WASHINGTON, D.C., November 20, 2012 –The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture is celebrating the release of “Feeding Minds – Cultivating Growth,” the latest educator resource to be developed by the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture. The guide and accompanying books can be purchased online starting early next week at www.agfoundation.org.

“Feeding Minds – Cultivating Growth” teaches young people to care for others, build healthy relationships and learn from their elders while living vicariously through the narratives of young farmers and ranchers. The educator’s guide supports classroom reading of one or more of the following Farm Bureau-designated accurate ag books: “The Beef Princess of Practical County” by Michelle Houts, “Heart of a Shepherd” by Rosanne Perry, and “Little Joe” by Sandra Neil Wallace.

The educator’s guide is a turn-key resource for middle school teachers, including standards-based lesson plans, take-home enrichment activities, supporting handouts, summarizing information about each text, a suggested implementation plan, and a scoring rubric for a final project.

Thanks to a generous donation by Random House, Inc, the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture is giving away 15 class sets of books and educator’s guides this fall. Interested middle school educators are encouraged to contact their state Farm Bureau Agricultural Literacy Coordinator. Coordinators may submit one school nomination per state. Recipients will be selected on a first come-first serve basis.

For more information, please contact the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture at foundation@fb.org.

Source: Press release courtesy of American Farm Bureau Federation