Free Garden Lesson Plans: "G" is for Gardening

When March ushers in spring, many teachers begin learning units on gardens. Garden lesson plans have always been important but are "growing" in popularity as families and even some schools turn to planting their own Victory gardens or organic gardens.

Tip: When planning a gardening theme unit, put the word out to parents and co-workers that you'd love to have any seed catalogs that will no doubt be coming in their mailboxes. Also, seed packets, even empty ones, can be a great resource for your garden lesson plans.

Since great books always plant the seeds for great learning, here are a few of our favorite books on gardens, gardening and plants.

Reading: Fiction Books on Gardening

My Garden by award winning author Kevin Henkes. Many children will be familiar Lily's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes. My Garden is a fun and brilliantly illustrated books about a little girl who helps out in her mother's garden but dreams of her very own garden.

The Gardener by Sarah Stewart is a Caldecott Honor Award winner. The Gardener is really about more than just a garden. A young girl separated from her family during The Depression "blooms" where she's planted and uses a garden to connect to the family she misses and the family she's getting to know.

Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert is a kid favorite that begins with planting bulbs in the fall and moves on to seeds in the spring and finally a "rainbow" of blooming colors.

Reading: Non-fiction Books on Gardening

DK's The Gardening Book by Jane Bull offers fifty green gardening activities for home or the classroom. Colorful photographs through out and step by step instructions make this a winning gardening book for garden lesson plans.

Compost: Growing Gardens from Your Garbage by Linda Glaser shows kids just how easy it is to start composting. Compost follows household garbage through the season and cycles until it makes rich earth for gardening.

Science: What do Gardens Need?

Mary's garden may have flourished with silver bells, cockleshells and pretty maids in a row, but students should be able to express that plants need soil, water and sun to grow. It's fun to conduct experiments with four plants to prove the needs of plants. Put two pots of soil with seeds in the complete dark, watering one and leaving the other dry. Put two more pots of soil with seeds in the sun, watering one and leaving the other dry. Be sure to have students label the pots clearly for water, no water, sun or no sun.

Language Arts: Gardening Vocabulary and Categorizing

There are so many types of gardens. Brainstorming is a great way to expand gardening vocabulary and then categorize the types of gardens.

For example, students may begin with "flower" gardens and get even more specific with examples like rose garden or butterfly garden.

Students may also begin with a large category like "vegetable" garden and get even more specific like root vegetable garden and even more specific with examples like carrot garden.

Remind students that some gardens are often called "patches," like strawberry patches or pumpkin patches.

Math: Create a Garden Mural

Allow to students to create a life size garden mural complete with rows and spacing. Seed packet or catalog instructions will tell students how far apart seeds and rows should be planted. Get out those rulers and string. Once the garden has been planned and plotted, students can cut pictures out of the seed catalogues to represent their plants.

Playing the Dirt

Lima beans are a favorite classroom planting because they sprout quickly for reinforcement and are rather hearty sproutlings. I have to wonder though how many are transplanted and grow to be fruitful. I do remember one family telling me that their daughter cooked and enjoyed her one lima bean.

Students could plant a variety of vegetable, herb or flower seeds. Keep in mind that Mother's Day is coming and it's not too early to start a flowerpot or herb garden as a Mother's Day gift.

Regardless of what is growing, learning can be harvested if children somehow track the growth of plants. Children could track the growth of plants through sketches, photographs, charts or journal entries.

More Garden Projects for the Classroom

Make a Terrarium by Angela W. La Fon

Make a Mini-Compost Bin for the Classroom by Nannette Richford