Lessons

The purpose of this lesson is for students to learn about the different jobs needed to support a farm and bring food to the table. They will discuss what it takes to make the school garden grow and compare this to what it might take to manage a large farm. The lesson supports the DCPS Kindergarten ELA Unit Community Workers. 

The purpose of this lesson is for students to investigate why people use maps, how maps help people, and the different types of maps that people use. Students will explore the similarities between maps and recipes and then navigate their school garden using a map they create. This lesson supports the DCPS 1st Grade Social Studies Unit Getting Around Town.

The purpose of this lesson is to learn about the Three Sisters Garden, and why Native Americans planted corn, beans, and squash together. Students will learn how these three plants benefit one another and thrive together, as well as other examples of companion planting. Students will read the legend and explore how the theme of the Three Sisters applies to their own lives, build models of the plants, and design a Three Sisters Garden. ​

The purpose of this lesson is for students to investigate changes over time in food growing, farming, and storage technology. They will explore the evolution of technology by using three different tools to make flour, making their own butter, and working with different garden tools to compare efficiency. This lesson supports the DCPS 2nd grade ELA Unit Then and Now.

The purpose of this lesson is to study how the movement of people in the United States impacted their foodways or eating and cooking practices. Students will learn how the foodways of Native Americans, enslaved Africans, and European Colonists evolved during the time of Western Expansion. They will practice traditional methods of making flour from a variety of nuts and grains, drying herbs, and saving seeds. This lesson connects to the DCPS 5th grade ELA Unit Westward Expansion and Social Studies Unit, Problems and Perspectives on Progress: Westward Expansion.

The purpose of this lesson is for students to explore the role of inventions and innovations in the garden and kitchen.  Students will design their own invention after carefully observing the innovative features of tools in their kitchen classroom and school garden. They will also explore biomimicry and look at examples of inventions that were inspired by nature. This lesson supports the 5th Grade DCPS ELA Unit The Process of Discovery and the Development of Inventions.