School Gardening Part 1: Getting Started
Provided by: New York Botanical Garden|Published on: April 6, 2024
Grades: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Type: Lesson Plans
Subjects: English Language Arts, Mathematics
Authors: New York Botanical Garden
Region: North America, USA - Northeast, United States, Global, New York, New York City
Languages: English
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- This first resource in the series provides an introductory video, tip sheets, teacher support documents, and two lessons to help your students map out a garden spot an then write persuasively to their peers about their choice of garden theme.
- Teachers will learn the proper tools, classroom management strategies, budget considerations, and botany terms to help them start a garden for their students.
- The resource also includes grant opportunities and resources for New York City teachers.
Teaching Materials
Positives
- The lesson plans suggest various final products students can create based on their interests.
- The resource provides a comprehensive collection of information teachers can use to start their school garden, accounting for curriculum, materials, and space considerations.
- Teachers anywhere in the United States can benefit from the information the resource provides.
Additional Prerequisites
- The Mapping the Garden lesson plan references a Garden Planning Activity sheet that is not included.
- Students should know the elements of a map and how to find points on a coordinate plane.
- For the Persuasive Writing in the Garden lesson, teachers must find anchor texts to use persuasive writing examples and provide different types or themes of gardens to research.
Differentiation
- Older students completing the Mapping the Garden activity can make math connections by finding the perimeter or area of map features.
- Students can study irrigation systems and participate in an engineering activity to develop the best system for their school garden.
- A school garden can spark a conversation about the importance of biodiversity and how climate change impacts it.
- Younger students completing the Persuasive Writing in the Garden activity can do a simplified version, working from a sentence stem such as, "Our garden should__because__."
This resource pack includes a series of resources to aid in planning and budgeting for a school garden. A short video introduces the basics of school gardens, and a series of tip sheets and teacher resources provide more detail. The resource includes lessons appropriate for students in grades 2-6, and a guide to help students develop their persuasive writing is linked. The "Basics of Botany" teacher resource provides straightforward answers to basic questions and clearly defines terms. This resource features clear text and a wealth of sound information and is recommended for teaching.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
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