Captain Planet Foundation
Shape Shifters in the Math Garden
Combines mathematical measurement with gardening skills. Third graders hunt for worms in the garden and try to find the longest one. They also measure and weigh vegetables that they harvest from the garden, measure rainfall amounts, and...
Captain Planet Foundation
Predicting Whether the Weather is Good for the Garden
Can your class predict the weather? Show them how they can come close with a lesson about creating weather instruments, including weather vanes, barometers, wind socks, anemometers, and thermometers. Kids research weather patterns and...
Captain Planet Foundation
Sorting Out Soils
Sift through soil and learn about why it's important for organic processes. After discussing what makes up soil, such as the living organisms and what types of soil have more nutrients, kids sample layers of mulch and deeper soil to...
ReadWriteThink
Let It Grow: An Inquiry-Based Organic Gardening Research Project
How does your garden grow? An inquiry-based, organic gardening unit asks young scientists to research a vegetable or flower, create an environment for it, and then plant and tend to the seedling. Gardeners develop their own research...
Captain Planet Foundation
Solar Cooking Race
Study heat transfer with activities that focus on how heat energy works. Using a solar cooker, ice cubes, and heat transfer bracelets, kids experiment and record what they find by keeping ice cubes cold and vegetables hot.
Curated OER
How Does Your Garden Grow?
Young gardners read and listen to books about seeds, plants, and the growing process. They plant seeds in plastic cups to observe the process of root-growing and plant formation. The whole class walks through a field to collect seeds...
University of Wisconsin
Noting Notable Features for Rain Gardens
Eight groups in your class are each responsible for a different aspect of surveying the campus for a suitable rain garden location. Features to consider include water flow, topography, sun/shade patterns, land surface, vegetation,...
Curated OER
Garden Grid
Basically, your class reads about different garden plants from an included handout and seed packets that you provide, and then uses a grid to plan out where to place the plants. They can practice counting with the seeds, grouping,...
Steven's Institute of Technology
How Does Your Garden Grow?
What to do, bunnies are getting into the garden and eating all the carrots! After reading the story Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! the class works together to design a device that will keep those bunnies out of the garden. They get together in...
Curated OER
Lesson 12: Ho'olaulima: Let's Make a Hawaiian Garden
Second graders grow a classroom garden that acts as a living laboratory for cross-curricular activities. In this classroom garden lesson, 2nd graders follow directions to build and plant a garden that is used to teach math, science, and...
New York City Department of Education
Isabella’s Garden
Create rows and rows of vegetables. Pupils use their knowledge of multiplication to find the number of vegetable shoots planted in a garden and ways to arrange the vegetables in the performance task. Teachers use the suggested unit...
Curated OER
Measure the Gardens
Understanding arrays is very similar to understanding the relationship between multiplication and area. Give your third graders an opportunity to practice identifying area models that relate repeated addition and multiplication. They...
Curated OER
Building a Mini-park And Bird Sanctuary Lesson 3: Location, Location, Location
Students work cooperatively using the democratic process to select a place for a park. They identify how the garden in the park will look. They write a five paragraph essay as an assessment.
Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
Schoolyard Biodiversity Investigation Educator Guide
In 1980, in the tropical rainforests of Panama, scientists discovered 1,200 species of beetles living in and around just 19 trees, with most of the species new to science—that's biodiversity! In the activity, learners work in teams to...
Curated OER
Planting A Garden On Campus
Students investigate the school campus area in order to plan the best spot for a class garden. They create a map of the school and research the different types of soil that exist in order to find the best spot. The class takes the...
Calvin Crest Outdoor School
Survival
Equip young campers with important survival knowledge with a set of engaging lessons. Teammates work together to complete three outdoor activities, which include building a shelter, starting a campfire, and finding directions in the...
Curated OER
Looking Upwards: Greenroofing & Rooftop Gardening
Students explore the role of green roofing and rooftop gardening in contemporary architectural design. They then conduct collaborative research to learn about the history, process, science, and environmental impact of green roofing....
Captain Planet Foundation
Rotting Away
What happens at the end of a plant's life cycle? Show kids the natural way that plants show that they're decomposing, as well as the importance of compost, with a lesson about living organisms. After reading Log Cabin by Anne Schreiber,...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Model Perimeter and Area
Gardens seem to be the go-to for area and perimeter word problems. For this assignment, gardening consultants advise Terry, who is helping his parents plan for planting. They draw the outline of a garden on a grid and then perform...
Curated OER
Composting
Students survey what composting is. They observe the benefits of composting over the course of the school year by making your own composters and gardens. Group members compare two different compost piles, make conclusions about...
Curated OER
Ag in My Community; Agriculture
Learners build knowledge about agriculture as it relates to their communities' commodities. In this agriculture instructional activity, students brainstorm about conditions in their community with regards to growing different types of...
Curated OER
The Aztecs - Mighty Warriors of Mexico
Upper elementary learners identify the Aztecs as the builders of a great city and rich civilization in what is now Mexico. They locate the Aztec Empire and its capital on a map and place the Aztecs in the chronology of American history....
Alabama Learning Exchange
Where is the Dirt? A Lesson in Hydroponics
Students use the Internet to research hydroponic gardening which is the growing of plants without soil. They participate in an experiment where a hydroponic garden is contructed in the classroom for observaion. They recorde information...
Curated OER
Worms and Spiders: "Critters That Crawl"
Students complete a unit of lessons on spiders and worms. They discuss worm and spider characteristics, create a garbage garden, observe worms, create gummy worm prints, read the book, 'The Very Busy Spider,' and construct a spider and...