What You Will Need

Note: This is an ongoing project and will require regular watering and weeding to maintain the garden.

• Outdoor garden space (see Lesson Tips)
• Packs of colorful plant seeds or seedlings such as the following (see Lesson Tips):
  • Red or pink (check seed packs to determine color) – dianthus, petunia, verbena, zinnia
  • Yellow or orange – calendula, marigold, zinnia
  • Green – mint, basil, or parsley
  • Blue or purple (check seed packs to determine color) – dianthus, petunia, verbena, zinnia
• Small spades – 1 per child
• Watering cans

What To Do

1. Ask the children to name the things that they, as human beings, need in order to grow (e.g., food, water, air, safe place to live).
2. Take the children outside (or look out the window), and discuss the living things that are growing outside.
3. Ask the children what they think these things need to grow (see Guiding Student Inquiry).
4. Display the seed packs or seedlings, and ask the children where they think a good place would be for these plants to grow.
5. Tell the children that they are going to plant the seeds (or seedlings) in a garden and learn about caring for living things.
6. Take the children outside to the designated area (see Lesson Tips).
7. If planting seeds, have the children dig narrow troughs in the soil in parallel rows about 1"–2" deep.
8. If planting seedlings, have the children dig a hole that is twice the size of the plant container. Do this for each plant.
9. Help the children place the seeds about 1" apart in the soil trough and carefully cover the seeds with soil. If planting seedlings, carefully remove them from their containers and place each one in a hole (see Lesson Tips).
10. Discuss the needs of the plants and what the children will need to do to care for their garden (see Guiding Student Inquiry).
11. Water the plants or seeds daily. Sprouts from seeds should emerge in 10–14 days.
12. Visit the garden site daily, and have the children observe the changes.

Guiding Student Inquiry

• Tell me the things that you as a human being need to grow.
• Tell me some things that you see growing outside.
• Tell me what you think other living things need to grow.
• Explain what is the same about what you need and what other living things need.
• Describe what you can do to take care of your garden.
• Describe how the garden has changed.

Explore, Extend & Integrate

• You could have the children keep journals about their garden. Give children sheets of plain paper, pencils, and crayons to draw pictures of the garden. They could document changes over time. For instance, they could draw pictures on the day of planting, once the seedlings emerge, when buds appear on the stems, and when the flowers bloom. Date the drawings to follow the progression of the changes over time.
• Vegetable plants can be planted in place of or in addition to the flowers. Many vegetable plants such as tomatoes, cucumbers, and pumpkins flower before the vegetables appear on the stems. The vegetables can be cared for, harvested, and eaten.
• This lesson could be extended to a study on the life cycle of plants.

Check for Children’s Understanding

• Could children name food, water, air, and a safe place to live as the things that they, as human beings, need to grow?
• Could children name living things growing outside?
• Could children state that living things need food, water, air, and a safe place to live?
• Could children explain that all living things need the same things to survive?
• Could children describe watering and weeding as what they will need to do to take care of their garden?
• Could children describe the changes in their garden?

Resources

Lesson Tips
Books^[1]
Home/School Connections
Las Conexiones a la Casa