Lessons

The purpose of this lesson is for students to explore food chains and investigate how living things acquire energy. Students will search for and learn to identify the roles of producers, consumers and decomposers in the food chain and search for examples of each one in the garden. They will also create food chains with recipe ingredients to further explore how we get energy from the sun. ​

The purpose of this lesson is for students to understand the important role of decomposers in composting. They will search for decomposers in the garden and build their own compost jars to be able to closely watch the process of decomposition. Through a close reading of the Connected Text, they will learn about the important roles of tiny microbes in our diets and in the natural world.

The purpose of this lesson is for students to understand the importance of water protection and water conservation. Students will design and build their own water filtration system and study water usage in their garden. They will also engage in a shared reading of the book Why Water’s Worth It by Lori Harrison and write water themed poetry. This lesson supports the DCPS 5th grade Science Unit Human Impact on the Earth’s Systems.

The purpose of this lesson is for students to celebrate their own Food Stories and appreciate the diversity in the foods we eat.  Students will study a variety of food traditions from around the world, write and discuss their own food stories and create a food tradition with classmates. They will reflect and celebrate their years of gardening, cooking and learning in FoodPrints.