The Arizona STEM Acceleration Project
Build a School Garden
Build a School Garden
A 4th grade STEM lesson
Author
Nicole Goodwin
Date 6/4/2024
Notes for teachers
This lesson can stand alone or be used after lessons 1, 2 and 3. This lesson took the least amount of time for students and may be used as lesson 1 for students.
In this lesson students will examine vertical gardening options. Students will figure out the ground space vs- the growing space of the garden. (Hint- for 4th graders you are going to want to keep all vertical growing options square for area calculations)
Students will plan (and plant if possible) a vertical
garden.
Students will write an paragraph explaining the benefits of vertical gardening.
Students will participate in a class discussion and could be given the option to revise their choice if time permits.
List of Materials
Standards
3-5-ETS1-1. Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.
3-5-ETS1-2. Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
Standards
4.NF.B Build fractions from unit fractions by applying and extending previous understanding of operations on whole numbers.
4.MD.B Represent and interpret data
Objectives:
Today you will examine vertical gardening and choose a vertical garden to design and plant.
Agenda (40 minutes with included scaffolds/ 90 minutes with full student created models.)
Intro/Driving Question/Opening
Your principal is so excited about your garden she is starting a gardening club! Each member of the club will get to plan and plant their own garden! There is a catch! There is a very small amount of space and you will have to choose 1 of 3 vertical garden designs. Each pair of students can must plant at least 2 different types of plants up to 6 different types of plants.
Work through the following information to determine what type of garden you can plant with such a small amount of space!
Step 1
Determine the pros and cons of different gardening beds.
Partner A- read paragraph 1
Partner B- summarize what partner B read in one sentence.
Switch Roles
Partner A- Highlight the pros of each material in green
Partner B-Highlight the pros of each material in pink.
Both partners compares pros and make changes id needed.
Step 1 (option 2)
As a group discuss the pros and cons of each type of vertical garden and create a class anchor chart for students to refer to in the next steps.
Step 2
Use the following to determine
Pocket Planter
36”L x 24”W
9 pockets
Tower Planter
12”L x 12”W
15 spaces
Ladder Planter
24”L x 12” W
6 planters with 2 spaces each
Hands-on Activity Instructions
Use whatever tools they select to create the fractional model of their garden.
Step 4 Choose and model your plants
Make a fractional model for each vertical garden.
Remember: Basil, tarragon, rosemary, parsley, oregano, cucumbers, melons, tomatoes, pole beans, bush beans, peppers, rainbow chard, eggplant, okra, strawberries grow well.
Make sure that each garden has:
At least 2 different types of plants
No more than 6 types of plants.
Has 1 plant for each section of your garden.
Step 3 Select your final planter
What planter did you choose?
What plants did you choose?
Complete the students work mat.
Assessment
In CGI students are tasked with using what they know about math to solve open ended problems. The teacher is tasked with guiding the students through the problem solving process through questioning. The mathematics in the lesson do not have a teacher model on purpose they are designed to elicit student thinking and give insight into the strategies that students use to solve complex problems. The teacher would record students thinking and responses as a means to assess student progress in problem solving. These are some observations that would be helpful to record as students are working on the problem.
Did group accurately represent the 3 gardens in fractions.
Did groups accurately reduce fractions? What strategy did they use to do this?
Are students using unit fractions for their expression at the end or their reduced fractions?
Did students need manipulatives to create their models (concrete) or were they able to create the model directly on the graph provided?
Can the student explain their mathematical thinking.
Assessment - Group Conversation
Pick one math problem to focus on for class discussion.
Use the sentence stems to discuss their problem-solving methods. For the purposes of this lesson teachers will want to focus on the evaluation portion.
Differentiation
Complete the article and highlighting with students whole group instead of in partner pairs.
Change the number of compartments in planters to multiples of 2. Students are used to working with 2’s
Limit the number of planter choices to 2 from 3.
Omit the question about the numerical expression for each planter.
Have students share orally instead of writing the paragraph.
Remediation
Extension/Enrichment
Students can be given a specific area for their vertical gardens and create models within that given space.
Number of compartments of required number of plants can be modified to increase rigor.
Students can refer back to the yield chart from lesson to and challenged to plant a garden with a specific or highest yield. (this chart is not adapted for plants what will grow vertically)