Jeanette Althouse - Sutton
Jeanette's fifth grade classroom will begin the project by learning how agriculture supports our lives by giving us our "bread and butter." The focus will be production, processing and the nutritional value of wheat. The final activity will be sharing their homemade bread with senior citizens.

Jo Conrad - Dodge
This project involves using the Nebraska Agriculture in the Classroom Crop and Livestock Cards to meet state standards in reading and writing. This grant will enable Jo to purchase 11 sets of the Crop and Livestock Cards and assemble them in spiral books. These books will be used for timed reading, comprehension and increase fluency. What a great way to learn about Nebraska crops and livestock. 

Sandy Dorn - Lincoln
For several years Sandy's fourth grade students have enjoyed using the AITC Learning Barn. Sandy's creative idea is to purchase a number of books that are recommended for the AITC Learning Barn for the school's library at Meadow Lane Elementary School. In cooperation with the media specialist, Sandy will "plant" new books to share with all students, so they will "harvest" a love for reading and also learn about agriculture.

Bev Grueber - North Bend
"Digging into AITC Books of the Year" is the theme for Bev's mini-grant project. She will develop three lesson plans for each of the Children's Agriculture Books of the Year for 2007. The lessons will explore the agriculture content and connect each lesson with the state standards. The students will publish their own books in relation to the 2007 Books of the Year.

Angela Holdren - Omaha
The first grade students in Angela's class at King Elementary School will use the mini-grant for a field trip to Gifford Farm in Bellevue. The students will participate in a one and a half hour hands-on, minds-on program to learn about livestock, crops and equipment. During the tour the students will be using their five senses to explore the farm and the Outdoor Nature Classroom. During the school year the students will be writing letters to their Ag Pen Pal and have the opportunity to have the AITC Learning Barn in their classroom.

Susan Stevens - Morrill
Through this mini-grant, agriculture will be launched into space. Susan's students will build a Growth Chamber to grow seeds that have been in space. The students will grow and compare these seeds to earth based seeds. This research is essential if space stations are placed on the moon or other planets. Through this research the students will journal results, develop posters and keep detailed records of the data and also meet many state standards in science, math, reading and writing.

Judy Thietje - Lincoln
"Math Snack from Ag" is the title of Judy's mini-grant project. The students will have a daily snack at the end of each math lesson. Judy will be incorporating math, agriculture, nutrition and food science into each lesson. The students will complete the math lesson and then answer questions about the snack. Is the snack from a plant or animal? What is the main ingredient? Which food group is the snack from?

Connie Willadsen - Ashland
"East vs. West" is the theme for Connie's mini-grant project. This fourth grade class will create homesteads from the 20th century found in eastern and western Nebraska. By using models of machinery, livestock and farm/ranch buildings the students will understand the agricultural process from planting, harvest, processing and distribution. The lessons will include the differences in the land, climate and elevation to help explain how different the state varies from region to region.