Lessons

The purpose of this lesson is to introduce students to pollination and pollinators. Students will learn about the important role that pollinators play in the garden to make sure our fruits and vegetables grow. They will make models of pollinators and search for pollinators in the garden.

The purpose of this lesson is for students to study the life cycle of a butterfly and observe plants at different stages of their life cycle in the garden. Students will act out the life cycle of a butterfly, review the stages in a plant’s life cycle, and compare these to their own life cycle. In the garden, students will identify, observe, and draw plants at different stages of growth. This lesson supports the DCPS Kindergarten Unit Changes in Nature and the Science Unit Living Things and Their Habitats. 

The purpose of this lesson is for students to learn about how plants use adaptations for survival. Students will explore examples of unique plant adaptations, create a model of a plant with a special adaption, and work to prepare the garden so that the plants can adapt and survive the winter. This lesson can be used to support the DCPS 1st Grade Science Unit Design from Nature.

The purpose of this lesson is for students to recognize and appreciate the almost magical complexity and beautiful patterns of plant life cycles. They will compare two versions of Jack and the Beanstalk and write their own version of the folktale. Students will engineer a trellis that can successfully support a growing bean plant and observe plants at different stages of growth in the garden. This lesson supports the DCPS 2nd grade ELA Unit Got the Message: Fables and Folktales.

The purpose of this lesson is to deepen students’ understanding of pollination and pollinators. Students will mimic bees visiting flowers, collecting nectar, and pollinating. They will further learn about pollination by examining flowers that have distinct flowers parts. This lesson supports the DCPS 2nd Grade ELA Unit From Seed to Plant. 

The purpose of this lesson is to introduce students to ecosystems through an investigation of their school garden. Students will search for abiotic and biotic elements of the school garden ecosystem and discuss how these nonliving and living elements depend on each other. This lesson supports the DCPS 3rd grade ELA Unit The Living World and the Science Unit Environments and the Traits of Organisms.​