Register for
EE Week 2014
Join a national network of educators and organizations dedicated to increasing the environmental knowledge of K-12 students.
Subscribe Now
Subscribe to our monthly EE Week newsletterEE Week 2012 Greening STEM Planning Toolkit:
Gardens & Schoolyards
|
|
| Students work on their monarch butterfly waystation at Brier Creek Elementary School in Raleigh, N.C. |
There are many educational benefits to school gardens and green schoolyards. These spaces serve as living laboratories that provide a real-world context for lessons across subject areas. They also engage students in hands-on, project-based learning activities.
The opportunities to learn and apply STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) concepts in school gardens and green schoolyards abound. From analyzing soil samples, plotting plant growth and graphing rainfall to designing greenhouses, STEM activities in the schoolyard garden or habitat empower students of all grade levels to improve their community and take pride in their school environment.
- Projects & Activities: All Grades | K-4 | 5-8 | 9-12
- Resources: Websites | Books | Games & Apps
All Grades
Growing UP (and around, and down…)
Sci, Math
In this project from KidsGardening.org, students build garden structures, giving them a chance to track and experiment with plant tropisms (responses to various environmental stimuli). The three types of garden structures featured in the activity can be adapted to fit budget and climate and include ideas for connecting the project to the curricular focus of the classroom.
Building Soil Nature's Way
Sci, Math
This classroom project is an
exploration of building life-giving humus. Students explore soil health by
building a lasagna garden. By marking
off a garden area and adding layer after layer of compost, organic matter and
high-nitrogen materials students explore the process of decomposition and learn
the importance of nutrient-rich soil as a base for a successful garden.
Exploring Hydroponics
Sci, Math
This complete online curriculum provides lessons, step by
step instructions to set up a working indoor hydroponics system, planting
advice, general hydroponics knowledge, nutrient information to meet the needs
of plants, a history of hydroponics, classroom stories, and resources and
suppliers. Lessons can be adapted for all grade levels.
Grades K-4
Green Thumbs and Dirty Fingernails
Sci, Math, Tech, PBL
In this lesson, students learn about plant parts, needs and characteristics through identifying and comparing seeds. Students the design a garden using computer software and plant a garden that would support the growth of plants in the proper climate zone.
Gardening: A Math Adventure
Math, PBL
Students learn how math computations can be applied to a real life situation in planning the layout of a garden. Students also use group decision-making skills to determine the kinds of items a garden will have.
An Eye on the Garden
Tech, Sci
Students explore the garden by looking carefully at plant
selections. Using technology, such as
digital cameras, students can capture changes in the schoolyard habitat and
sharpen their observation skills. Through “framing” items in the garden that
most appeal to them, students examine photo-worthy items and learn how to best
capture those with the camera. While taking an investigative look into the
patterns and shapes of various botanical selections, students gain a new
perspective to observe the garden.
Grades 5-8
Gardening: A Math Adventure
Math, PBL
Students learn how math computations can be applied to a real life situation in planning the layout of a garden. Students also use group decision-making skills to determine the kinds of items a garden will have.
How Does Your Garden Grow?
Sci, Math, PBL
In this lesson, students learn how to use natural fertilizers and pesticides in their own organic vegetable garden. Students must determine what vegetables are best suited to grow in their area and select the appropriate location and soil.
The Delany Garden
Sci, Math, Tech, PBL
In this lesson, students create, design and plant a flower garden using a list of suggested flowers from the book On My Own at 107.
Grades 9-12
Launching Laudable Landscapes
Math, Tech, PBL
Students find or design their own garden plan while using knowledge of geometry and shapes, with the potential of actually implementing the garden design in their school or community.
Exploring Asexual Propagation
Sci, PBL
In this lesson, students explore
asexual propagation through cutting and dividing a variety of plants. A table of plants have been selected to provide
for the best results for use in any classroom.
Creating a Pond Habitat in your School Garden
Sci, Math, Eng, PBL
Students design, create, and
install a lasting piece of the school garden.
Through creating a pond habitat high school students are challenged to
build a sustainable ecosystem from start to finish. The lesson includes instructions for
installation and information regarding the many forms of life found in a pond
habitat and their relationship to one another.
Resources
Websites
Project BudBurst
Sci, Tech, CS
Project BudBurst is a network of people across the United States who monitor plants as the seasons change; a national field campaign designed to engage the public in the collection of important ecological data. The website provides educational resources including classroom activities and guide for elementary, middle and high school teachers on how to engage their students in the data collection process.
The Lost Ladybug Project
Sci, Tech, CS
The Lost Ladybug Project is an effort to monitor ladybug species distribution across North America. The Lost Ladybug Project has developed a number of educational materials, including basic biology and identification information, lesson plans, games a coloring book and song. Students can also participate in the data collection by uploading photos of ladybugs online and documenting time, date and location.
Journey North
Sci, Tech, CS
Journey North engages students in a global study of wildlife migration and seasonal change by allowing K-12 students to share field observations with classmates across North America. They track the coming of spring through the migration patterns of insects, birds and mammals as well as natural events. The website offers migration maps, pictures, lesson plans, activities and information to help students make local observations and fit them into a global context.
Kidsgardening.org
Sci, Math, PBL, SL, CS
Kidsgardening.org provides
lessons, activities, hand-outs and articles from preK-12th grade that apply
across the curriculum. Educators can
register school and community gardens, communicate with other programs, and
engage in meaningful discussions about garden activities. Complete with how-to guides, garden stories,
and grants and resources; this free resource helps educators of all ages to
engage children in hands-on learning opportunities.
Books
Math in the Garden
Sci, Math
This engaging curriculum uses a mathematical lens to take children on an education-filled exploration of the garden. Dozens of hands-on activities hone math skills and promote inquiry, language arts and nutrition. Appropriate for grades K-8.
Greening Schools Grounds: Creating Habitats for Learning
Sci, Math, SL
In this popular anthology from Green Teacher magazine, readers will find step-by-step instructions for numerous schoolyard projects, along with ideas for enhancing learning by addressing the diverse needs of students.
Schoolyard-Enhanced Learning: Using the Outdoors as an Instructional Tool, K-8
Sci, Tech, Math
Schoolyard-Enhanced Learning shows how the school grounds can become an enriching extension of the classroom, providing educators with practical suggestions and teacher-tested activities for using the most powerful audio-visual tool available: the outdoors.
Games & Apps
Project Noah
Project Noah is a tool to explore and document wildlife and a platform to harness the power of citizen scientists everywhere. Students can incorporate a mission to document local plants and animals into their garden or schoolyard projects.