New Classroom Kits Help Teachers Connect STEM Learning to Iowa's Agricultural Roots

It's your town. Your lives. Your stories. Make sure someone's telling them—donate to Decorah News now. WEST DES MOINES, Iowa – Iowa educators can sign up now for free classroom resources as the Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation launches Read Across Iowa, a statewide program that inspires and helps teachers integrate agriculture into everyday learning through reading, science, social studies, and math. Read Across Iowa will kick off March 1 and provide a full month of academic, standards-aligned agriculture literacy programming that will provide Iowa classrooms with professionally published, agriculture-themed books and ready-to-use lessons that align with core curriculum. The program is designed to make agriculture literacy accessible to educators, with no agriculture background required. IALF will distribute 1,000 free Read Across Iowa kits to Iowa classrooms and education programs this month, in preparation for the March celebration. Kits are available while supplies last through an online signup. "Read Across Iowa makes it easy for educators to bring agriculture into everyday classroom learning," said Kelly Foss, Executive Director of the Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation. "The books and lessons connect naturally to reading, science, social studies, and math, helping students see how agriculture fits into the world they experience every day." Through agriculture-themed stories and lessons, students explore science, economics, the environment, and their communities, using agriculture as a lens for understanding the world around them. 2026 Theme: Pollinators to Product The 2026 Read Across Iowa theme, Pollinators to Product, explores the role pollinators play in agriculture and connects their work to the food, fiber, and everyday products students use. Each kit includes a curated set of books and hands-on materials, including: My Family's Soybean Farm by Katie Olthoff Flower Talk by Sara Levine The Beeman by Laurie Krebs From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons Wax to Crayon by Inez Snyder Bailey the Bee from Iowa State University Extension & Outreach Integrated Pest Management Additional resources include lesson ideas, read-aloud tips, seeds, soybean crayons and classroom extensions that connect literacy with science and agriculture concepts. Sign up for a kit Iowa educators can sign up for Read Across Iowa kits online at the Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation website using this link: https://www.iowaagliteracy.org/Tools-Resources/Other/Read-Across-Iowa. Kits are limited to 1,000 and available while supplies last. Participation beyond the kit Educators who are unable to receive a kit can still participate by signing up for weekly Read Across Iowa emails through the program's website. The emails feature digital books, classroom activities, and online resources aligned with the program theme. "Our goal is to help educators seamlessly integrate agriculture literacy while fostering STEM learning and environmental awareness," Foss said. "Whether teachers receive a kit or use our digital resources, they'll find meaningful ways to connect students with agriculture." Statewide reach and impact Read Across Iowa serves both rural and urban schools across the state. In 2025, the program reached all 99 Iowa counties, engaged 83,009 students, supported 1,000 educators, served 288 of Iowa's 329 school districts, distributed 5,000 books, and reached 33 percent of low-income schools. Over the past five years, Read Across Iowa has reached 276,599 students, supported more than 4,000 teachers, and distributed over 20,000 books statewide. Through statewide partnerships, the program continues to bring rich agricultural learning to youth across the state. "Iowa students are naturally curious about where their food comes from," said Dr. Sara Nelson, 4-H STEM specialist and director of the Iowa Space Grant Consortium. "Read Across Iowa uses meaningful stories to create authentic agricultural learning experiences. It gives teachers simple, standards-aligned tools to connect literacy with science and agriculture, helping students explore, imagine, and connect with Iowa's agricultural roots through hands-on classroom learning." Read Across Iowa is one of several education programs offered by the Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation. IALF supports teachers year-round through agriculture-themed books and student publications, summer professional development workshops, classroom grants, and standards-aligned teaching materials designed to make it easy for teachers to integrate agriculture into core subjects. Your weekly dose of local life! Subscribe to the free newsletter and enjoy news, analysis, and stories you'll actually look forward to reading.