Outdoors or Indoors; Fall, Winter, Spring; Prep Time: 15 minutes (check out a library book and procure paint chips); Teaching Time: 30-45 minutes
Description: Students go on a “color search” using paint chips. This works well as a walk outside or in the garden, but could also be done in the classroom. Optional library book that can be paired with this lesson, The Colors of Us, explores human diversity.
Objective: Students develop their observation and matching skills. Students discover the diversity of colors found in the world around them.
Curriculum Connections:
ELA
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.3 Describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text
Harvest of the Month: Flexible
Source: Shelburne Farms
Bean Seed Necklace Lesson: (Lesson)
Indoors; Fall, Winter, Spring; Prep Time: 20 minutes; Teaching Time: Part One) 45 minutes
Description: In Part One, students germinate bean seeds using their body heat: a bean tied on a string as a “bean seed necklace”. Additional activities included as extension options.
Objective: Students will learn about and sequence the life cycle of a plant.
Curriculum Connections:
ELA
- ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.3 Describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text.
- ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.4 Ask and answer questions to help determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases in a text.
NGSS
- K-ESS3-1. Use a model to represent the relationship between the needs of different plants and animals (including humans) and the places they live.
- DCI: ESS3.A: Natural Resources
Living things need water, air, and resources from the land, and they live in places that have the things they need. Humans use natural resources for everything they do.
- DCI: ESS3.A: Natural Resources
Harvest of the Month: Dry beans
Source: www.agclassroom.org/ok
Dirt Made Our Lunch: (Lesson)
Indoors; Fall, Winter, Spring; Prep Time: 10 minutes; Teaching Time: 30 minutes
Description: Students will trace the origins of common foods back to the soil and learn about the nutrient cycle. For example, students would “deconstruct” a cheeseburger, to identify the source of the burger (beef->cow->grass->soil), cheese (milk->cow->grass->soil), bun (flour->wheat->soil) etc.
Objective: Students will be able to identify the origin of all food (dirt) and steps in the nutrient cycle and learn the song “dirt made my lunch”.
Curriculum Connections:
ELA
- ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.1 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
- ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.2 Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.
- ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.6 Distinguish between information provided by pictures or other illustrations and information provided by the words in a text.
Harvest of the Month: Whatever’s in season can be prepared into a dish to be “deconstructed” as part of the activity.
Farm to Plate Game: Part One and Part Two: (Lesson)
Indoors; Fall, Winter, Spring; Prep Time: 15 minutes; Teaching Time: Two-Part Lesson Part One: 30-45 minutes and Part Two: 30-45 minutes
Description: Students are assigned a role to practice being one player in the first half of the food system (Part 1): farmer/producer, food transporter, food processor, and advertiser, and the second half of the food system (Part 2): food processor, food inspector, grocer, consumer, and waste manager. Afterwards they present on what they did to the rest of the class.
Essential Question: Students will understand that a lot of people help to get food to our plates and will know the different jobs that are involved.
Curriculum Connections:
ELA
- ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.1 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text
- ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.3 Describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text.
- ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.4 Ask and answer questions to help determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases in a text.
- ELA-LITERACY.SL.1.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
- ELA-LITERACY.SL.1.4 Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly.
Social Studies GLCEs
- 1 – G5.0.1 Describe ways in which people modify (e.g., cutting down trees, building roads) and adapt to the environment (e.g., clothing, housing, transportation).
- 1 – E1.0.1 Distinguish between producers and consumers of goods and services.
- 1 – E1.0.2 Describe ways in which families consume goods and services.
- 1 – E1.0.5 Describe ways in which people earn money (e.g., providing goods and services to others, jobs).
- 1 – E1.0.6 Describe how money simplifies trade.
Harvest of the Month: Flexible
Source: Adapted to K-2 from USDA FNS Dig In! “Lesson 2: Farm to Plate”
Indoor Plant Experiments: (Lesson)
Indoors; Fall, Winter, Spring; Prep Time: 10 minutes; Teaching Time: 30-45 minutes
Description: The teacher guides students through setting up a class experiment to see what plants need to grow. Small potted plants are placed around the room in various conditions. As a class, a chart is made to record the experiments, make predictions about what will happen, and record results.
Objective: Students will have an introductory understanding of what an experiment is, and know the basic needs of plants
Curriculum Connections:
ELA
- ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.4 Ask and answer questions to help determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases in a text.
- ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.3 Describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text.
Harvest of the Month: Flexible
Source: Teaching Young Children Using Themes by Marjorie Kostelnik
Rocks to Radish: (Lesson)
Indoors; Fall, Winter, Spring; Prep Time: 15 minutes; Teaching Time: 30-45 minutes
Description: Students are asked how we get from a rock to a radish, and put in order symbolic objects representing each step in the process, discussing each step along the way.
Objective: Make connection between food sources and geology; understand what a “food system” is; understand the important actors and stages involved from seed to fork.
Harvest of the Month: Flexible, just replace “radish” with whatever food is growing
Source: “Rocks to Cheese” in Project Seasons by Shelburne Farms in VT
Vermicompost: Worm Bin Bingo (Activity)
Indoors; Fall, Winter, Spring; Prep Time: 10 minutes; Teaching Time: 30-45 minutes
Description: Students explore the creatures of the worm bin, identifying them using the pictures and words on the bingo sheet.
Objective: Students become more comfortable with worms, reading, and matching.
Curriculum Connections:
ELA
- ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.3 Describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text.
- ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.6 Distinguish between information provided by pictures or other illustrations and information provided by the words in a text.
- ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.7 Use the illustrations and details in a text to describe its key ideas.
Harvest of the Month: Flexible
Source: California Integrated Waste Management Board
Note: The following lessons reference curriculum developed by Life Lab from their Growing Classroom lesson book. For more information and to purchase a copy of this wonderful resource click here.
The Seasons of a Tree (Lesson, Project)
Outdoors; Fall, Spring; Prep Time: 10 minutes; Teaching Time: Multiple 15-30 minute sessions
Description: Students make drawings of a selected tree throughout the school year
Objective: To observe seasonal changes in the life of a tree
Harvest of the Month: Apples, pears, plums, peaches, nectarines, cherries, saskatoons
Source: The Growing Classroom
Transplanting, or Let’s Move ‘Em Out! (Lesson)
Outdoors; Fall, Spring; Prep Time: 30 minutes
Description: Students transplant seedlings from flats to garden
Objective: To learn how to transplant seedlings
Harvest of the Month: Spring or Fall Crops that can be easily transplanted and harvested quickly, such as baby greens
Source: The Growing Classroom
What Good is Compost? (Project)
Outdoors; Fall, Spring; Prep Time: 30-60 minutes; Teaching Time: Multiple 15-40 minute sessions
Description: Students grow two identical crops, one in a bed with compost and one in a bed without compost
Objective: To determine the effects of compost on plant growth
Harvest of the Month: Spring or Fall Crops that can be grown in school garden
Source: The Growing Classroom
Inch By Inch, Row By Row (Project)
Indoors; Fall, Winter, Spring; Prep Time: 30 minutes; Teaching Time: 60-90 minutes
Description: Students plan and map garden beds using information about growth requirements for each plant.
Objective: To combine several skills to create a garden design, including research, mapping and drawing to scale
Harvest of the Month: Flexible
Source: The Growing Classroom
Me and the Seasons (Lesson)
Indoors; Fall, Winter, Spring; Prep Time: 15 minutes; Teaching Time: 30-45 minutes
Description: Students construct a pictorial wheel depicting seasonal differences in their activities, clothing, and environment.
Objective: To reinforce the cycle of seasons and identify different clothing and activities that correspond to the different seasons
Harvest of the Month: Flexible
Source: The Growing Classroom
The Power of the Circle (Lesson)
Indoors; Fall, Winter, Spring; Prep Time: 15 minutes; Teaching Time: 30-60 minutes
Description: Students color drawings of different cycles in nature
Objective: To introduce the concept of cycles and identify cycles in nature
Harvest of the Month: Flexible
Source: The Growing Classroom
Seedy Character (Lesson)
Indoors; Fall, Winter, Spring; Prep Time: 20 minutes, plus soaking beans overnight
Description: In Part One, students examine and classify different types of seeds (Grades 3-5 best suited to the guessing game of categories, and K-2 best suited for a hands-on exploration of the different types of seeds). In Part Two, students dissect soaked pinto beans. (Great additional visual metaphors for the parts of a seed can be found in the activity “a seed is a plant in a box with its lunch” on pg. 41 of A Handful of Seeds)
Objective: To observe, classify, and identify seeds and seed parts
Harvest of the Month: Dry beans
Source: The Growing Classroom and A Handful of Seeds from the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center
Shoebox of Sunshine (Project)
Indoors; Fall, Winter, Spring; Advanced Prep: 1 potted bean or pea plant per pair of students; Prep Time: 30 minutes (5-6) or 60 minutes (K-4) Teaching Time: 60 minutes (5-6) or 30-60 minutes (K-4)
Description: Students construct miniature greenhouses in shoeboxes and observe and measure their effects on plant growth. They relate these experiences to food production methods and to the earth’s greenhouse effect, an important factor in the formation of our climate.
Objective: (Grades 5-6): students will be able to describe how the earth radiates heat from the sun to our atmosphere (Grades K-4): students will get an introductory peek into the effects of the sun on plants and atmosphere
Harvest of the Month: Flexible, beans or peas would go well
Source: The Growing Classroom
Water We Doing (Project)
Indoors, Outdoors; Fall, Spring; Advanced Prep: 1 week prior, plant 1 bean or pea seed per pair
Part 1: Prep Time: 30-45 minutes; Teaching Time: 30-60 minutes
Part 2 (1 week later): Prep Time: 30 minutes; Teaching Time: 30-60 minutes
Part 3 (4 days later): Prep Time: 15 minutes; Teaching Time: 30-60 minutes
Description: In this two-week project, students observe the relationship between watering and plant growth and apply their experimental findings to the garden. The three activities are planned for a Monday/Monday/Friday sequence. For Grades K-1: the teacher should supervise watering closely, rather than assigning students to do the watering individually
Objective: To control the application of water to plants
Harvest of the Month: Flexible, beans or peas work well
Source: The Growing Classroom
