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Agriculture Added to the Reading List by Spartanburg County
Teacher Donna Woodruff, a second grade teacher at Woodruff Primary School, was recently awarded $500 as part of an American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture mini-grant program. The project included purchasing 30 hardback books about agriculture to create an “AgCountry Reading Center.” The books are correlated to the “Accelerated Reader” (AR) program; a motivational program that encourages students to read by supplying computer-based comprehension tests about recently read books. Woodruff set up the reading center before the first day of school, and students began reading about food and fiber sources at the beginning of the year. The grant’s action plan calls for at least 75% of Woodruff’s students to read and pass the AR quiz on every book in the AgCountry Reading Center by November 10, 2004. The AgCountry Reading Center also addresses SC Learning Standards in the areas of reading science, and social studies. Woodruff notes, “Before reading these books, many of the students had no clue as to where their food and clothing begins – on a farm. That’s the best part of this program – they read and say, ‘Oh! That’s where it comes from!’” Woodruff’s interest in agriculture stems from her participation in the annual South Carolina Farm Bureau Federation’s (SCFB) 2003 Ag in the Classroom (AITC) Institute. The annual Institute, available to Kindergarten through Eighth grade certified classroom teachers, provides professional development in the areas of learning, perception, and organization styles, as well as hands-on instruction about ways to teach students to appreciate food, fiber, and forestry resources. Spartanburg County Farm Bureau President Kent Brockman said, “We appreciate Mrs. Woodruff and other teachers who help us educate young consumers about the value of agriculture. Most students today think that food comes from the grocery store and that clothes come from the mall. If agriculture is to maintain its status as the second largest industry in South Carolina, we’ve got to help people understand the link between the farm and the production of their food, fiber and shelter.” The project mini-grant was awarded through the White-Reinhardt Fund for Education, administered through the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization created to initiate and finance agricultural education and research projects. White-Reinhardt grants are awarded for projects that promote agricultural literacy, and applications must be made through county Farm Bureaus. Spartanburg (with Woodruff’s grant) and Darlington counties won two of the 17 grants awarded in the national competition. For more informtion, contact Faith Lawrimore, Director of Women’s, Youth, and Young Farmer Rancher programs, SC Farm Bureau, at (803) 936-4287. [Editor’s note: Photos may be emailed upon request; please see cut lines below.] DWoodruff_018: Second grade teacher Donna Woodruff of Woodruff Primary School explains a map of the US cotton belt while students examine bolls of SC cotton after reading From Cotton to T-shirt by Robin Nelson. DWoodruff_039: Second grade teacher Donna Woodruff of Woodruff Primary School instructs students taking and computer-based “Accelerated Reader” test after reading From Cotton to T-shirt by Robin Nelson. DWoodruff_052: Students of second grade teacher Donna Woodruff at Woodruff Primary School choose agriculture-related books from their grant-sponsored classroom “AgCountry Reading Center.”
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