Lesson TitleGradeLesson TimePrep TimeLesson Summary
A Healthy Plate 2 - 3 45 min 5 min Students make their own MyPlate plate to classify foods and plan nutritious meals.
Brown Bag Lunch 2 - 5 30 min 10 min Students use their understanding of a balanced meal to play a trading game called Brown Bag Lunch/
Fruit & Vegetable Data Collection K - 3 60 min over several days 20 min Students work together to keep track of the different fruits and vegetables they are eating.
Fruit Salad K - 2 45 min 30 min Students will listen to the story Oliver’s Fruit Salad and discuss the importance of eating fruit, discuss different kinds of fruit, and make individual fruit salads.
Fruits and Vegetables with Tops & Bottoms 2 - 3 45 min 30+ min Students listen to the story Tops and Bottoms and The Vegetables We Eat, discuss the importance of eating a variety of fruits and vegetables, and make a fruit salad
More Nutrients Please 2 - 4 60 min over 2 days 5 min Students learn that foods contain nutrients and they will examine how nutrients get into their bodies through digestion.
Terrible Eater 1 - 3 30 min 10 min Students listen to the story Gregory, the Terrible Eater and discuss (a) trying new foods, (b) eating in moderation(c) external pressures to eat certain foods, and (d) healthy and unhealthy choices.
Vegetables K - 2 60 min 30 min Students listen to the story Oliver’s Vegetables and discuss the importance of eating a variety of vegetables. They explore and taste different kinds of vegetables.

Is it Ready? K-2 40 min  30 min  Students learn the terms ripe, under-ripe, and overripe and the benefits of eating foods that are harvested at their peak ripeness. Then students search the garden for examples of ripe, under-ripe, and overripe fruits and vegetables.
 Eat the Rainbow 1  40 min  30 min  Students will go on a garden scavenger hunt to locate fruits and vegetables of every color of the rainbow. They will discuss how each color of fruits and vegetables specifically helps their bodies.  Then, the students will plan to fill in their rainbow with at least one fruit or vegetable of each color, which they like to eat.
Lesson TitleGradeLesson TimePrep TimeLesson Summary
Clogged Arteries 3 - 5 15 - 30 min 5 min Students learn about preventing cholesterol in the arteries with this movement-oriented activity.
Color Card Perform and Switch K - 5 5 – 10 min 15 min Activity break for students during any academic class activity.
Egg Hunt K - 3 15 – 30 min 20 min Students take a fun movement break while working on basic reading skills as well as loco-motor movements.
Factor That 1 - 5 10+ min 15 min Students take a movement break while working on math skills.
Heart Smart 2 - 5 15 - 30 min 5 min Students will learn about strengthening the heart while performing physical movements.
Hop it Out K - 5 5 – 10 min 5 min Students answer math equations by hopping in place for the correct answer.
Celebrate Take a Hike Day 2 - 5 15 – 30 min 5 min Students go for a hike around the school grounds. They can use pedometers to calculate what it would take to meet the 10,000 daily recommended steps.
Recycling Relay K - 3 10 - 20 min 10 min Students improve their loco-motor skills and learn about the importance of recycling.
Vocabulary March 1 - 5 5 min 5 min Students practice vocabulary words while marching.
Slap Tap Math K - 5 10 min 5 min Students take a movement break to work on math computation and number pattern skills.

 

Health

Lesson TitleGradeLesson TimePrep TimeLesson Summary
Clogged Arteries 3 - 5 15 - 30 min 5 min Students learn about preventing cholesterol in the arteries with this movement-oriented activity.
Heart Smart 2 - 5 15 - 30 min 5 min Students will learn about strengthening the heart while performing physical movements.
Recycling Relay K - 3 10 - 20 min 10 min Students improve their loco-motor skills and learn about the importance of recycling.

 

Math

Lesson TitleGradeLesson TimePrep TimeLesson Summary
Counting Seeds K 30-45 min 15 min Students will explore four different seeds; recall what plants grow from them and which seeds we eat, then practice counting to 30 with a worksheet about seeds. 
Greater Than – Less Than- Equal To 1 30 min 15 min Students will compare kale plants in the garden, practicing their math skills of determininggreater thanless than, and equal to.
Factor That 1 - 5 10+ min 20 min Students take a movement break while working on math skills
Fruit & Vegetable Data Collection K - 3 60 min over several days 20 min Students work together to keep track of the different fruits and vegetables they are eating.
Hop it Out K - 5 5 – 10 min 5 min Students answer math equations by hopping in place for the correct answer.
Slap Tap Math K - 5 10 min 5 min

Take a movement break to work on math computation and number pattern skills.

Catching the Rain 2 30 min 15 min

Students will measure rainfall in the school garden using a rain gauge.

 

Science

Lesson Title

Grade

Lesson Time

Prep Time

Lesson Summary

Decomposition on the Red Wiggler Farm

K

30 minutes

10 minutes

Students will learn what worms need to live and how to create garden compost through vermicomposting.

Meaning of Spring

K-1

40 minutes

30 minutes

Students will learn about the cycle of seasons and how each season has unique weather characteristics that impact growth in the garden. Students will also learn why spring is important and will observe the changes that are happening all around the garden in the spring season.

A Garden of Opposites

1-2

40 minutes

30 minutes

Students find and classify contrasting objects in the garden, using multiple senses.

Compost Bin Identification

2

30 min

30 min

Students will observe, identify, and compare the animals and/or organisms they find in a compost or worm bin, and discuss the role decomposers (fungi, bacteria, invertebrates) play in the soil and their connection to recycling.

Friend or Foe?

2

30 min

30 min

Students will learn that there are many types of garden insects.  Each type plays a role in the garden ecosystem.  Some are “good garden bugs;” others are undesirable in the garden.

Insects in our Garden: Habitat Exploration

2

30 min

30 min

Students collect and identify garden insects and learn about the different insects in a garden habitat.

Pollinator Adaptations

2

30 min

20 min

Students will learn about pollinators and their adaptations, and match flowers to the kinds of pollinators they attract. Students will also observe different shaped flowers in the garden and the animals that visit them.

Catching the Rain

2

30 min

15 min

Students will measure rainfall in the school garden using a rain gauge.

Clouds and Garden Light

2

30 min

15 min

Students will observe clouds in the school garden and construct a polytunnel to transmit more light to glowing plants.

Animals in the Garden

2

30 min

15 min

Students will explore the many ways in which insects affect all life on earth.

Flower Dissection 

2

30 min

20 min

Students will learn about the role of flowers in plant reproduction and disect flowers to learn their parts.

It Begins with a Seed

K

30 min

 30 min

Students will learn what a seed is, how a plant begins to grow from a seed, and the life cycle of a bean plant.

Nutrients: for Snails and for Us

K

30 min

 30 min

Students will compare what snails and humans need to survive, and then plant a food source for snails.

Temperature Hunt

K - 2

15- 30 min

 15 min

Students will search for the coldest and warmest locations in the garden.

Soil Poetry

1 - 3

30 min

 30 min

Through exploring soil, students use most of their senses to discover qualities of different components in soil.

Plants Need Light – to Produce!

3

30 min

 30 min

Plants need light to grow.  Students learn about the needs of plants, and compare plant growth when aluminum foil is used to reflect more light onto the plant.

Potato Variety Comparison Inquiry

3 45 min  30 min Students grow different varieties of the same crop to test their suitability to the school’s garden soil and climate.

Worms as Decomposers

3 - 5 30 min  30 min Students will learn about the role of earthworms in decomposition.

 

Service Learning Projects

Lesson Title

Grade

Lesson Time

Prep Time

Lesson Summary

Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Service Lesson

K-5

30 min

 

This lesson highlights the importance of service to our community as a part of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s remembrance and celebration.  Teachers have the choice between three service activities for their class in the garden.

 

English Language Arts

Lesson Title

Grade

Lesson Time

Prep Time

Lesson Summary

Plants Have Families, Too

1

30 min

15 min

Students learn about different categories (classifications) of edible plants and then visit the school garden to find examples of plant families.

Plant Parts we Eat

K

30 min

 30 min

Students will learn to identify different parts of plants and to categorize the edible parts of different fruits and vegetables. 

Soil Poetry

1 - 3 

30 min

30 min

Through exploring soil, students use most of their senses to discover qualities of different components in soil.

Fruit Salad

K - 2

45 min

30 min

Students will listen to the story Oliver’s Fruit Salad and discuss the importance of eating fruit, discuss different kinds of fruit, and make individual fruit salads.

Fruits and Vegetables with Tops and Bottoms

2 - 3

45 min

30 + min

Students listen to the story Tops and Bottoms and The Vegetables We Eat, discuss the importance of eating a variety of fruits and vegetables, and make a fruit salad

Terrible Eater

1 - 3

30 min

10 min

Students listen to the story Gregory, the Terrible Eater and discuss (a) trying new foods, (b) eating in moderation(c) external pressures to eat certain foods, and (d) healthy and unhealthy choices.

Vegetables

K - 2

60 min

30 min

Students listen to the story Oliver’s Vegetables and discuss the importance of eating a variety of vegetables. They explore and taste different kinds of vegetables.

Eat the Rainbow

1

40 min 30 min    Students will go on a garden scavenger hunt to locate fruits and vegetables of every color of the rainbow. They will discuss how each color of fruits and vegetables specifically helps their bodies.  Then, the students will plan to fill in their rainbow with at least one fruit or vegetable of each color, which they like to eat.

Vocabulary March

 1 - 5 5 min 5 min   Students practice vocabulary words while marching.

Meaning of Spring

 k - 1 40 min  30 min   Students will learn about the cycle of seasons and how each season has unique weather characteristics that impact growth in the garden. Students will also learn why spring is important and will observe the changes that are happening all around the garden in the spring season.

A Garden of Opposites

 1 - 2 40 min  30 min  Students find and classify contrasting objects in the garden, using multiple senses.

Animals in the Garden

 2 30 min 15 min Students will explore the many ways in which insects affect all life on earth.