Did you know that apple trees can live for over 100 years and there are over 7,500 different varieties of apples in the world? An apple tree can produce about 20 bushels of apples per year, depending upon the weather and management practices. American eat an average of 19 pounds of fresh apples each year.
  
The apple was brought to the United States by the Pilgrims in 1620. While the Native Americans taught the early settlers how to grow corn and vegetables, the settler taught the Native Americans how to grow apples with apple tree seeds, seedlings, and small trees. They used apples to make apple juice, apple cider, dried apples, apple butter and vinegar. The apples were even food for the pigs, cows, and horses.
  
Thirty-six states, including Illinois, grow apples. There are 20,000 apple growers that use about a half-a million of our acres to produce apples. The growers produce an average of 260 million bushels per year. Most commercial apples are grown in northern states such as Washington, Michigan, and New York.
 
For more Apple Activities, check out the Apple Kit from Rock Island AITC!
 
Lessons:

• Facts about Apples
• An Apple a Day
• Apple Chain
• Apple Blossom Tree
• Apple Charm
• Apple Ag Mag

Apple Resources available from Rock Island County Ag in the Classroom

The Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom program is offering special topic grants to teachers across the state of Illinois to award and ship the books listed below. To apply for project funding, please complete the grant application outlining the project, goals, and desired outcomes of incorporating the books chosen. The total book value requested cannot exceed $250.00.

• Projects should focus on integrating agriculture into a variety of curriculum areas.
• High School Ag teachers may apply with an elementary teacher if their classes or FFA Chapters are working with a specific classroom.
• For accepted grants, books will be shipped directly to the teacher at their school.
• The teacher will complete a Final Report by May 30, 2020.
• You may contact your county Ag Literacy Coordinator for help with this application. A listing of coordinators can be found on our website, www.agintheclassroom.org.
• Application deadline is October 11, 2019.
• Teachers selected for a book grant will be notified via email on November 11, 2019.
• If selected, a Funding Agreement must be completed and signed by the teacher and building principal. The deadline to complete the form is December 11, 2019. Funding Agreements not completed by the 12/11/19 deadline will forfeit the grant and no books will be shipped.
• A Final Report and project evaluation is due by May 30, 2020.
• http://agintheclassroom.org/TeacherResources/Grants/2019-2020/Teacher%20Book%20Grant%20Application%20Criteria_2019-2020_website%20doc.pdf
• Application

What is Popcorn?
Popcorn is a whole grain maize product -- it's grown extensively in the Corn Belt states of the U.S., where the majority of popcorn sold worldwide is grown. It resembles corn-on-the-cob in appearance and cultivation, although only popcorn kernels have the ability to pop.

Popcorn, like all six types of corn, is a cereal grain and originates from a wild grass. Its scientific name is Zea mays everta, and it is the only type of corn to actually pop.

Popcorn is made up of three main components: endosperm, germ and the pericarp (also known as hull or bran). The endosperm is made up of soft and hard starch granules. The endosperm is always white or yellow in color and is a carbohydrate. The function of the starch is to provide energy for the living part of the kernel, more commonly known as the "germ" or "embryo." The outer hull of the kernel is the pericarp, which is made of cellulose. The pericarp or hull is usually white or yellow in color, though the range of colors includes red, black and many colors in between.

Popcorn Facts

• Americans consume 16.5 billion quarts of popped popcorn annually, more than anyone else in the world. About 30 percent of that is eaten outside the home - in theaters, ballparks, schools, etc.
• One cup of popcorn provides 1.3 grams of dietary fiber.
• Popcorn has more protein, phosphorus and iron than potato chips, an ice cream cone, pretzels or soda crackers.
• Popcorn pops because heat builds steam pressure inside the seed.
• Archaeologists have found ears of popcorn in the Bat Caves of New Mexico nearly 5,600 years old.
• Most popcorn is grown in the US, but some is also grown in South Africa, Hungary, Spain, Greece, Yugoslavia, France, Italy, Israel, Australia, China and most South American countries.
• Europeans don't care for popcorn, but the Chinese love it.

Popcorn Activities

• The Popcorn Astronauts Lesson Booklet
  
• Pop, pop popcorn
• From Seed to Snack-popcorn.org
• Get Popping Lesson
• Popcorn Powerpoint
• How it's made-Popcorn
• ​Get Popping
• Slow motion popping Popcorn
• Popcorn on the Cob (Utah)
• How Popcorn Grows
• ​Nebraska Popcorn Activities

The Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom program is offering grants of up to $300 to Pre-School through High School teachers across the state of Illinois to fund projects promoting agricultural literacy in the classroom.

• To apply for project funding, please complete the grant application, outlining the project, goals, and desired outcomes. Total project funds requested cannot exceed $300.
• Projects may be, but are not limited to, agricultural teaching units, classroom presentations, and career fairs. Be creative and develop an interesting, valuable agricultural experience for your students.
• Projects should focus on integrating agriculture into a variety of curriculum areas.
• Priority for grants will be given to grants that contain materials for use over multiple school years.
• High School Ag teachers may apply with an elementary teacher if their classes or FFA Chapters are working on an agriculture literacy unit. Grants and materials must reflect an Agriculture Literacy theme or component.
• Incomplete grants or grants that request consumables will not be considered. This grant will not fund consumable items. Funding for field trips, landscaping, plants, incubators and one time use consumables will not be granted.
• In the past, grant reviewers have looked more favorably upon grants with a direct agriculture connection to agriculture. Reviewers also recommend that your grant request be used in whole for a specific project rather than linked to other potential funding.
• You may contact your county Ag Literacy Coordinator for help with this application. A listing of coordinators can be found on our website, www.agintheclassroom.org.
  
• Application deadline is October 11, 2019.
• Teachers selected for project funding will be notified via email on November 11, 2019.
• If selected, a Funding Agreement must be completed and signed by the teacher and building principal. The deadline to complete the form is December 11, 2019. Funding Agreements not completed by the 12/10/19 deadline will forfeit the grant.
• A Final Report and project evaluation is due by May 30, 2020.

http://agintheclassroom.org/TeacherResources/Grants/2019-2020/Teacher%20Project%20Grant%20Application%20Criteria_2019-2020_website%20doc.pdf

Application

What is PORK?

• Pork is an important part of our diet. It provides our body with protein that builds strong muscles and helps our bodies grow big and strong. Pork is also a great source of iron, zinc and B-vitamins.
• Modern technology, along with the work of farmers, has brought consumers the leanest bacon, ham, sausage and other pork products possible. Electronic equipment allows farmers to monitor the fat content of the pig and adjust the pig’s diet to produce very lean meat. This equipment, along with breeding techniques, allows farmers to choose leaner animals for breeding stock and to supply consumers with the lean, tasty products they want. 
• Compared to ten years ago, pork has 30% less fat, 14% fewer calories and 10% less cholesterol.\

Production Information 

• Hogs are raised in various types of housing ranging from indoor housing systems to pasture. Sows can give birth (farrow) up to three times a year. From breeding, it takes 3 months, 3 weeks and 3 days (112-115 days) for the baby piglets to be born. Litter sizes will vary from 8-10 piglets. Piglets will weigh about 3-4 pounds at birth. 
• Farrowing stalls are used to protect the baby pigs from being injured by the sow. Pigs are weaned when they are 2-4 weeks old. It takes about 5-6 months for a pig to reach market weight of 220-260 pounds. 
• Swine are monogastrics which means their stomach has one compartment. Because the stomach area is smaller, they require higher amounts of concentrates which are grains low in fiber and higher in digestible nutrients. Pigs will eat about 870 pounds of corn and 120 pounds of protein to reach market weight. It takes about 3.5 pounds of feed to produce 1 pound of live weight. 
• There are nine major swine breeds. Crossbreds are animals from two different breeds to produce an offspring that is better than either of the parents. 
• Sow- female hog that has farrowed a litter of pigs 
• Boar- male hog 
• Barrow – male hog that has been castrated 
• Gilt – female hog that has not farrowed a litter of pigs 

Cattle and sheep are herd animals. If you can get the dominant member of the herd to move, you can get the rest to follow. Pigs run in herds but are more likely to scatter than follow a leader.
 
Demonstrate to students how difficult it is to herd pigs with this relay activity:

1. Each team member blow up a pink balloon and draw a face on it with a marker.
2. Team members place their pigs on the ground and herd them to the finish line with fly swatters.
3. First team to get its herd to the finish line wins. (Don't try this outdoors on a windy day.)

Swine Activities

• Pork Ag Mag
• Pork Checkoff Videos
• Swine Facts
• Pork-Related Lessons
• A Hog Ate My Homework Lesson Plans
• This Little Pig (PowerPoint)
• Pigs on the Farm Mini Kit (available for loan)
• Pig Feed Sacks & Labels

Pumpkin is definitely an October food, since 80 percent of the pumpkin supply in our country is available in October. Since the most common way to eat them is in pie, most of us think of pumpkins as fruit, but the pumpkin is actually a vegetable - a cucurbit  - like squash, cucumbers and watermelon.
 
For more Pumpkin Activities, check out the Pumpkin Kit from Rock Island AITC!

Lessons & Activities

• Pumpkin Ag Mag
• More Pumpkin Facts
• ​Pumpkins and Other Lessons for Fall
• Pumpkin Chain
• Pumpkin Charm
• 3D Pumpkin Craft
• Pumpkin Pie in a Bag
• The Pumpkin Patch
• Pumpkin SMART Board Lesson
• Pumpkins & More

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds (serves 20)
Ingredients

• 5 cups raw whole pumpkin seeds
• 2 tablespoons and 3/4 teaspoon butter, melted
• 3-1/4 pinches salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
2. Toss seeds in a bowl with the melted butter and salt. Spread the seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for about 45 minutes or until golden brown; stir occasionally.

• Here are some fun trivia questions for you. See the bottom of the section for the answers.

1. How fast does a honey bee fly?
2. How many flowers must honey bee tap to make one pound of honey?
3. What state is known as the beehive state?
4. How many wings does a honey bee have?
5. How much honey does the average worker honey bee make in her lifetime?

For more information on Bees and other insects contact the office about borrowing the Insect mAGic kit.
 
Facts about Honey/Bees

• There is only one queen in each colony. She is the mother of the colony, laying more than 1,800 eggs a day.
• One bee would have to make 154 trips, carrying tiny amounts of nectar from the flower to the hive, just to make one teaspoonful of honey.
• One worker bee actually makes only one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime. But working together, a colony of bees may bring in as much as 50 pounds of nectar in a day and make 200 or 300 pounds of honey in a year.
• Honeybees communicate through their movements. They attract the attention of other bees and let them know where to find nectar using movements that look like a dance. The movements show the other bees which way to go and how far.
• People use beeswax to make candles, lipsticks, lotions, shoe polish, crayons, chewing gum, and floor wax.
• When bees are swarming, they will not attack, because they have no home to protect.
• Honey is the only food that doesn't spoil.
• Honeybees are the only insects that produce food eaten by humans.

Honey/Bee Lessons

• Bee Dance Lesson
• Bee Smart, Bee Happy
• ​Bee's Wax
• If Not for the Pollinators
• Exploring Honey
• Specialty Crop Ag Mag
• Pollinator Ag Mag​
• Pollinator Terra Nova
• Pollinator Young Reader Fact Sheet
• Insect mAGic Kit (available for loan from Rock Island AITC)

Additional Information

• http://nas-sites.org/pollinators/
• ​http://www.honey.com
• http://www.playkidsgames.com/games/beeGame/default.htm
• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bees/
• https://www.agclassroom.org/ok/resources_facts/agfacts_bees.php

 Answers:

1. 15 mph
2. 2 million
3. Utah
4. four
5. one twelfth teaspoon