Please submit your applications for readers in your classroom,
or to be a reader by January 1, 2017.
Download Signup Form Here
Our 2017 book "What's in the Garden" by Award-winning Children's author, Marianne Berkes, who has spent much of her life as a teacher, is illustrated by Chris Arbo. The interactive rhyme and riddle format will lead to many discussions of fruits and vegetables grown in our state from Apples to Pumpkins!
Each classroom will receive a copy of the book, with lesson ideas inside, and information on Maine Agriculture through a volunteer reader from the area. Read more below about this fantastic Agriculture Literacy program that started in Maine in 2008!
Read "ME" Agriculture has been a very successful program since 2008, reaching over 87,000 Maine students. We are pleased to announce its return during Ag Week in March, 2017. Volunteers will read and donate books about agriculture to Pre-Kindergarten through 4th Grade Classrooms across the state. They will tell the students about their farms, programs or connections to agriculture and leave lessons and information for the teachers to use, all supplied by MAITC. Funding for this project is a direct result of the Maine agricultural specialty license plate and grants from Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.
Volunteers will read this new book on Maine fruits and vegetables to classrooms across the state. If teachers request a pre-teach, or are looking for ideas for activities to use in the classroom, please visit TeachMEfoodandfarms.org and the National Ag Literacy Matrix searchable from the MAITC homepage. Both sites have free online lessons aligned to state and national standards.
All Maine classrooms in grades PK–4 and volunteers from agriculture are invited to participate. At this time there is no limit to the amount of presentations you schedule or materials you request. You may sign up both teachers and volunteers OR you may submit just teachers or just volunteers and MAITC will provide the missing component.
All forms must be returned to the MAITC office by January 1, 2017 to ensure that all volunteers and 
classrooms receive the books and materials.If we do not have the completed forms we will not issue materials. Requests received after that will be filled as long as materials are available, with completed forms. MAITC cannot receive the funding for the program without the necessary data. If you have questions, please contact the MAITC office.
Thank you in advance for your continuing support of Ag education!
Sign-up form for teachers and volunteers
