Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/776907
AgLit is the name of a large, always-hungry gilt (soon to be mama sow) residing at Marysville High School. AgLit is also the abbreviation for the school's Agricultural Literacy program in this rural town. Funded by a grant from CTA's Institute for Teaching, AgLit uses high school students belonging to Future Farmers of America (FFA) to teach K-8 students in the Marysville Joint Unified School District about crops and crit- ters, including AgLit. Teens create their own lessons incorporating the new standards in science, math, language arts and social studies. The program was created by agriculture teacher Bonnie Magill. Magill, who has cultivated crops of ag students for 30 years, says AgLit "makes students aware of where their food and fiber comes from, so that they can make informed choices and be aware of the agriculture industry and our natural resources." For a recent visit by elementary students, Magill's students created classroom stations with mini-les- sons about plant propagation, the difference between herbivores and carnivores, and how animal traits change from birth to maturity. Then came the best part: going to the barnyard to see the animals. The youngsters learned that Eli, the department's miniature horse, has eyes on the sides of his head rather than in front because he is a prey ani- mal. This allows him to see predators approaching him while grazing. "My students recently created a unit on genetics," says Magill proudly. "It's easy to teach traits and heritability by showing [younger] students a variety of chickens or bunnies with different colors or floppy ears." Teens say they have gained confi- dence and public speaking skills from teaching youngsters at schools and from presenting with Magill at CTA's Myshellia Willis, Mauricio Herrejon and Araceli Solano show off potted geraniums; Bonnie Magill with the class bunny; Jaylynn Anderson with AgLit. CULTIVATING CROPS OF STUDENTS Bonnie Magill Marysville Unified Teachers Association A G R I C U L T U R E T E A C H E R Marysville High School " Many hands make light work." — Writer/poet John Heywood 28 cta.org