Curricula

AGsploration: The Science of Maryland Agriculture is a statewide curriculum designed to increase middle school student agriculture literacy and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) skills.

Babysitting/Entrepreneurship 101 is a six-hour course that provides participants with all the tools needed to establish a trustworthy professional babysitting business with leadership skills to promote in diverse communities. Educators of all experience levels will find the materials easy to adapt and utilize.

Career AGsperience is an agriculture career literacy program designed to increase participants’ knowledge base related to agriculture careers and preparation for careers in animal science, environmental science, agri-business and leadership, and agriculture science and technology. The curriculum includes six lessons related to agriculture careers, career planning, resume development, internship acquisition, interviewing skills, and business etiquette. 

This new 4-H Ag Innovators Experience, Curbing Our Carbon Appetite, is brought to you by the National 4-H Council, University of Maryland Extension 4-H, and Bayer. Curbing our Carbon Appetite will help youth ages 10-18 learn the importance of taking actions that can reduce atmospheric carbon.

The objectives of this activity kit include:
• Trace the flow of carbon through the carbon cycle and relate human activity to increased atmospheric carbon.
• Model the effects of changing atmospheric carbon levels on temperature
• Analyze the carbon footprints of foods and plan a low-carbon lunch
• Explore actions that agriculture, business and industry, and individuals and families can take to reduce the atmospheric carbon.

Authored by the Maryland 4-H Ag Innovators Experience team (Chris Anderson, Tom Hutson, April Hall-Barczewski, Sheryl Bennett, Chris Johnston, Becky Ridgeway, and Ashley Travis)

The Equity Guided Dialogues are a series of lessons designed to bring youth together to deliberate, reflect, and take action on social justice issues. Each guide focuses on issues that investigate systematic and structural injustices using multiple perspectives that lead to critical awareness, deep reflection, and self-awareness.

The topics of the first set of lessons are exploratory in nature and designed to facilitate and foster conversations on current issues grounded in history. In addition, lessons are designed to foster conversations and support feedback. After each lesson, facilitators will see an evaluation section and a reflection section which are blank. The goal is that after teaching each session, the facilitator may want to use the learning objectives to check in with youth to see if they have learned these concepts.

The Mindfulness Activity Guide for Adults provides guidance and encouragement to people who wish to embrace mindfulness practice in their work and personal lives. As educators, we noticed a need for resources that might help both novice and advanced mindfulness facilitators implement mindfulness activities in group settings. By using the guide, we hope the facilitator will gain confidence and feel at ease leading
these practices.

The guide provides in-depth instructions for adapting the surroundings, duration, participants' postures, facilitator's script, and other activity components to fit diverse environments or audiences' needs. We truly hope you find the resource useful, as it was solely created to help you create mindful moments for yourself and others you wish to help.

Contact the Authors
Ohruti Pafel
Family & Consumer Sciences Educator dhrutip@umd.edu

Erin Jewell
Family & Consumer Sciences Educator
erinj@umd.edu

Amy Rhodes
4-H Youth Development Educator
orhodesl@umd.edu

The publication is $25 per book.
To PURCHASE the guide visit https://go.umd.edu/buymindfulguide If you wish to buy multiple books, make sure to enter the calculated amount /based on the quantity) in the "Amount" section of the purchase form.

If you have any questions regarding the guide or purchase process, email Dhruti Patel at dhrutip@umd.edu.

Teen Corps began as a citywide collaborative between 4-H members and adult leaders, agencies, and community stakeholders who partner to strengthen communities, and increase leadership opportunities for youth from age twelve to age eighteen.

The True Leaders: Culture, Power and Justice curriculum was designed to engage youth in critical dialogue and collective action in order to contribute to a more empathetic and just society. Youth have an incredible opportunity to see the world as bigger than themselves. This curriculum offers dynamic opportunities for youth to explore their identities, different cultures, new perspectives, and the histories that have shaped power and privilege within our communities. Youth will engage with peers, adult support systems, and communities to increase the resources and tools they need to advocate for positive community change. These lessons are rooted in a social justice youth development framework. Additionally, as a facilitator, it is important that you use these lessons as a guide but allow for adaptations to ensure each discussion and activity is culturally relevant for your audience.

This is a Facilitator Guide intended for use with youth in Grades 6-12.