In this collection of lessons, students will engage in hands-on activities that explore the practices of organic farming. Students will complete a rotation of four activities: soil investigation, cultivation, planting cover crops, and creating a compost pile.
In this lesson students will explore the guiding principles that inform and define organic agriculture. Students will identify and discuss the four principles of organic before delving into the ecology of a garden.
The process of direct seeding (also called direct sowing) involves planting seeds in the garden, rather than buying small plants or starting seeds indoors and transplanting them outside. This lesson will walk you through the steps of direct seeding so you are ready to direct seed something yourself!
Building a planter box is a simple way to start gardening. This lesson will help you build your own planter box using a few simple items that you can get at any hardware or garden store or by upcycling things you have already.
Seeds are extraordinary! For example, one tiny tomato seed will grow into a beautiful tomato plant that can produce over ten pounds of tomatoes! The life of nearly all plants we eat starts as a seed.
Did you know that a lot of the produce in your kitchen will sprout new growth just by putting it in water or soil? This activity explores growing food from the ends and scraps of produce in your kitchen.
In this sixth grade science class, students will begin to understand the process of decomposition and learn about the organisms responsible for breaking down matter. Students will also begin to make the connection with finished compost as food for plants in the garden.
In this sixth-grade science lesson, students explore and study flowers like scientists do, learn about and practice scientific drawing, label a flower's structures and their function, and discuss their findings, questions, and ideas.
This lesson explores the science behind our sense of smell. Students will watch a video that introduces them to how smell works in the brain and body. Next, students will explore the aromas of spices in their home cabinets.
