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New York Ag Literacy Week

• Monday, March 16, 2015, 12:00 PM - Friday, March 20@ 12:00 PM

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 16-20, 2015

New York Ag-in-the-Classroom and the Cornell Cooperative Extension 4-H program invite you to be a reader for the tenth annual Agriculture Literacy Week to be held March 16 to 20, 2015. Last year, over 1700 books were read to over 45,000 second graders throughout New York State.

The signature book for 2015 is Weaving the Rainbow written by George Ella Lyon and illustrated by Stephanie Anderson. In this book, a young woman who is a textile artist raises sheep, shears them, cards and spins the wool, dyes the yarn, and weaves it at a loom.

Agriculture is more than the food we eat, it also includes production of natural fibers used to make our clothes and other textiles that keep us warm and dry and are used in our daily lives. Weaving the Rainbow as the Agricultural Literacy Week book for 2015 will introduce to students the production of fiber in New York State, from sheep, goats, llamas, alpacas, rabbits and other animals. All lessons and activities align with New York State and Common Core Learning Standards.

Volunteer

Volunteers will visit local elementary schools during Ag Literacy Week to read and talk to children about New York's agriculture industry. At the conclusion of the day's activities, the book will be donated to the school library for students and teachers to use throughout the school year. 2nd grade teachers and volunteers who are interested in participating in NY Ag Literacy Week should call or email the contact for this page. Visit the New York State Ag in the Classroom website to learn more about statewide activities and to learn about agriculture-themed books that have been featured in other years.

Last updated February 20, 2015