The ND FFA Foundation, in partnership with the North Dakota Department of Agriculture, continues to support innovative, student-led projects through the Ag in the Classroom grant program. One project out of the Gackle – Streeter FFA Chapter combined creativity, interactive learning, and career-readiness to teach students about agriculture in a whole new way.
Program: Gackle – Streeter FFA
Teacher: Deb Hatlewick
Impact: 700 students
Purpose:
To increase agricultural literacy in Stutsman County by building interactive educational tables and activity books for use during Ag in the Classroom events and beyond.
Objectives:
- Create engaging, hands-on materials to teach youth about key North Dakota commodities.
- Educate elementary students through puzzles, grain tables, and facts about wheat, corn, soybeans, and barley.
- Offer FFA members practical experience in design, drafting, and construction.
- Extend learning beyond the classroom through community events and county fair use.
FFA members construct interactive grain tables and puzzle displays to educate youth on ND-grown commodities.
With funds from the grant, students in Ag Mechanics and AgriScience classes built eight interactive tables featuring North Dakota crops. Grain was added to compartments where students could use toy farm equipment to move the grain around and discover fun facts hidden below. Additional puzzle boards shaped like a cow, pig, sheep, and the state of North Dakota added even more layers of engagement.
This project debuted at the 2025 Jamestown Ag Show, where over 700 elementary students from Jamestown and surrounding areas participated in the Ag in the Classroom event. Each student received an activity booklet, filled with coloring pages, ag facts, and puzzles about North Dakota commodities. Teachers and students alike gave enthusiastic feedback, with some educators requesting classroom visits with the tables in the future.
The project’s reach will continue: the grain tables will be featured again at the Stutsman County Fair this summer and at future Ag in the Classroom events. Beyond teaching agricultural literacy, this initiative provided FFA members with valuable lessons in teamwork, project planning, and manual construction.
