Gardens & the Curriculum
The Georgia Standards curriculum at each grade level includes content which can be demonstrated or enriched by activities in a garden. Because of this, the University of Georgia has created an extensive list of curriculum objectives which can be met by using a school garden as a learning resource. Clicking on a grade level listed below will link to garden-based lessons plans in Earth Science, Life Science, English & Language Arts, Math, and Social Studies. Because of the ever-changing nature of the Internet, some of the links may be broken, but most lead to plans useful in the classroom.
Kindergarten
First Grade
Second Grade
Third Grade
Fourth Grade
Fifth Grade
The Georgia Standards curriculum at each grade level includes content which can be demonstrated or enriched by activities in a garden. Because of this, the University of Georgia has created an extensive list of curriculum objectives which can be met by using a school garden as a learning resource. Clicking on a grade level listed below will link to garden-based lessons plans in Earth Science, Life Science, English & Language Arts, Math, and Social Studies. Because of the ever-changing nature of the Internet, some of the links may be broken, but most lead to plans useful in the classroom.
Kindergarten
First Grade
Second Grade
Third Grade
Fourth Grade
Fifth Grade
LifeLab's Garden Curriculum
An award-winning resource that correlates lessons in the garden with national curriculum standards is The Growing Classroom: Garden-Based Science and Nutrition Activity Guide (4th ed.), available in Burch's Media Center. Based on nearly 40 years of experience working with children of all ages, the book is divided into 10 sections:
An award-winning resource that correlates lessons in the garden with national curriculum standards is The Growing Classroom: Garden-Based Science and Nutrition Activity Guide (4th ed.), available in Burch's Media Center. Based on nearly 40 years of experience working with children of all ages, the book is divided into 10 sections:
- Let's Work Together: Problem-solving and Communication
- We Are All Scientists: Awareness and Discovery
- The Living Earth: Soil
- All About Plants
- Living Laboratory: Outdoor Gardening
- Cycles and Changes
- Interdependence and Garden Ecology
- Garden Creatures
- Weather and Climate
- Healthy Eating
Garden Earth Naturalist Club.
A joint project of The State Botanical Garden of Georgia, The Georgia Museum of Natural History, and Georgia 4-H, the Garden Earth Naturalist website includes modules useful for meeting learning standards in the elementary grades.
Teacher materials include a description of the standards addressed, instructional PowerPoints, background resources, and instructions for in-class and homework activities. For example, the Soil Module which includes content for grades 3-5 includes information and activities related to ecosystems, worms, and erosion as well as step-by-step instructions for assessing soil quality at the school. Students learn how to take soil samples and how to send them to the county cooperative extension office for evaluation.