Trash Garden

Leighann Jones
3rd Grade/ Environmental Science

Common Core
http://education.ohio.gov/Topics/Early-Learning/Early-Learning-Content-Standards
http://education.ohio.gov/getattachment/Topics/Ohios-LearningStandards/Science/ScienceStandards.pdf.aspx

Lesson Summary:
Students will create a garden made from sustainable foods, watch them grow, observe
the progress of plants each week and create a digital poster book using glogster.com to
observe and record the growth of each plant. Students will incorporate related
vocabulary into their visual journals.
Estimated Duration:
This lesson will take about 2 hours. I plan on dividing the lesson into sections. There will
be 5 sections about 20 minutes each.
Commentary:
By using an assortment of vegetables, we will discuss various meals these vegetables
can be used in. What is their favorite and least favorite?
By assigning children to bring in scraps from home, this will get parents involved and
participating in the students lesson.
I think one of the challenges will be that some kids do not like vegetables. I think that
creating a visual journal and letting them research using the computes in the lab will
get them excited about the experiment.

Instructional Procedures:
Day 1: Introduction discussion (first 10-15 minutes) - We will discuss what sustainable
foods are and how we can reuse scraps from various vegetables and grow a new plant.
This discussion will be used to assess the students knowledge and understanding of
gardening, related vocabulary and the environment needed to successfully grow some
of these fruits and vegetables.
Creating our visual journals using glogster at http://edu.glogster.com (20 minutes) During this discussion we will begin to make our digital poster using glogster. Each
student will have access to an IPad to take pictures and track the progress of their
garden. Students will be instructed to create their first poster which will be an
introduction to the digital poster book. Students must select a title for the first poster
and include pictures and their name. This will be done while we talk about what kind of
fruits and vegetables we want to grow in our classroom. By creating a visual journal this
will give the students an opportunity to be creative and have fun. Throughout the
experiment they will be using their observation skills to describe the progress of their
vegetables. This way students can visually measure the progress, take pictures of the
vegetables, use their senses to describe the feel, smell and taste and later they will
have the digital poster book to reflect on.
Day 2: Introducing Gardening Vocabulary (20-30 minutes) I will be creating a
vocabulary list and we will have spelling tests on the following words. Each word has
been chosen to relate to the garden experiment. There will be two sets of spelling lists
and two tests. Vocabulary will be used throughout each lesson and the students will be
instructed to use each word in their visual journal. Homework will consist of practicing
their spelling and copying down a set of 5 words, 10 times each.
Grow
Roots
Sprout
Soil
Sunlight
Reduce
Reuse
Recycle
Observe
Earth

Shovel
Lettuce
Onion
Celery
Vegetable
Science
Weather
Water
Air
Garden

Day 3: IPad Research (30 minutes) - Students will be instructed look up and research
sustainable foods and how to grow them. Students will be instructed to use the IPad to
research what materials will be needed to create our classroom garden. Students should
know and understand that we will need light, water, soil and air to grow our garden by

the end of our research.

Day 4: Setting up our Trash Garden (30-40 minutes) - Gather materials, set up
experiment area and begin preparing our planters. Set out glass bowls and add water to
each bowl. Some bowls will need soil for the onions.
Directions:

Romaine Lettuce- Fill glass bowls with an inch and a half of water and set base of
romaine lettuce in the water. Water should be changed daily. Progress will begin
within 3 days.

Carrots- Use fresh carrots, cut off the top of the carrot 2 inches from the crown of
the carrot. Place the carrots in a clear container and put the carrot tops in with the
cut side facing down. Add enough water to submerge half of the carrot top. The
carrots will begin to sprout in 1-2 weeks. This will not grow the carrot root, only
the plant.

Celery- Place the base of the celery in two inches of water for 3 days. In 3 days
the celery can be replanted into soil. In 6 days you will begin to see the celery
grow through the soil.

Onions- Cut off 1.5 to 2 inches of the bottom of the onion. Let this dry for a couple
of days in a shaded area. You want to fill your bowl or pot about two thirds full and
compact the soil. Place the onion on top of the soil and then cover 1-2 inches of
additional soil. Once the onion begins to grow leaves, it is ready to be planted in
the ground. Cut down the leaves and keep water moist.

Materials needed: Clear glass bowls, water, soil, and planters. You will want to set this
up in an area of the classroom that brings in the most sunlight.
Students will take time to design their digital poster and describe what they see on day
one (20 minutes). We will be taking a few minutes to look at plants each day, take
pictures and talk about how the vegetables are changing (if we see any progress).
Day 5: The Magic School Bus Goes to Grow (about 20 minutes) I would love to
incorporate a show like The Magic School Bus Goes to Seed. I will also be encouraging
students to take home books about gardening from the library. In class we will read
Eddies Garden and How to Make Things Grow by Sarah Garland.
Day 6: Spelling Test (20 minutes) Students will have a written assessment on the
vocabulary introduced on day 1. This will be the 1st vocabulary test.
Day 7: Snacks from the Garden (20-30 minutes) - We will distribute the vegetables and

have a snack (ants on a log). During this time we will have a discussion about what did
in class with our garden. We will be taking 10-15 minutes to review all the steps and
look through our visual journals. Students will be encouraged to take the vegetables
home and use them in a meal. They can bring in a recipe, a picture of the meal or draw
a picture of the meal in their visual journal.
Day 8: Spelling Test (20 minutes) Students will have a written assessment on the
vocabulary introduced on day 1. This will be the 2nd vocabulary test.
Pre-Assessment:
An informal assessment of the students knowledge will be appropriate for this lesson. I
would like to start the assessment by taking a vote of which students like vegetables
and which do not. In order to determine what students already know I will ask a list of
questions such as:
What do plants, fruits and vegetables need to grow?
Is soil the same as dirt?
I will introduce some of the vocabulary at this point and what it means to
observe. Students will be asked to think of the tools and materials we need for our
trash garden.
Scoring Guidelines:
Students will be scored based upon their participation with the gardening, vocabulary
homework, vocabulary testing and visual journals for a total of 100 points throughout
the lesson.
Visual Journal Requirements (50 points for entire journal)
Front Cover: Name, title and cover page drawing (10 pts total).
Vegetable 1: 1 glogster poster with 3 pictures, date of observation
describing words (10 points total).
Vegetable 2: 1 glogster poster with 3 pictures, date of observation
describing words (10 points total).
Vegetable 3: 1 glogster poster with 3 pictures, date of observation
describing words (10 points total).
Vegetable 4: 1 glogster poster with 3 pictures, date of observation
describing words (10 points total).
Vocabulary Homework:
Assignment 1: 10 words copied 10 times each (10 points)
Assignment 2: 10 words copied 10 times each (10 points)
Vocabulary testing (20 points total)
Test 1: 10 points total, 1 point for each correctly spelled word.

and 3
and 3
and 3
and 3

Test 1: 10 points total, 1 point for each correctly spelled word.

Observance of active participation with Garden (10 points total)

Was the student engaged?
Did the student complete their journal?

Post-Assessment:
The post assessment will consist of the work the students each do for their digital
posters, vocabulary and reading as well as participation in the trash garden experiment.

Scoring Guidelines:
Visual Journal Requirements (50 points for entire journal)
Front Cover: Name, title and cover page drawing (10 points total).
Vegetable 1: 1 glogster poster with 3 pictures, date of observation
describing words (10 points total).
Vegetable 2: 1 glogster poster with 3 pictures, date of observation
describing words (10 points total).
Vegetable 3: 1 glogster poster with 3 pictures, date of observation
describing words (10 points total).
Vegetable 4: 1 glogster poster with 3 pictures, date of observation
describing words (10 points total).

and 3
and 3
and 3
and 3

Vocabulary Homework:
Assignment 1: 10 words copied 10 times each (10 points)
Assignment 2: 10 words copied 10 times each (10 points)
Vocabulary testing (20 points total)
Test 1: 10 points total, 1 point for each correctly spelled word.
Test 2: 10 points total, 1 point for each correctly spelled word.

Differentiated Instructional Support

Students will be encouraged to help others with their digital poster book. Accelerated
students can be challenged with an extra credit assignment by using the plants grown
in a recipe. They can bring in the dish to share with the class and walk us through the
recipe.
Discuss additional activities you could do to meet the needs of students who might be

struggling with the material: While some students may be up to par with the learning
that this experiment provides, others may struggle. Some students may need help from
their peers with the technology. Some students may need more one on one attention
with the reading, writing and spelling. Students will be encouraged to work together
collectively with the garden which will be helpful for those who are not as confident.

Extension
http://education.ohio.gov/getattachment/Topics/Early-Learning/Early-Learning-ContentStandards/Ohios-Kindergarten-Through-Grade-3-Learning-and-D/K-3-Standards.pdf.aspx
http://education.ohio.gov/getattachment/Topics/Ohios-LearningStandards/Science/ScienceStadards.pdf.aspx
The sites listed above are sites that refer to the Ohio Education Standards for each
grade level. These sites provide each lesson topic and describe what should be learned
by the students. This can be used to incorporate the standards in your classroom
lessons.

Homework Options and Home Connections

HW 1: Bring in scraps from vegetable plants at home. Carrots, onions, celery, ginger
root, sweet potato and pineapple. I will try to use a wide variety in hopes that each
student will like the taste and smell of at least one of these options. I will also be
bringing in scraps to the classroom. By assigning this homework, students are
encouraged to get their families involved with their classroom work and discuss what
they are leaning at home. This gives the parents an opportunity to engage in their
childs education.
HW 2: Homework will consist of practicing their spelling and copying down a set of 5
words, 10 times each.

Interdisciplinary Connections
Students will not only be working on their garden experiment, they will be working with
an IPad and will become more comfortable with the technology being used for the
digital posters, learning about soil, learning how to reduce and reuse waste and what
sustainable living means. Students will be tested and strengthened on their vocabulary,
reading and writing skills.

Materials and Resources:

For teachers

For students

IPads for each student in the classroom and access to

glogster.com for their digital posters we will be making in
class.

Clear glass bowls, water, soil, and planters. You will want to
set this up in an area of the classroom that brings in the most
sunlight.

IPads

Gardening tools

Gloves.

Key Vocabulary
Grow
Roots

Shovel
Lettuce

Sprout
Soil
Sunlight
Reduce
Reuse
Recycle
Observe
Earth

Onion
Celery
Vegetable
Science
Weather
Water
Air
Garden