Museum of Science
Garden in a Glove
Calling all green thumbs! Using a clear plastic glove, pupils create a plant nursery. Learners plant different types of seeds in a moistened cotton ball that is placed into each of the fingers in the glove. Leaving the seeds there for...
Captain Planet Foundation
Which Plant Is Which?
Learn about dichotomous keys, plant identification, and how to care for the planet with a lesson that includes several hands-on and innovative activities. Kids go on a plant scavenger hunt and classify the plants that they find...
PBS
Creating a Butterfly Garden and Habitat
This complete set of instructions for creating your very own butterfly garden and habitat is so cool! With some seeds and the handy resources in this activity, you and your class will be able to determine which type of habitat is best...
Purdue University
Garden Surprise
View vegetables a little differently. A hands-on instructional activity begins by examining different vegetables and identifying the part of the plant they come from. Learners then create exploding seed balls they take home to grow their...
Curated OER
Growing a Native American "Three Sisters" Garden
Students explore plant life by creating their own gardens in class. In this food growing lesson, students discuss the types of gardening methods Native Americans used in order to keep healthy. Students plant corn seeds in their school...
Curated OER
Starting an Indoor Container Garden from Seed
Students create an indoor container garden. In this container garden lesson, students explore seed germination. Students discuss edible seeds.
Captain Planet Foundation
Fall into Healthy Shapes
Kindergartners identify geometric shapes by planting a fall garden. They start their seeds in containers that have different shapes, and keep track of their plants based on those shapes. This brilliantly designed and incredibly thorough...
Education Outside
Grow an Art Garden: Plant a Rainbow
After a reading of Lois Ehlert's Planting a Rainbow, class members plan a rainbow garden, research growing cycles of the fruits and vegetables in their section, and then plant and maintain the garden.
Captain Planet Foundation
Adopt-A-Plant
Note the way that plants change during the season by adopting a plant on your school campus. After your class chooses their plant, they research the plant's needs, how it differs from other plants, find ways to support their plant's...
Curated OER
The Green Truck Garden Giveaway
Students read "The Green Truck Garden Giveaway" and explore the hobby of gardening. After observing illustrations in the book, students predict possible events in the story. They discuss gardening and write a story about a community...
Cornell University
Plant Cell Crime Scene
Use science to solve the mystery of the Poplar murder. Pupils use forensic botany to determine if a suspect could be the killer. By analyzing images from a Transmission Electron Microscope, learners determine if the material found on the...
Curated OER
Bursting Blooms- Create an Early Spring
Learners prune a tree. In this gardening lesson, students select a shrub or tree that has a lot of flower buds and use sharp pruners to cut sections of branches. Learners place the cuttings into cool water and move into a bright...
Australian National Botanic Gardens
Aboriginal Plant Use in South-Eastern Australia
The Aboriginal people of Australia survived for over 40,000 years by using the plants that grow in the bush for food, medicine, tools, and utensils. Introduce young botanists to the wonders of the Outback with a 25-page packet that...
Curated OER
Creating a Three sisters Garden
Students understand that a three sisters garden is comprised of corn, beans and squash. In this three sisters garden lesson, students understand that Native Americans planted three sisters gardens and grow a three sisters garden....
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...
Curated OER
A First Look at the Garden
For any teacher who is planning a field trip to Missouri's Botanical Garden, this lesson packet is a must-have! In it, young learners engage in pre-visit activities so they will be prepared to get the most out of their trip. There are...
Curated OER
Giant Smelly Plant Attracts Thousands
Read and discuss a news article about a rare corpse plant that bloomed in Washington D.C. Because this native Indonesian plant blooms so rarely, people flock to see it. After reading the article, your class answers comprehension...
George Watts Montessori
Upper Elementary Lessons for Classroom and Garden
Plant knowledge by doing to create long-lasting results. Creating a school garden gives young scholars the opportunity to study several science topics. By working through the unit of 16 lessons, pupils use their gardens to complete...
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Gardening
A Reading Adventure Pack invites scholars to start gardening. Following a reading of two books—fiction and nonfiction—young green thumbs repurpose food containers to grow an herb garden in their kitchen, plant seeds in starter pots out...
Curated OER
Lower Elementary Lessons for Classroom and Garden
Learn important science topics by exploring the hobby of gardening. A 16-lesson unit explores several science topics through the lens of gardening. Pupils learn about erosion, soil characteristics, capacity, and several other topics as...
Captain Planet Foundation
George Washington Carver and the Sweet Potato
Learn about George Washington Carver's important contributions to agriculture by studying the sweet potato. First graders read about the inventor's observations and prepare sweet potato slips for the class garden. Additionally, they...
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...
K20 LEARN
Leaning Plants: Plant Adaptations, Growth, And Tropisms
Young scientists examine pictures of plants, then explore plant reactions found on the Missouri Botanical Gardens website. Scholars investigate why plants lean, then observe a plant of their own for six weeks to make new claims,...
Baylor College
Needs of Plants
What better way to learn about plant life than by creating a class garden? Young botanists start with a brief discussion about radishes before planting seeds and watching them grow. To determine the importance of water, sunlight, and...