Rolfe

Growing Proportional Produce

Henrico Learner Profile (HLP) 6C Focus

6th Grade - Math 

SOL/Standard 

SOL 6.12  The student will represent a proportional relationship between two quantities, including those arising from practical situations; and

make connections between and among representations of a proportional relationship between two quantities using verbal descriptions, ratio tables, and graphs.


Learning Experience

A In our math class, we've been learning about ratios and proportions. Our school has started a gardening club and they meet Wednesdays after school.  We've always known that eating fresh produce is super important for staying healthy so we started wondering: how much fresh produce would we need to grow to make sure every student could have at least one? That's when we put our heads together and decided to apply what we've been learning in math to this real-life scenario.  We set up interviews with the advisor of the Gardening Club and some of the kids who were already gardening club members. They told us all about the science behind gardening, from soil composition to watering schedules. It was like having our personal gardening experts right there in the classroom! 


We took a good look at each garden bed, measuring its size and figuring out just how much produce it could churn out. This whole project was a total team effort. We worked together in class, bouncing ideas off each other and helping out whenever someone got stuck. And when it came time to measure those garden beds, we all pitched in, getting our hands dirty and having a blast in the process. Who knew math and gardening could be such a winning combination?

What did the student(s) learn about this experience:

"I liked working on the gardening project. I feel like I have a good understanding of proportions. I like how Dr. Travis encouraged us to expand our thinking when we were looking at how proportions can be used in real life. I like how we were given freedom in how we worked on the project. I also like that we were able to explore various questions. It was nice to work together as a group on the project. I liked hearing from other people’s point of view. " - Rolfe students

What did the teacher enjoy about this experience:

"Observing my students dive into our latest group project was eye-opening. It really showed me how teamwork, innovation, collaboration, and creativity can totally transform how students look at the content. It was a delight to witness students seamlessly connect the dots between their classroom learning and the broader world around us, especially in math class " - Sherina Travis

Additional Pictures, Media & Artifacts

Students applying math skills to the Rolfe Garden

Student conclusions based on their hands-on experience.

Students completing the measurements needed to solve real world problems. 

Student product explaining the partnership formed between the math students and the gardening club!

Thank you to the innovators who helped make this experience possible: