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Lesson Title and Description
From Seed to Pretzel In this three part lesson, classes will follow the journey of a wheat seed, from planting in the garden beds in early autumn, tending the crop through the winter months, harvesting and processing in the spring, and finally using their wheat flour to bake a pretzel at the end of the academic year. Along the way they will study the structure of the wheat plant, learn about how societies produce wheat and other grains for consumption, and have a hand in each step of their pretzel’s production cycle. |
Alignment with California State Standards
State History and Social Studies Standards: 2.4.1 Describe food production and consumption long ago and today, including the role of farmers, processors, distributors, weather, land and water resources. 2.4.2 Understand the role and interdependence of buyers (consumers) and sellers (producers). Understand how limits on resources affect production and consumption (what to produce and what to consume). |
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Lesson Title and Description
What's My Habitat? Students match animals with plants in the garden they provide habitat for them and in doing so learn about the interdependence of plants and animals and the relationship between plant diversity and animal diversity. They also learn how to be a citizen scientist by documenting the diversity of plants and animals in the school garden. |
Alignment with California State Standards
Next Generation Science Standard: 2-LS4.1 Students can make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats. |
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Lesson Title and Description
Dirt Detectives Students investigate the physical properties of soil as they explore the contents of garden soil, discover that the components of soil have different densities, and conduct an experiment to determine which types of soil hold the most water. |
Alignment with California State Standards
Next Generation Science Standard: 2-PS1-1 Plan and conduct an investigation to describe and classify different kinds of materials by their observable properties |
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Lesson Title and Description
Traveling Seeds Students investigate the different methods of seed dispersal and work in small groups to design, test and present their own seed dispersal mechanisms. |
Alignment with California State Standards
Next Generation Science Standard: 2-LS2-2 Develop a simple model that mimics the function of an animal in dispersing seeds or pollinating plants. |
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Lesson Title and Description
Garden Treasures Students review coordinate graphing as they work in pairs to locate “treasures” in the garden using a life-sized coordinate grid. They also create a scaled coordinate map of their school’s garden. |
Alignment with California State Standards
Social Studies Content Standard: 2.2 Students demonstrate map skills by describing the absolute and relative locations of people, places, and environments. 1. Locate on a simple letter-number grid system the specific locations and geographic features in their neighborhood or community (e.g., map of the classroom, the school). |
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Lesson Title and Description
Flower Power Students will conduct field investigations and observations allowing them to experience the interdependence of plants and animals and understand the importance of pollinators. While in the garden, students will participate in a Citizen Science investigation, collecting data on the number of pollinators in their garden spaces, learn about the structures which enable flowering plants to reproduce, and even get to taste test some honey made by local bees. |
Alignment with California State Standards
Next Generation Science Standard: 2-LS2-2 Develop a simple model that mimics the function of an animal dispersing seeds or pollinating plants. |