Unifying Concepts and Processes

Curriculum Connections

Submitted by editor on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 17:38

Developing Young Scientists

Like real scientists, your students must learn keen observation to take in information and record details of what they see. After all, it's only after someone has really seen something that he or she can make sense of it. Photography can be a great learning and assessment tool for capturing observations, documenting experiments, and revealing student understanding. Here are some ideas to spark your thinking:

Urban Weather Investigations

Overview

Weather is a challenge for all gardeners, but urban landscapes have unique climate issues caused by man's manipulation of the land, including including the phenomena of heat islands and excessive runoff during rainstorms. In this lesson, students will investigate urban temperature and rain patterns.

Objectives

Students will take data and make observations of temperature, rainfall, and stormwater runoff patterns, and discuss the impact these might have on their school garden.

Exploring Natural Cycles

Submitted by admin on Tue, 02/16/2010 - 12:22

Question: Cycles found in nature are a large part of our state-mandated standards of learning. Which ones, besides life cycles, can be explored using a school garden?

Answer: Many natural cycles can be observed and explored using the garden. Here are a few examples and ideas for each:

The Plant-Soil Relationship

By:

NGA Editors

Overview

Students investigate the relationship between plants and soil.

Getting a Charge Out of Inquiry

"My fourth graders had finished an electrical unit, and we moved on to growing plants and studying plant needs," said Painted Post, NY, teacher Carolyn Perry. "Then one curious student suggested that since plants have certain needs and since electricity could produce some of those components, such as heat and light, perhaps electrical current would help plants grow better." With support from Dan Fitch, Science Training Specialist in the district, Carolyn's class secured materials to test some "shocking" hypotheses.

Seasonal Sleuths

Submitted by admin on Thu, 05/28/2009 - 08:26

Investigating Weather

"Our lives are so affected by weather-related changes that occur throughout the year here in the North, that my third graders and I regularly track signs of seasonal changes," reports Wayzata, MN, teacher Rick Johns.