4-H School Enrichment Programs & Curriculum Kits

The Anne Arundel County 4-H School Enrichment Program provides local educators with the opportunity to bring 4-H into the classroom.  4-H School Enrichment offers school teachers the opportunity to utilize a research based curriculum focused on giving youth hands-on, experiential learning opportunities in the classroom!

These materials can be used in many ways to enrich the classroom experience -

• Train-the-trainer opportunities include in-service type classroom training on a topic that can then be replicated by the local teacher.
• Educational curriculum kits include all materials needed for a lesson.
• Outreach programs include a minimum of 6 lessons that are taught in the classroom by a local 4-H educator.

The 4-H Mission and Vision is to empower youth to reach their full potential, working and learning in partnership with caring adults and to see a world in which youth and adults learn, grow and work together as catalysts for positive change. The learn-by-doing method of 4-H allows for youth to become productive, contributing, leaders in their community. By bringing 4-H School enrichment into the classroom, youth begin to develop inquiry, strengthen their communication skills, become involved in real life, hands-on activities, and learn to work together cooperatively with their peers and adult mentors.

The Anne Arundel County 4-H Out of School Enrichment Program are similar to in school programs but are offered to non-formal educators, businesses and communities. These non-formal (or not in a structured classroom) settings can include after school programs, youth clubs and independent workshops in various settings: libraries, daycares, other youth organizations, camps, community centers, churches, etc. The goal of out of school programs is similar to the goal for in school programs, to allow youth to learn-by-doing through experiential (hands-on) programs. 

These programs can be delivered in the following ways -

• Train-the-trainer opportunities include in-service type staff training on a topic that can then be replicated by the out of school program provider.
• Educational curriculum kits include all materials needed for a lesson.
• In person or virtual programs that include a minimum of 6 lessons (or 6 hours) that are taught by a local 4-H educator.

• Nationally recognized in youth development and education
• Strong local, state, and national support
• Provides easy to use research-based experiential curriculum materials
• Has professional trained faculty and staff through the University of Maryland 
• Has successful partnerships worldwide

• Lesson plans for 4-H Science activities
• Materials to support lesson plans
• Itemized list of materials in the kit including notation of which materials are not included
• 4-H Life Skills wheel and definitions
• University of Maryland Extension staff as resources
• General media release form for youth and adults

To get more information or request a program for your classroom or facility complete contact AACMD4H@gmail.com.

1. AGsploration: The Science of Maryland Agriculture (6-12th grade)

AGsploration is a statewide curriculum designed to increase middle and high school student agriculture literacy and STEM skills. The curriculum consists of twenty-four, peer-reviewed lessons with experiential hands-on activities; facilitator’s guide; pre-packaged material kits; evaluation materials and supplemental digital resources. Each lesson is aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards. Topics include production agriculture, environmental science, and nutrition. The program was developed by faculty of University of Maryland Extension with support from researchers and industry professionals. The curriculum for AGsploration: The Science of Maryland Agriculture has reached more than 48,000 Maryland residents since 2010 and more than 500 teachers have been trained to utilize the curriculum.

2. Embryology: Chicks in the Classroom (K-12th grade)

he 4-H Embryology School Enrichment Program allows youth to explore their inherent curiosity about the world around them. By utilizing experimental learning techniques including hands-on programming, teachers can establish a classroom where students begin to develop a strong STEM foundation. 4-H embryology allows youth to experience science in real-world situations; observing, comparing, measuring, experimenting and applying their knowledge to the incubation process. Youth learn about the life cycle of chicks, how to use an incubator, candle eggs, and build a brooder.  Caring for the chicks both prior to and after they are hatched, allows for the development of life skills. Particularly, Kindergarten aged youth begin to get a sense of responsibility and nurturing that will serve as a foundation for their future as contributing and caring citizens.

3. Engineering and Junk Drawer Robotics (6 - 12th grade)

Youth are encouraged to use the processes and approaches of science; the planning and conceptual design of engineering and the application of technology to create "Robots" using everyday household items. Activities include:

• 4-H Junk Drawer Robotics Curriculum activities including Paperclip mobiles; working within a  "Build budget" youth create a paperclip mobile and then race them down a ramp
• NASA Programs including Lunar Landings, robotics arms and magnetic fields
• A tower building competition using an earthquake box
• See-saw science: "see saw's in the workplace!  Understanding the use of fulcrums and creating a "bug flinger!"

4. Code Your World (5th - 8th grade)

Youth explore coding as a form of personal expression and as a lens to understand the world around them.  Activities include digital animation, gaming and dance.  Perfect for the first-time and beginner coders.  NOTE: small groups, computers required for some of the activities.

5. Financial Literacy and Smart Shopping (3rd - 5th grade)

Reading Makes Cents is a collection of fifty-three experiential activities developed around exemplary children’s literature that has money as a theme. The selected children’s literature explores ideas, activities and strategies that help children learn how to earn, save, share and spend money, as well as borrow and lend.   Children’s literature provides a rich diversity of settings, people, income levels, relationships, ethnic backgrounds, cultures, religions, holidays and intergenerational friendships all related to money messages and learning.

6. Healthy Living

Empowers youth to be healthy - body and mind - with the skills to make healthy decisions and lead healthy lives.  

• Up for the Challenge: Lifetime Fitness, Healthy Decisions - takes a wellness approach, encouraging youth to be active and make healthy decisions throughout their lifetime.  Wellness is not about perfection or achieving certain numbers.  It is not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.  Wellness is about overall health and well-being, which includes physical, mental and social well-being.  The curriculum includes fitness, nutrition, and health lessons for each of three age groups: school age, middle school and teen. 
• Nutrition / Gardening = Curricula designed to assist with healthy eating choices, beginning gardening techniques and understanding where food originates.

7. Rockets to the Rescue 

Rockets to the Rescue is an engaging activity that gives young scientists an opportunity to let their imagination take flight and explore how aerospace engineering addresses real world problems, such as delivering food and supplies in emergency situations. Participants will apply lessons in science, math and physics to design and build an aerodynamic Food Transportation Device (FTD) that can deliver a payload to a desired target using different trajectories.

Objectives & Outcomes: 

• Develop a basic understanding of aerospace engineering through hands-on activities that motivate scientific inquiry through the engineering design process.
• Analyze proportional relationships and use them to solve real world and mathematical problems. 
• Pique curiosity and inspire interest in multiple aerospace engineering disciplines.

8. Wired for Wind (3rd-8th grade)

The Wired for Wind kit uses the Wired for Wind experiment, designed as a National Youth Science Day experiment in 2011, to have youth engage in the engineering design process for wind energy technology. Participants build and design a wind turbine, explore the importance of blade pitch and map wind areas for their own community. Through the process participants engage in discussions about energy consumption and energy sources.

Objectives & Outcome is to understand the physics of wind energy and explore how to engineer renewable energy technologies that positively affect our world

9.  WeConnect (6 - 8th grade)

WeConnect is a Global Citizenship Curriculum that prepares youth to thrive in our culturally diverse world!  WeConnect is a program model and curriculum designed to show youth that they are participants in a global society, inspiring a sense of understanding and confidence in relating and connecting to other people.

The curriculum, authored by the University of Minnesota, is for middle school youth (grades 6-8 and ages 11-14), but can be adapted to suit both younger and older age groups. Perfect for afterschool programs, clubs, or camps, and cultural exchanges, the curriculum includes 20 lessons in four sections: exploring, stretching, challenging, and connecting.This book is written for the facilitator, and there are not separate youth guides

10. Diversity: The Source of Our Strength 

Explore the many forms diversity takes in your daily life. Discover life from various perspectives and engage in learning about new situations and people who are different from you.  In addition to addressing academic standards from the National Alliance for Secondary Education and Transition, the activities in the project build these life skills: valuing diversity, critical thinking, interacting with others, being empathetic, processing information, making decisions, and being a responsible citizen. The experience concludes with a capstone project in any creative format you choose.