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Throughout the United States national and state education standards have been developed to provide a vision of what students need to know and be able to do in each core subject and by the end of grade 12. Content standards define domains of content that are important for educators to teach and students to learn. State standards are intended to assist local school districts in raising instructional expectations, upgrading and improving curriculum and instruction, and promoting growth in student achievement.
In the United States the national standards are specific in nature as defined by each discipline. Each state and local school district then develops their curricular guidelines or state standards ensuring that the interests, needs, and values of each community are reflected.
FLP encourages each state to correlate the lessons in Resources for Learning to their own state standards or core curriculum. FLP lessons easily lend themselves to these correlations as there are many process skills in each lesson. The following are some examples of skills incorporated into the lesson outcomes and are expectations in most state performance standards: analyzing and organizing ideas, comparing similarities and differences, cooperating in group activities, experimenting and testing hypotheses, gathering data, making inferences, problem solving, and synthesizing information, thinking creatively, writing.
Currently, virtually every one of the 16 FLP cooperating states either have or are developing a correlation with the FLP material. Here are some different approaches:
Arizona
In Arizona, FLP lessons are correlated to the "Arizona Academic Standards and Accountability". Lessons are correlated to standards in language arts, mathematics, science, and comprehensive health/physical education. The social studies standards were just adopted in Arizona so those standards will now be included. Printed copies of the correlations are available. Arizona correlations are available as PDF files accessible from a web site at http://ag.arizona.edu/agliteracy/. For more information, contact Monica Pastor, FLP state coordinator at mpastor@ag.arizona.edu.
California
FLP lessons are correlated to the "California State
Standards" for Science, Mathematics, History/Social Science and
English/Language Arts for K-12. The standards are given in both activity
order and grade order using a matrix form. Additionally, we furnish the
imbedded form for the four subject areas. The correlations are available in
both hard copy and CD format. Many FLP lessons are cited in the "Child's
Garden of Standards" a K-6 nutrition publication from the state and the new
California State Ag Literacy Guidelines. The ag literacy guidelines can be
viewed on the AITC web site http://caaitc.org. Lessons are also referenced
and evaluated in the CREEC (California Regional Environmental Education
Community) Directory http://CREEC.edgateway.net. For more information please
contact Elmer Eckart, State FLP Coordinator at eeckart@aol.com or
caflp@aol.com.
Colorado
Colorado's correlations are to the "Colorado Model Content Standards." Each lesson was correlated to standards in geography, history, math, reading, writing and science. A copy of the correlations is available from Daniel O. Parker, 7250 S. Pennsylvania Street, Littleton, CO 80122; e-mail:dan-parker@foodlandpeople.org.
Connecticut
In Connecticut, FLP lessons are correlated to "The Connecticut Framework: K-12 Curricular Goals and Standards." Lessons are correlated to standards in language arts, math, science, social studies, health and safety, world language, technology education, music, visual arts, physical education, learning resources, and information technology. Copies of the correlations are available on computer disk for teacher review. For more information, contact Susan Quincy, FLP state coordinator, Kellogg Environmental Center, PO Box 435, Derby, CT 06418; phone: (203) 734-2513; e-mail:susan.quincy@po.state.ct.us.
Florida
The correlations in Florida are made to the Sunshine State Standards in the areas of language arts, math, science, social studies, foreign language, the arts, and health education and physical education. For information, contact Deena Stokes, Florida Agriculture in the Classroom, Inc., P.O. Box 110540,Gainesville, FL 32611; or send email to: dlst@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu.
Illinois
Illinois tests its students on the state academic standards at grades 3, 6 ,8, 10 and 12, identified as benchmark grades by the Illinois State Board of Education. State tests occur at these grade levels and are administered in four fundamental learning areas: language arts, mathematics, science and social science.
Lincoln Park Zoo is a FLP Non-Exclusive Licensed Local Affiliate and has used its own funds to pay one of the zoo's FLP trained teachers to provide alignments for the selected FLP activities Lincoln Park Zoo implements during teacher training workshops. The alignment is for all benchmark grades and all fundamental learning areas. Even though this alignment is limited to selected activities, it is cumbersome and overwhelming to many teachers, in part because it must address so much. Currently, the alignment document is being "tightened" to make it more user friendly and useful for the teachers who need it.
The outstanding feature of FLP activities is that they are integrated across the four fundamental learning areas. But since each activity is aligned with all fundamental learning areas for each benchmark grade, using the document is sometimes a daunting task. On the other hand, in Chicago all activities must be aligned or they cannot be used, so educators are appreciative that we have done the alignment for them.
In Chicago, there is a similar but not identical set of academic standards (Chicago Academic Standards or CAS) designed around the state goals. Each school district had the option of using the state standards or designing their own standards for approval by the state. Chicago opted for the latter. For more information, please contact Susan Teller-Marshall, Lincoln Park Zoo, P.O. Box 14903, Chicago, IL 60614, phone: (312) 742-2044; fax: (312) 742-2040, email: stm@lpzoo.org; www.lpzoo.com.
Iowa
Iowa does not have state standards, but instead has guidelines. Their guidelines are included in "Models and Approaches for Environmental Education in Iowa." This document is available by contacting the Iowa Department of Education, Grimes State Office Building, Des Moines, IA 50319-0146.
Kentucky
Kentucky is currently in the process of correlating the first 40 lessons from FLP to Kentucky's education standards, specifically the "Program of Studies and the Core Content for Assessment" for the primary and intermediate levels. The subject areas are math, science, language arts and social studies. This project is scheduled to be completed by December 31, 2000. Plans are to make this information available through the state's web site and to provide hard copies upon request. Contact Rayetta Boone, Kentucky Deptartment of Agriculture, 500 Mero Street 7th Floor, Frankfort KY 40601; phone: (502) 564-4696; email: rayetta.boone@kyagr.com.
Nebraska
The Nebraskans for FLP coalition has developed its state's FLP
correlations in hard copy format to meet the Nebraska Education Standards.
For details about cost and availability, contact Janet Eckmann, FLP State
Coordinator, 53945 892 Rd Bloomfield, NE 68718 402-373-2489, or by email at
jewrite@bloomnet.com.
Ohio
Ohio's correlations are to the "Ohio Proficiency Standards". Each lesson was correlated to the 4th, 6th and 9th grade standards in math, science, citizenship, reading and writing. A copy of the correlations is available from John H. Davis, 65 Poinsettia Rd SE., Scio, OH 43988; e-mail: john-davis@foodlandpeople.org
Tennessee
The Tennessee Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom is beginning the
process of identifying correlations between FLP's Resources for Learning and
the Tennessee Curriculum Standards. The Blueprint for Learning is a
companion document for the curriculum standards and will be used by the
Foundation to assist teachers with identifying lessons that can be used to
address each standard. The consistent format followed by FLP allows for
implementation of lessons that are somewhat unfamiliar to teachers with
great success. The Tennessee Curriculum Standards can be found at
www.tennessee.gov/education/.
Texas
The Texas FLP coalition has developed their state's FLP correlations in CD-ROM and hard copy formats to meet the Texas Education Agency's "Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills" (TEKS). For details about cost and availability, contact Clyde Gottschalk, FLP State Coordinator, P.O. Box 339, Temple, TX 76503-0339 or by email at cjgottschalk@stonemedia.com.
Utah
Utah is in the midst of establishing their standards and are specifically including FLP lessons. Carolee Coleman, social studies specialist, may be contacted at Utah Department of Education, 4595 South Edgeward Lane, Salt Lake City, UT 84119; email: ccoleman@xmission.com.
Setting and meeting high academic achievement for all students is a goal FLP is committed to through its Resources For Learning. It is exciting to see how easily FLP lessons correlate to national and state standards giving educators high quality and creative, hands-on lessons to help achieve their curricular goals.
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