Jackie's Garden? These are just a few of the questions that I answer in this 30 to 45 minute presentation that is perfect for younger grades.

Everything Begins and Ends with Soil
This presentation explores the magical world of soil. What it is, how it is made, and what healthy soil means to us. We'll talk about worms and other critters in the soil, all the useful things that we use everyday that come from soil, and how they eventually are returned to the soil.

Tall Tales from the Erie Canal
After reading the folktale JOSHUA THE GIANT FROG, I lead the students through the process of writing their own tall tale. Together we create characters, dialogue, conflict and of course stretch the truth a bit.

Become a Nonfiction Ninja
As NF Ninjas in training, we'll discuss how to brainstorm an interesting slant for any subject, practice proper research techniques, and wield active verbs and sensory details to make our true stories shine.