Wisconsin Ag Connection - Divyak Named Outstanding Ag in the Classroom Teacher

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Divyak Named Outstanding Ag in the Classroom Teacher
Wisconsin Ag Connection - 01/09/2007

A fourth grade elementary teacher from Tomah has been selected as this year's recipient of the Agriculture in the Classroom Outstanding Teacher Award. Natalie Divyak, who teaches at Lemonweir Elementary School in Tomah, was selected by the Wisconsin Farm Bureau program, which strives to recognize the top elementary teacher in the state for her achievement and effort in teaching students the importance of agriculture.

Divyak receives a plaque and a cash award and is Wisconsin's nominee for the National Excellence in Teaching Agriculture Award sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Agriculture in the Classroom Consortium.

"Natalie is truly deserving of the Agriculture in the Classroom Outstanding Teacher Award because of the range of education activities she incorporated into her curriculum," said Ag in the Classroom Coordinator Darlene Arneson. "She lives on a beef farm and is able to bring in crops and explain soil conservation practices used on her home operation."

Divyak, along with six other teachers, designed a packet entitled 'Wisconsin Agriculture and You' to match lesson plans to Wisconsin State Standards. The packet covers health, science, economic and English standards. The activities in the packet include reading food labels, growing bean seedlings, career awareness, cranberry harvest and processing, and pork production.

The learning experiences Natalie gives her students are enhanced by many Wisconsin resources including This Business Called Agriculture, Ag in the Classroom activities, Discovering Wisconsin Agriculture, Love Those Vegetables, and others.

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