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The following resources have been developed and made available for Illinois teachers using funding from the Agricultural Education line item. Resources are organized using the eight recognized pathways within the AFNR Career Cluster. Explore the different AFNR pathways for various resources including course guides, e-units, lesson plans, and presentation slides. For more information on AFNR instructional programs, please see the resources below:

General Resources

Navigate the menus below to access general resources for agricultural educators. Teacher guides to best practices include a range of topics from curriculum design to classroom management. Illinois’ core curriculum for agricultural education is accessible through a freely available login system on the Illinois Agricultural Education website, funded by the Facilitating Coordination in Agricultural Education (FCAE) project. FCAE program advisors are located throughout the state and available for onsite or virtual technical assistance, as requested. Click here to contact FCAE for curriculum access​.​

Teacher Guides to Best Practices

AFNR Teacher Guides are comprehensive, clear, and concise informative resources for agricultural educators on various key topics relating to instructional strategies, professional learning topics, program management, and more. Explore the resources below based on your local needs.​

Illinois Core Curriculum Access

Illinois’ core curriculum for agricultural education is a comprehensive network of resources, including e-units (digital textbook), lesson plans, presentation slides, and assessments. Resources are organized into topic areas called libraries. Each library is further organized into subsequent units and modules. Click the resources below to explore more information on Illinois’ core curriculum for agricultural education. To access the resources directly, contact your regionally assigned FCAE program adviser​.

​ONLINE WORKSHOPS

The Illinois State Board of Education periodically develops and facilitates professional learning opportunities for agriculture teachers at various conferences. Those workshops have been cataloged and published below for ongoing use by teachers and administrators. Topics range from curriculum and program design to management and promotion of work-based learning opportunities. Navigate the menus below to view each workshop’s learning plan as well as supplementary activities, resources, and videos. Inquiries on the topics below can be sent to ag_ed@isbe.net​.

AFNR Courses meeting Graduation Requirements

BRAIDED LEARNING: AFNR MEETING GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS​​

The following professional learning planon graduation requirementsPDF Document was developed for Illinois Agricultural Educators at the 2021 Summer Conference of the Illinois Association of Vocational Agriculture Teachers. These resources are archived here for free distribution and future use.

LEARNING PREVIEW

Want your AFNR course to meet a local graduation requirement like science, math, social science, or consumer education? Join ISBE in exploring the established process and gain access to valuable tools that will help teachers, administrators, and school board members work together to achieve this goal.

LEARNING TASKS

  1. BEFORE YOU START:
  2. MODULE 1. GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS
  3. MODULE 2. THE PROCESS
  4. MODULE 3. COURSE PLANNING
  5. BEFORE YOU CONCLUDE:

Backwards Design for AFNR Curriculum

THINKING IN REVERSE: USING BACKWARDS DESIGN IN AFNR COURSE PLANNING

The following professional learning planon backwards design​PDF Document was developed for Illinois Agricultural Educators at the 2021 Summer Conference of the Illinois Association of Vocational Agriculture Teachers. These resources are archived here for free distribution and future use.

LEARNING PREVIEW

Feel as though your lessons, courses, and assessments are lacking? Feel like some days you are simply “covering” information or perhaps exhausting yourself trying to get students to have fun with the lesson? You are not alone! Even the best teachers fall into this situation from time to time, but the answer is in the beauty of intentional curricular design using the backwards planning process. After a brief introduction to the key concepts, workshop participants model the backwards design process by learning while they work together on a shared unit, lesson, or course!

LEARNING TASKS

  1. BEFORE YOU START:
    • Assemble a small workgroup of 3-5 teachers
  2. MODULE 1. GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS
  3. MODULE 2. THE PROCESS
  4. MODULE 3. COURSE PLANNING
  5. BEFORE YOU CONCLUDE:

Improving Quality in Local Programs

COME TOGETHER: STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING PROGRAM QUALITY THROUGH THE INCENTIVE FUNDING GRANT

The following professional learning planon improving program qualityPDF Document was developed for Illinois Agricultural Educators at the 2021 Summer Conference of the Illinois Association of Vocational Agriculture Teachers. These resources are archived here for free distribution and future use.

LEARNING PREVIEW

What exactly is a “quality” program? How will you and your community work towards that vision? Where do you even start? Answer these questions and more by joining ISBE in a comprehensive breakdown of the Incentive Funding Quality Indicator program! Workshop participants will gain strategies for leveraging a local advisory group and other community resources to improve the quality of an AFNR program. Start turning weaknesses into opportunities and opportunities into strengths with this resource packed workshop!

LEARNING TASKS

  1. BEFORE YOU START:
  2. MODULE 1. GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS
  3. MODULE 2. THE PROCESS
  4. MODULE 3. COURSE PLANNING
  5. BEFORE YOU CONCLUDE:

Work-based Learning in AFNR

MAKING THE MOST OF WORK-BASED LEARNING IN AFNR

The following professional learning plan​on work-based learningPDF Document was developed for Illinois Agricultural Educators at the 2021 Summer Conference of the Illinois Association of Vocational Agriculture Teachers. These resources are archived here for free distribution and future use.

LEARNING PREVIEW

Join ISBE in exploring how to make the most of work-based learning in your AFNR program. Work-based learning, to include a variety of SAE programs and other experiential learning strategies, is foundational for career exploration, development of essential skills, and can be a unique, customizable component to any AFNR course—even its own! Workshop participants will gain strategies for embedding work-based learning into AFNR courses as well as an overview of the new Workplace Experience courses in the approved AFNR matrix for the upcoming school year. Get a jump on next year’s WBL in this workshop.

LEARNING TASKS

  1. BEFORE YOU START:​​​
  2. MODULE 1. THE WORK-BASED LEARNING CONTINUUM​​
  3. MODULE 2. INCENTIVES AND ACHIEVEMENTS​
  4. MODULE 3. WBL IN THE CLASSROOM
  5. BEFORE YOU CONCLUDE:​

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