Lesson 1: Fall Harvest
In this lesson, students harvest (and taste!) our fall crops (which they selected and planted last year in the fourth grade) and begin to explore and discuss why they are grateful for our school gardens and the land on which they grow.
Lesson 2: This Land
In this lesson, students reconstruct part of a land history of the Amherst area dating back 1,000 years and explore how the use of this land and the people on it have changed over time.
Lesson 3: Story Beads
In this lesson, students continue learning about the Pocumtuc, Nipmuc, and Nonotuck/Norwottuck people, use beads to represent their learning, and begin to explore ways in which we can meaningfully acknowledge the people and foodways that existed in this area prior to European colonization.
Lesson 4: Book & Plow Field Trip
In Collaboration with Book & Plow Farm and The Mead Art Museum, students visit Book & Plow Farm and create multiple artworks around the farm in celebration of the history of the land and the people and plants indigenous to the Connecticut River Valley.
Lesson 5: Companion Planting
Students spend time exploring the practice of companion planting (three sisters, milpa system) as they consider the questions: What are some of the ways in which indigenous people have grown (and continue to grow) crops which support each other and the earth? How can we honor these traditions and incorporate companion planting and other traditional, regenerative practices into our school gardens?