Please encourage your students to consider agricultural education as a career, because without them, there won't be enough ag teachers to keep our programs going.
Use these resources to celebrate & bring awareness to the career of agricultural education, whether it's on NAAE National #TeachAg Day or any day. For details on any of these activites, just click the link.
Ideas for...
Missouri NAAE National #TeachAg Day Lesson Plan Contest Resources
Check out these great lesson plans to use in your classroom to promote agricultural education, developed by top-notch ag teachers in Missouri as part of their 2017 NAAE National #TeachAg Day celebrations! Click here to download the zip file.
Ideas for Middle/High School Students
Sample Class Outlines for Middle or High School
Use the outlines coupled with the lesson plans below to make NAAE National #TeachAg Day planning easy.
Other Activities and Ideas
- Have a student who you think would be a good ag teacher? Send them a Tagged to #TeachAg Kit!
- Play "Are You Smarter than your Ag Teacher?" Details and download games
- Have the students be the teacher for the day. Put them in charge of the class for 10 minutes; they have to create a meaningful lesson on a topic of their choice with instructor preapproval. Lesson plan
- Research the duties, salary, job outlook, education, etc. needed to become an ag teacher or other agricultural education professional. Lesson plan
- Share your individual path to becoming an ag teacher and encourage your students to ask you questions about your career. Lesson plan
- Host a university agricultural education student or former student who is currently an ag teacher from your program to share his or her experiences. Lesson plan
- Host a Farm Business Management instructor to talk about his or her job. Lesson plan
- If you have a student or students who are interested in teaching agriculture, line up a job shadowing experience with a teacher at a nearby program. Activity guide
- Set-up a PALS program in your school or make arrangements for students who are interested in being an ag teacher design and present lessons to the elementary and junior high on agriculture.
- Bring in representatives from the ag education department at the colleges in your state that offer ag education. Use the college finder here on the #TeachAg Website for a listing of universities.
back to top
Post-Secondary Students (2-year technical schools)
- Have a student who you think would be a good ag teacher? Send them a Tagged to #TeachAg Kit!
- Give each student a slip of paper with a career related to agriculture on it. Have them research and share with the rest of the class how agricultural education plays a role in the prosperity of that career. Lesson Plan
- Play "Are You Smarter than your Ag Teacher?." Details and download games
- Have your students contact a nearby high school ag program and shadow the teacher for a day. Lesson plan
- Arrange an event on campus about agricultural education or set up a booth or display in a high-traffic area. Activity guide
- Host a departmental open house for students, members of the community, and other school personnel. Activity guide
back to top
Adult Farm Business Management Instructors
- Send a letter to those enrolled in your program thanking them for allowing you to be an ag teacher. Example
- Contact a local high school and talk to the class about how having a degree in agricultural education can lead to many different career paths, like being a farm business management instructor. Example
- Hold an appreciation event for all the other agricultural educators in the region/district.
- Host an open house for students, members of the community, and other school personnel. Activity guide
- Set-up a PALS program in your school or make arrangements for students who are interested in being an ag teacher design and present lessons to the elementary and junior high on agriculture.
- Bring in representatives from the ag education department at the colleges in your state that offer ag education. Use the college finder here on the #TeachAg Website for a listing of universities.
back to top
University level: Teacher Educators, Ag Ed Majors, & Ag Ed Student Organizations
- Set up a booth in an area of campus where agricultural education might not be as widely recognized and pass out literature about being an ag teacher. Activity guide
- Have ag ed students write a letter to their high school principal, superintendent, or other administrator thanking them for having an ag program and talking about how their ag teacher has influenced their lives.
- Play "Are You Smarter than your Ag Teacher? " Details and download games
- Create an ag education major mentoring program with new or transfer students and junior/senior ag education majors. Activity guide
- Contact local high school ag programs and ask if you can be part of the NAAE National #TeachAg Day celebration in their school.
- Host a high school student for the day and have them attend classes with you. Give them a tour of your school and introduce them to the agricultural education professors. Activity guide
back to top
Ideas for State Agricultural Education Leaders
- Create a personalized letter for students you think would make good ag teachers. Include information about why you think he or she would be a good ag teacher as well as information about the career. You may even want to send a carbon copy to the parents. Letter Example
- Invite ag ed undergraduates to your summer ag teachers conference and offer workshops designed for undergraduates and first year teachers.
- Recognize senior students who will be majoring in ag education on stage at the State FFA Convention. Contact Ellen Poeschl for more information about #TeachAg Signing Events.
- Implement a #TeachAg CDE at your State FFA Convention.
- Have students create mini commercials about their ag teacher and show the commercials at convention or at the summer ag teachers conference.
- Work with other leaders in your state and offer a #TeachAg Workshop at State FFA Convention for students considering a career in ag education. Workshop can be open to anyone or by special invitation only. Give each attending teacher a few Tagged to #TeachAg stickers with their registration packet to designate students selected for the workshop. Access sticker templates here.
back to top
Ideas for Everyone
- Organize a visit to your state legislative body on NAAE National #TeachAg Day to talk with lawmakers about agricultural education and the importance of ag teachers in your state. Use NAAE's Legislative Action Center to help plan your visit.
- Send a letter of appreciation to ag teachers in your state (state supervisors and Alumni or advisory boards). Example
- Mentor and connect with new teachers in your state to encourage them to stay in the profession.
- Encourage students to join the NAAE National #TeachAg Campaign
back to top
Ideas Using Social Media
Twitter
Challenge yourself to share an agricultural education story in 140 characters or thread your story throughout the day with multiple tweets. Tag us with @Teach_Ag or use hashtag #teachag. Follow the #TeachAg feed to stay up to date with ag ed, learn about scholarship opportunities, or stay focused on your goals of becoming an agriculture teacher.
Sample tweets:
- Get tagged to #TeachAg.
- College- and career-ready thanks to ag ed! #TeachAg
- Ag teachers teach by doing, not just telling. #TeachAg
- Teach the new 3Rs: rigor, relevance, and relationships. #TeachAg
- How do you feed 7 billion people? #TeachAg
- Vet science, ecotourism, floral design, & nanotechnology under one major. #TeachAg
- Ag ed: a special blend of tradition and the future. #TeachAg
- Want a career with flexibility, variety, and travel? #TeachAg
- No two days are the same in one program & no two programs are the same. #TeachAg
Facebook
Tag your friends to #TeachAg with a status update, or write your ag ed story as your status or on our Facebook wall; don't forget that you can tag your local program, agriculture teacher, media, and supportive local businesses with the @ symbol and their name. You can also post to your legislator's Facebook wall. Don't forget that you can use Facebook to facilitate event planning. "Like" the Teach Ag page to stay up to date with ag ed, learn about scholarship opportunities, and stay focused on your goals of becoming an agriculture teacher.
Sample updates from students:
- I’m tagged to #TeachAg! @Teach Ag
- Agriculture is the nation’s largest employer with 28 million jobs. Thanks @[your instructor] for giving me career skills!
- There are over 11,000 ag teachers in the US, but mine is the best. Thanks, @[your instructor]
- FFA taught me leadership; my SAE gave me experience; Ag Ed brought it together in one classroom. @Teach Ag
- Ag is my only class that uses all five senses. Thank you @[your instructor]
Sample updates from teachers:
- Today, I’m tagging @[insert student] to teach ag!
- I love being an ag teacher because [insert reason] @Teach Ag
- There are 800,000 ag students nationwide but I have the best every year. @Teach Ag
- I know what the future leaders look like because I teach ag. @Teach Ag
- Why try to explain miracles to kids when you can have them plant a garden, raise a calf, or look at an atomic structure? @Teach Ag
Sample updates from anyone:
- @[insert friend], I’m tagging you to teach ag!
- Never have the same day twice! #TeachAg! @[insert friend]
- Be a trendsetter and know the latest technology! Think about teaching ag! @[insert friend]
Instagram
Post a picture of the great things your are doing in your ag program! #teachag
Blog
Write a blog post about agriculture education and send us the link.
Sample posts prompts:
- What role does agricultural education play in your community? Think of your current ag program, alumni groups, local businesses, industry supporters, and those who might not even realize the connection.
- How has agriculture impacted your life?
- Why are you studying to be an ag teacher or why did you become one?
- What the one thing that you wish everyone knew about ag education?
- Should STEM change to STEAM?
Video
Post a video to YouTube and send us the link.
General Tips
- Link to outside information.
- Be direct.
- Use active verbs.
- Alternate facts and a story.
back to top
#TeachAg Games & Fun Stuff
Are You Smarter Than Your Ag Teacher?
Use this Powerpoint game to challenge your students. A fun way to get them thinking about the knowledge and skills required to become an agricultural educator. You can also change the answers and questions on the template and use as a review tool for any subject.
Download game
Download instructions
back to top
