Created by teachers, this multifaceted garden, nutrition, and physical activities curriculum is evidence-based and academically rich. Through a linear set of hands-on, proven lessons, your students will better understand plants and how plants provide for people’s needs. The 10-week (2 lessons/week) unit of study will step your class through process of establishing a thriving garden that is easy to create and maintain.
The Junior Master Gardener Literature in the Garden curriculum engages children through garden- and ecology-themed children's books. (Books include Plantzilla; Miss Rumphius; Brother Eagle, Sister Sky; The Gardener; Tops & Bottoms; and Weslandia.) This curriculum contains dozens of hands-on activities for youth in grades 3-5. Learning is inspired through outdoor activities, creative expression and open exploration.
The Junior Master Gardener (JMG) Program is an innovative youth gardening project. This JMG Handbook is designed for children in grades 3-5. Each of the eight exciting chapters contains fun activities and interesting facts to help children experience the joy of making things grow. At the end of each chapter are suggested Leadership/Community Service Projects. These projects help Junior Master Gardeners share with their family, friends and community all that they have learned.
In this Common Roots Guidebook, Sister Corn, Sister Squash, and Sister Bean introduce children to gardening in two distinct year-long adventures that explore the ancient wisdoms of the land. Each is a unique journey through the four seasons, rich with earth-friendly gardening methods, history, hands-on activities, stories, and provocative ideas. The lessons incorporate social studies, literature, and science. Plants can be grown in the garden or classroom to supplement this unit. An easy resource to utilize when teaching early American traditions.
This book provides an easy, step-by-step guide to successful composting. Learn how easy it is to start composting, maintain an active, healthy compost, and use the compost you produce.
This guide from the Junior Master Gardener series is packed with basic gardening information that includes growing techniques, food safety, healthy eating tips, and nutritious snack food preparation. This book is a great tool for educators who use garden programs to teach students about health, nutrition, food safety, and wise decision-making skills. Grades 3-5.
This how-to guide by the National Gardening Association covers all you need to know to launch a school or kids' gardening program, from rallying support and site development to making curriculum connections. A must-have resource!
Give students the dirt on soil with a practical book that brings new meaning to the term "hands-on." Using these 12 activities and two original stories as guides, kids will soon be up to their elbows in the study of soil formation, habitats and land use, animals that depend on soil, plants that grow in soil, soil science, and soil conservation. Each teacher-tested lesson plan offers helpful background, assessment methods, and suggestions for further exploration.
This investigative science curriculum introduces the world of plants to elementary school students through foods we eat. Watch children's understanding of our world grow as they partake in hands-on activities that explore edible roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds through observation, dissection, journaling, discussion of findings, and, of course, tasting! This book can be used in educators' instruction to support standards in nutrition, math, language arts, and social studies. Every lesson includes plant snacks that spark curiosity, interesting questions, and social dialogue to fuel the learning process.
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. All were developed to support mathematics and science standards and were extensively trial-tested by educators and youth leaders nationwide.
This teacher's manual provides a road map to successful school gardening and curriculum integration, including hands-on strategies for planning a garden laboratory, facilitating investigative lessons on ecology and nutrition, and involving the community in learning activities.
This curriculum unit is designed to teach science through study of the food system. It investigates two questions—what is the system that gets food from farm to table, and how does this system affect the environment? Students will learn about our complex and highly technological global food system and how the parts of this system interact and influence each other. Lesson plans include a number of hands-on investigations, helpful background information, practical teaching tips, and tools for assessment.