At each stage of teaching students how to plant a garden, the process should always be viewed in stereo. Every lesson that pertains to a garden will have a matching, broader, and more important lesson for life because properly planting and tending a garden is so parallel to planting and tending to a dream, a life, or an endeavor.
In this vein, the first and most important lesson students should learn is that everything – every garden, every dream, every endeavor – will be far more likely to flourish if it is accompanied by a plan. Not one that is necessarily set in concrete, but at least an outline of the main steps needed to map out major stops along the journey.
This lesson is a first introduction into that idea without necessarily making its connection to real life explicit. It is a “get the juices flowing so that students have at least one concrete experience with the idea before we extend it to other things” kind of lesson.
Some Discussion Questions for the Lesson (1 to 2 sessions):
1. Assuming your group is thinking about starting a garden, one of the more important questions right of the bat is, what does the group want to plant in the garden? Begin with that question to get a feel for what students are thinking.
Consider this first question an invitation to brainstorm and dream big. Which is to say, let all suggestions and ideas stand. Add each one to a list via sticky notes on a wall, markers on a whiteboard, or pencils on some easel paper. If someone says palm trees, go with it. Lilacs, pumpkins, roses, avocadoes, rice, whatever, write it up.
2. Once you have a solid list, the second phase of the discussion is simple: Ask students if they think all these plants would be good candidates for your garden. Ask them to explain their answer as to why or why not.
Have fun with this part of the discussion. Some plants will be obvious fails to fit your space, and for good reason. But play devil’s advocate and help student’s look for alternatives – who knows, maybe you’ll be able to plant that palm tree in their school’s main atrium and perhaps the principal will not mind mushrooms in the gym’s basement.
3. Hopefully, someplace during this discussion, someone will have mentioned that the local climate matters. If not, nudge them towards that realization with a few leading questions. Compliment whoever came/comes up with the idea that the weather you have in your region is important. Then use their observation as a springboard for a discussion of “growing zones.”
Take a look at the figure below this paragraph if you are unsure of the various growing zoner. And, prior to your group’s discussion, take a moment to watch the short video beside it, which will tell you all you need to know for yours and your students’ purposes.
4. If you want to bring math into the discussion, this is the perfect chance. That is because growing zones are defined by the average minimum temperature in a particular local, within a window from that average to five degrees higher. The concept of averages and the math necessary to quickly find them are on almost every math achievement test going or math graduation test you can find.
The concepts a student needs to know surrounding averages are:
- How are the terms “mean,” “average,” and “balance” related?
- What does the term, “measures of central tendency” mean?
- What is the difference between the mean (i.e. the average), the median, and the mode.
- What are two ways to find the average of two numbers (the standard way and, once students have a deeper conceptual understanding) an easier way.
- How does this idea of balance make it easy to find the average of a group of three or more large numbers without having to use a calculator?
- And, finally, how does a person go about finding the median and the mode of a set of numbers?
We hope this is a helpful outline, and we will be adding links to each outline point with more detailed exercises possibilities for each point.
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