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Using gardening to teach academics One of the first questions many instructors and administrators ask after
learning about this curriculum is:
Current research points to the superiority of "hands-on
learning" for fully engaging a child's brain. A garden is a great
example of this type of teaching setting. The child can easily make the
connection between the abstract concept of a seed becoming a plant because
the child can see the transformation. The plant's obvious life cycle
demonstrates the notion of cycles that many curricula include as an
important concept. The garden cycle becomes one example of many types of
cycles. The students can understand that a cycle is a repeating,
predictable pattern because they have observed it. Outdoor gardens become living laboratories -- contexts in
which many state and locally-mandated standards in science, mathematics,
history, geography, language arts, art, music and physical education can
be addressed. For example, students can grasp how living things adapt to
their environments in a butterfly garden; garden planning and design
requires mathematical problem solving and practice. The connections are
endless, and the rewards can be, too! A garden also
stimulates many senses. For kinetic learners, the garden allows the
hands-on exploration they need for effective learning. Intuitive
learners find that the garden allows them to make predictions and to see
how those predictions work out in a concrete manner. For children who
struggle with small-motor skills, the garden helps to develop such skills
as they work with seeds, seedlings and weeding in a manner that is
enjoyable. For children who are imaginative, the garden becomes a source
of inspiration for adventures. For visual learners, there is much to
observe. Because the garden setting can meet the needs of many learning
styles, it is a setting that deserves to be used by teachers. Integrating
gardening into your curriculum Plants
are important, and it is critical that students gain both an understanding
of plant function, and an appreciation for all that they do for us. We eat
them, wear them, live in shelters made from them, breathe oxygen they
provide - even write on them, fuel our cars and homes from their decaying
remains, and use products made from them each and every day. Gardening
is an exciting, approachable way to teach kids about plants. A gardening
project doesn't need to be one more thing added to your already full
plate; by integrating it into the curriculum, gardening can be easy and
interdisciplinary. The
following are examples of ways to integrate gardening into your existing
curriculum. These are just examples; you will certainly think of other
ideas that are appropriate for your age group, and for your educational
setting. Social
Studies/History/Geography How do you teach about social studies by looking to plants?
Let's take three examples: the "Three Sisters" (corn,
beans, and squash), potatoes and rice.
Legends,
practices and
ceremonies have evolved around these plantings. Exploring the importance of these crops to native peoples -
and now, to people all over the world - can provide a very different
perspective of the farmers who gave the gift of corn to the world. What a
unique way to explore native culture! Kids love French fries and potato
chips, and eat them by the handful, but how many children realize that
potatoes are native to what is now Peru and Bolivia? Potatoes were brought
to Europe by Spanish conquistadors, where it took a long time to convince
people that they were indeed edible. They eventually became an extremely
important crop in Ireland and Russia. The Irish potato famine came about
in the 1840s when late blight affected the potato crop. At that time
people were living on about 10 pounds of potatoes each day, so when the
crop began to fail, people either starved, or emigrated to the U.S. Again,
a fascinating portion of history is directly linked to an important food
crop....one that is easy to explore in a vegetable garden! Which grain is eaten by more
people in the world that any other? Rice! This can be an interesting way
to explore the peoples of Southeast Asia. Like the native peoples of the
Americas and their corn, many of the cultures of Southeast Asia have
evolved ceremonies and practices over centuries and centuries, related to
rice culture.
Another option to consider is using gardening as a means to teach students about Iowa history and pioneer settlement. Establish a garden design that includes species native to Iowa's prairies, wetlands, savannahs or forests. Have students research what plant species would have been encountered by early pioneers who settled in their region of the state. Do these plants still exist today? Are there some species that are threatened, endangered or have disappeared from the area?
In lieu of establishing an Iowa native plant gardens, students could establish a pioneer medicinal garden or vegetable garden. Many Iowa students have visited or plan to visit Iowa's Living History Farms. This is a wonderful place to learn about produce commonly grown by early settlers. In addition, you can learn about the medicinal quality of plants grown or found wild that was used by Native Americans and pioneers who lived in Iowa. Language
Arts One of the easiest ways to connect language arts to the
garden is by keeping a garden journal. This is a practice that helps young
people organize their thoughts, get into the habit of keeping records, and
practice their writing and communication skills. Reading stories can be fun and
educational; your library has a surprising number of books related to
gardening. Consider carrying out a drama or writing garden-inspired
poetry. Reading poetry can be a way to learn more about people's feelings
about plants. You may want to involve your
children in making a booklet that describes your gardening project to
share with area businesses. Have them write about how beautiful the garden
is, or what they are learning from it. As you approach potential financial
sponsors or volunteers, sharing this work from the children will set your
project apart from others, while also giving them a good exercise in
communication/language skills. Another idea is to make a garden
calendar, and involve the students in each step. They can research what to
include on the calendar for each month, and carefully write entries into
each month. Sell it as a school or classroom fund-raiser. Marketing this
product - or marketing produce at the school or at a farmer's market - is
another excellent communications exercise.
Creative Arts Involve children in designing the garden, which could take
many interesting approaches. The possibilities are enormous when it comes
to creative arts. Make plant markers with common and Latin names, and make
signs for north, south, east and west. Scarecrows are fun and creative.
Leaf rubbings, drawing and paintings are a natural series of activities
that can evolve from looking closely at plants. In fact, as children begin
to look closely as they are drawing plants, they will even discover more
about them. Other activities include making solar blueprints, toad houses,
root view boxes, solar dryers and rain gauges.
Why not have students make herbal vinegars from the herbs,
create a beautiful label, and sell them to raise money for new plants. Make paper, and add flecks of shredded flower petals -
beautiful! Make potpourri; press flowers and make pressed flower pictures.
Use the paper as the background. Music Much of our folk music reflects our love for the land, and
for the garden. Learn the lyrics to songs such as Oats, Peas, Beans and
Barley, This Land is Your Land, America the Beautiful, or The
Garden Song (Inch by Inch, Row by Row). Discuss what the songs say
about us as a people. If you grow gourds, you may want to make drums and
rattles from them. Music is a different experience when children make the
instruments, and are involved with every stage of a small performance. Learn a madrigal; explore the symbolic use of flowers in
ancient music; explore flowers in contemporary music. Science This is probably the easiest connection of all. Important
science process skills come alive when children are gardening: observing,
raising questions, predicting, finding relationships, designing
investigations, inferring and communicating. Garden science includes exploring seeds, finding out more
about plants' basic needs, learning about plants as food makers, learning
more about soil, discovering details about plant reproduction, exploring diversity
in the plant world, and learning about interdependence - how much we, in
particular, depend on plants. Research what a plant’s Latin name tells us about the
growth habits of some of the plants. Compare the leaves and flowers from
different plants. Explore flowers - why are they attractive, and how are
they pollinated? Math There are many opportunities to work math into gardening.
Here are a few ideas: compare heights of children to the heights of
plants; and figure out the numbers and kinds of seed and transplants
needed. Laying out the garden also involves math. Estimate the heights of plants, then measure. How do the
estimates compare? Measure the diameter of the flowers, How do they
compare? Which is largest? Smallest? What is the average diameter? Taking data and measurements is such an obvious connection,
but perhaps the most meaningful math link is -- there is a reason for
doing the math! Environmental
Awareness/Stewardship There are many paths to environmental consciousness. For
instance, in a habitat garden the focus is on providing an appropriate
habitat for the desired wildlife. This creates many opportunities to
discuss the need for healthy environments and what makes an environment
healthy. You can demonstrate that if you don't have certain key plant
species, you won't find certain animal species; after the introduction of
those plants, you will have those animals. In any garden, if you concentrate on improving soil quality
organically, you can teach about the cycles of nature and about how the
ecosystem is linked together, with one part dependent on another, and how
we are part of that system. Recycling garden waste in the compost pile, demonstrating
the dependency of the garden on critical environmental inputs (water,
light, and nutrition), and studying how pollution affects growth in
side-by-side beds with one bed treated in a healthy manner and the other
in a polluted manner are all concrete ways to demonstrate environmental
concepts. Over time, with repeated observations, children become conscious that the environment is something to respect and think of all the time. It may take several years to develop "awareness" fully, but each garden along the way can contribute to the overall result. Physical
Education Gardening is the number one hobby of adults in the U.S.
Teaching students about gardening at a young age introduces them to a
hobby that can help to keep them active and healthy for the rest of their
lives. Working in a garden is good physical activity. Learning how to
handle tools and lift and carry properly is an important part of
gardening. Social
Concerns/Community Service By its very nature, gardening is a cooperative, collective
experience. In a culture that places so much emphasis on competition, it
can be refreshing to work as a group to design, plant and care for a
garden, and then harvest the bounty together. You can share your project with the community by taking
flowers to a nursing home or local hospital; involve children with special
needs in your project; and hold an open house for volunteers and donors to
say thank you. Computer
Technology It's becoming increasingly easy to combine gardening and computer technology - all you need to do is look at the overwhelming number of resources on the Internet to see how. The Internet is a great research tool for discovering garden designs, plant profiles, plant suppliers and prices, and gardening tips. There
are even on-line resources that let you enter your growing conditions
(zone, Older students attending computer drafting classes can apply their skills in the design of the garden space or creation of features such as benches, a trellis, bean poles, etc. Adapting
the curriculum for age-appropriate learning Early
elementary students, Ages 6-7: Your student’s improving
reading and math skills add new depth to gardening fun. Now students can
make plant markers, read seed packets, pour over catalogs, and pay for
nursery plants. And yet they're still wide-eyed and open to nature's
mysteries. Soil, holes and water hold endless fascination, as do bugs. Your students can build garden
structures, start seeds, enter flower and gardening contests, and create
scarecrows that look like one of the scariest characters in the Harry
Potter books. Many
students at this age are involved in independent studies, such as
"eighth-grade challenges," to demonstrate their mastery of a
subject. These are the years when a gardening project guided by a biology
teacher or other instructor may set some youngsters on career paths. Who
knows, you may have a budding botanist or future horticulturist attending
your school. Convincing
school administrators that gardening is a worthwhile venture Teachers often are required to convince school
administrators about the educational benefits of classroom gardening
before they can begin. One of
the most powerful justifications is the fact that "practice by
doing" lessons have a 75 percent content retention rate. The Web site http://www.outdoorclassroom.org/
presents a "Retention Pyramid" that rates various content
delivery methods with retention rates. Its data shows a lecture with 5
percent retention, reading with 10 percent, audiovisual presentations with
20 percent, demonstrations with 30 percent, discussion groups with 50
percent, "practice by doing" with 75 percent, and teaching
others or immediate use with 90 percent. With focused efforts, the garden becomes a hands-on
delivery model of instruction. Unlike the home garden, which is more
casual in its approach, each garden activity should be linked to specific
curriculum goals so that the time is justifiable as instructional content
time, not just relaxation out-of-doors. Test scores should improve if children retain higher
content knowledge levels, and from the data cited, one would expect
they would if involved in the garden. And, if the "teaching
others/immediate use" statistics are correct, the teacher can expect
to learn about school gardening much more fully than he or she could any
other way.
Last updated: May 14, 2002
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