Embedded Files
Academics
Math: We had to calculate costs of a garden including building materials and labor.
Writing: Students wrote about the process, while they also created presentations and community posters, guidelines and rules.
Collaboration: Group work was significant and presentations were required by all students. The each had roles and deadlines to fulfill.
Reading: All students read a variety of nonfiction material to gain an understanding of the problem.
Our year-long project focused on food in our community and how our lives are affected by the availability of food to place on our tables. The culmination of this project was to develop an implementation plan for a community garden in our school neighborhood.
We first visited local community gardens in other cities and then watch several videos, (TedTalks and New Stations) to learn more about creating a garden. We interviewed people who had taken on this task in other neighborhoods and we developed small scale models of garden planters in the schools own garden.
We then identified several potential open lots and had an environmental scientist help us decide on which piece of land to use. We used our classroom drone to map the site and measure the dimensions of the land.
Last, we presented our findings in a collection of presentations to our community leaders and people of influence. These presentations lasted for 25 minutes and covered the entire project. Below are some of the artifacts created to complete this project.
Each person in a group had a task and specific job to perform. The job descriptions were explained and the groups decided on their roles.
These jobs allowed the students to focus in a chaotic environment and they were able to stay on task and meet the enforced deadlines. It also allowed myself and Mrs. Lyon access to each group's work in an efficient manor.
In all we went on 6 field work assignments. They included community gardens, a commercial organic farm, a local grocery store, the town hall/civic center, Home Depot, and several trips to identify our ideal location for a permanent community garden location.
We also built our own onsite garden with help from donations from Home Depot.
Google Sites
Report abuse