Educational Resources

The Iowa Beef Industry Council is pleased to offer highly qualified peer-reviewed educational materials to Iowa teachers. These materials are made available by the beef checkoff, which is paid by Iowa cattle producers to fund beef education, promotion, and research programs.

Some of the resources are available only in Iowa; others are produced by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and are available nationwide.


NEW!  Healthy School Nutrition - find nutrition resources and tools to improve nutrition and physical activity in the schools.  Additional nutrition resources for the classroom, lunch room and home, visit www.school-wellness.org.


General Agriculture Education Resources

From the Iowa Agricultural Awareness Coalition (IAAC) an alliance of public and private organizations and individuals who work together to increase agricultural literacy among Iowa school children grades K-12.

IAAC's members include commodity organizations, agricultural educators, and public institutions interested in increasing Iowans' understanding of the importance of agriculture to our economy and our everyday life.

• Agricultural Issue Fact Sheets - these booklets explain how Iowa farmers produce grain and livestock. They may be downloaded from a pdf file at www.agaware.org click on the Free Lessons link and then at the bottom of the page you will find Fact Sheets for 6th-12th Grades.
• Animal Care
• Water Quality
• Pest Management
• Soil Conservation
• Check out the IAAC website for education resources and lesson plans.

 
Beef...From Our Farm to Your Fork (PDF) - Download this narrative, which gives an overview of the beef industry, and explains how Iowa cattle producers raise cattle, which produce nutrient-rich beef for consumers, around the world.  Color photos are included.


Beef. From Our Farm to Your Table**

The Iowa Beef Industry Council has developed a resource to help teach about where our food comes from. Two PowerPoint presentations and accompanying activities may be downloaded to teach students about cattle and the beef we get from them. Teachers have asked for photos of cattle, so the presentations contain many photos. While not all classrooms have technology to show PowerPoint presentations, the presentations can each be printed on a color printer and be read as a booklet.

This entire disc may be ordered from the Iowa Beef Industry Council by emailing your name and mailing address to beef@iabeef.org.

If you don't have PowerPoint a viewer for the PC can be downloaded here and a Mac viewer here.

A Letter to the Educator (Word doc) – how to use the PowerPoint presentations; science and social studies standards; objectives; list of activities included.

Wow That Cow! (PowerPoint) … a lesson on Cows for lower elementary students.

My Cheeseburger Came from the Farm! (PowerPoint) … a lesson on where cheeseburgers come from for upper elementary students.

Activities and Lessons (zip file of Word docs) … for lower and upper elementary, and secondary students

Helpful Information (zip file of Word docs) … Beef industry facts and figures; vocabulary; additional website resources.

Iowa Resources - available from the Iowa Beef Industry Council

Resource Order Forms:

• Educational Resources Order Form (PDF)

• Nutritional Resources Order Form (PDF)

Grade Level:	Title	Description
K-1	Power Up with Lean Beef! coloring page	Coloring page that teaches about MyPyramid for kids and beef's nutrients; has take-home recipe to share with parents.   One per student or youth; free.
2-3	Wow that Cow!	Coloring page with maze about the farm-to-table story of raising beef cattle. Has information on beef by-products. One per student or youth; free. Click to download PDF.
Lower elementary Upper elementary	Wow that Cow! My Cheeseburger Came from a Farm! (see above to download the PowerPoint)	Computer disc containing two PowerPoint presentations that can be used by individual students, shown to the class with an LCD projector or television screen, or printed off to form a booklet to read. Contains classroom activity handouts, lesson plans, volunteer presentation outline. Both presentations focus on cattle and their role in our environment, and the beef farm-to-table story. One disc free per teacher.
Middle school, some high school	Iowa’s Environmental Stewards	This 11 minute video (VHS or DVD) shares how Iowa cattle producers care for the land while raising cattle and providing a living for their families. Nine Iowa cattle producers have won regional or national environmental stewardship awards for their management practices while raising cattle. Environmental practices are identified, such as buffer strips, terraces, etc. Activity /lesson provided. One free per teacher.
Middle school -  Social Studies / Language Arts Activity	Beef in Brief	How America’s Cattle Serve the World is a resource geared toward middle school social studies/language arts programs. It explains the history and role of cattle in the lives of Americans and includes blackline activity masters.
Elementary	Power Up with Lean Beef!	Great beef recipes just for kids in this leaflet geared to elementary children. Easy step-by-step directions teach kids basic cooking skills and safe food handling. Includes easy recipes, nutrition information related to MyPyramid for kids, fun educational activities and a food diary encouraging healthy food choices.