If you are a teacher or a parent looking for teaching resources or activities during COVID-19, the National Corn Growers Association and Nourish the Future community network is here to help. The program made possible by farmer-funded state corn checkoff programs across the U.S. provides excellent teaching resources immediately as schools shut down across the country.
These difficult times remind us of how valuable and important teachers are. They are creative, quick to pivot, and able to keep students learning in tough circumstances. They have the skills needed to flourish while teaching our children during these uncertain times.
The Nourish the Future team has designed virtual resources that can be found at https://nourishthefuture.org/virtual. This is what their team is doing to help teachers during these difficult times:
- Communication! Sending resources and offering help
- Packaging online curriculum collections in ways that makes them easy for a teacher to use today
- Mobilizing an advisory group of teachers from across the country
- Designing virtual experiences so that students can connect with industry through field trips and webinars – check out virtualfarmtrips.com!
- Looking at professional development in a new way, combining virtual experiences with in-person workshops shifting to the fall
The curriculum covers topics like Biotechnology, Energy and Ethanol, Plant Anatomy and Growth Stages, Soil Science and Sustainability, and the Role of Clean Water in a Healthy Ecosystem. Lesson plans are designed for middle school through high school, including advanced high school options.
NCGA believes agriculture is a vital partner in engaging students in STEM concepts in ways that directly and indirectly impact their lives. Not only does teaching ag-based curriculum in the science classroom inspire students to solve real-world science issues, reaching students is critical to address the job gap in agriculture-related careers, many of which go unfilled.
NCGA and its state corn checkoff programs began leveraging the great work started by Ohio Corn & Wheat Growers Association in 2019, making the latest teaching materials and teacher training and mentoring available nationwide. If you want to see how your checkoff support is helping teachers during the closures, go to www.nourishthefuture.org
