Students will research foods made from plant families (with support as needed), identify family members and common nutrients and create artwork of one family group or a food made from that family.

The way we plant seeds is very important. If seeds are planted too deeply, the young plants can use up their food resources before they ever reach light and begin to make their own food. If planted in soil that’s too dry, seeds may not obtain the necessary moisture to germinate. Soaking-wet soil, on the other hand, may prevent seeds from getting oxygen, or may cause them to rot.

The purpose of gardening within an educational setting is to utilize the garden as an educational tool. The garden and skills developed by gardening provide concrete examples of theoretical or abstract concepts or processes. This is critical for some students and will result in both greater understanding of difficult concepts and application of those concepts across diverse topics. Before one can garden well, a great deal of science needs to be understood and applied. The understanding of photosynthesis is the first of those concepts. This lesson is designed to make this relatively abstract process concrete for students and, in particular, young students.

A significant reason to engage in gardening in schools is to teach students, and allow them to discover for themselves, how plants grow and what part of the plant we eat. That is the purpose of this activity.

Students will be introduced to artists and their work in order to prepare them to create their own garden art or still life portraits. Appreciating the beauty of still life art and garden produce will increase interest in foods grown in the garden. Students will use that appreciation to develop promotional art to be displayed in the school to encourage fellow students to eat more fruits and vegetables.

Learning to read and utilize food labels and information from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, students will compare nutritional value and caloric content of canned, frozen, and fresh fruits and vegetables, compare portions to serving sizes by actually measuring both and scale label information in direct proportion to recommended caloric intake.

The difference between human nutrition and plant nutrients is often one of the concepts that students misunderstand. This is proven in documented errors found in standardized test questions. Students hear the term “plant food” and take that term literally, believing that plants eat (as animals do) to obtain nutrients. The intent of this lesson is to clear up that misconception as well as to teach students about the actual nutrients that plants require and the source of those nutrients.

Student will collect personal meal consumption data, align those foods to the food guide food groups, and cross reference that information with the MyPlate to compare personal eating habits and to recommended guidelines. Students also will use that information to create their own food web.

Students examine variations in leaves and consider how leaf adaptations can help plants survive in different environments.

Using the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s “Nutrient Database,” the students will compete to predict which vegetables or fruits grown in the school garden contain the highest levels of specific nutrients, graph the results and research the value of those nutrients to their growth and health.