Unique Partnership with Good in Every Grain, Canada Agriculture and Food Museum and Award-winning Author/Illustrator Rob Biddulph to deliver educator resources.
Guelph, ON – March 30, 2021 - Good in Every Grain, a public-facing educational brand from Grain Farmers of Ontario, and the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum (CAFM) - one of three museums under Ingenium - Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation - are partnering to deliver new, free education resources in English and French for elementary students that use art to highlight the important role agriculture plays in Ontario.
Award-winning author and illustrator Rob Biddulph inspires students to draw and learn through art. Good In Every Grain and CAFM are delivering art-inspired agriculture activities that have been developed with education experts to incorporate key concepts within the grades 1-4 Ontario curriculum.
“So much of our lives depend on the soil, how we grow food, and how we cultivate the ground for the future, and we wanted to offer a simple, robust, and fun way for teachers to incorporate those ideas into their classroom planning. Students are more interested than ever in the connection between food, the environment and nutrition,” said Victoria Berry, Manager, Communications at Grain Farmers of Ontario.“ We are pleased to work with our partners CAFM and Rob Biddulph to support educators with engaging resources for students that meet Ontario curriculum concepts.”
“We believe that cultivating the healthy food-healthy environment connection from a young age helps to spark a lifelong interest in local food origins, and the importance of nutrition, sustainable farming practices and the role of technology in agriculture,” said Kerry-Leigh Burchill, Director General at the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum. "Partnering with Good In Every Grain to build and deliver this program was a natural connection and we look forward to continued partnership.”
Author and Illustrator Rob Biddulph to Lead Drawing Lessons
Each project is based on an exclusive Draw with Rob episode that explores the following themes through interactive and curriculum-based art activities*:
- Plant Growth
Rob Biddulph guides students through drawing some magic soybean characters inside — and out — of their cozy pod, while introducing the concept of plant growth and the many uses of soybeans (including crayons!). Draw with Rob: Magic Beans video available March 30.
- Soil Health
Just in time for Earth Day, Rob Biddulph guides students through simple steps to draw some wiggly worms as they squirm through the soil, while introducing the concept of soil health. Draw with Rob: Wiggly Worms! video available on April 19 (ahead of Earth Day).
- Technology
Rob Biddulph guides students as they draw a tractor (complete with modern satellite linkup), while introducing the concept of farming technology that provides the background for students’ creative exploration of modern farm equipment. Draw with Rob: Tractor video available May 11.
Detailed educator resources for every episode include a variety of art activities, book recommendations, fact sheets and even a bonus draw-along worksheet, all connected to the episode theme. Along the way, the activities introduce students to diverse Canadian and Indigenous art forms. Each project also encourages the development of students’ growth mindset and resiliency by impressing on them that perfection is not required and there is no wrong way to approach art.
Classroom Contest Announced
Between March 30, 2021 and May 16, 2021, teachers can submit a photo of their students’ artwork, to be entered in our Junior Artist Contest. One classroom will win a virtual class visit from Rob Biddulph and $500 towards art supplies. Teachers must take a picture of their classroom’s Draw with Rob inspired artwork, and post to Twitter @GoodinGrain, Facebook @GoodinEveryGrain or Instagram @goodineverygrain, along with the name of their school, as well as tag Good in Every Grain and use hashtag #DrawWithRobCanada in their post.
Relevance to the Ontario Arts Elementary Curriculum:
- Visual Arts D1. Creating and Presenting; D2. Reflecting, Responding and Analyzing; D3. Exploring Forms and Cultural Contexts; Dance A1. Creating and Presenting
- Art Principals of Design: contrast, repetition/rhythm, variety
- Curriculum Connections: visual arts, drama, life systems, applications of technology, coding
To access the drawings, activities and complete contest rules visit www.goodineverygrain.ca/draw-with-rob
* All resources are accessible in English and French.
About Grain Farmers of Ontario and Good In Every Grain
Good in Every Grain is a public outreach campaign by Grain Farmers of Ontario, the province’s largest commodity organization. Good in Every Grain was developed to tell the story of Ontario’s grain farmers to consumers across the province. Grain Farmers of Ontario represents Ontario’s 28,000 barley, corn, oat, soybean, and wheat farmers. The crops they grow cover over 6 million acres of farm land across the province.
About Canada Agriculture and Food Museum
Ingenium – Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation oversees three museums, one of which is the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum. The museum offers hands-on food literacy demonstrations and immersive exhibitions on a working farm in the heart of our nation’s capital. It showcases milestones in Canadian agriculture which inform and inspire the future of food security. It also highlights the relationship between agricultural science and technology and Canadians’ everyday lives. Visitors have a unique opportunity to learn about the food they eat, and to see diverse breeds of farm animals — important to past and present Canadian agriculture. Dairy and beef cattle, pigs, sheep, horses, poultry, goats, rabbits, and even honeybees round out the collection.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Victoria Berry
Grain Farmers of Ontario
vberry@gfo.ca
226-820-6641
Christine Clouthier
Ingenium – Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovation
cclouthier@IngeniumCanada.org
613-410-5943