Free Lesson Plans for Teachers: Gardening

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Free Lesson Plans for Teachers
Alpha Stage

Gardening
May 3, 2007

The New York Times is running an article entitled, "Feeling Warmth,
Subtropical Plants Move North."

The article states, "Forget the jokes about beachfront property. If global
warming has any upside, it would seem to be for gardeners, who make
up three-quarters of the population and spend $34 billion a year,
according to the National Gardening Association. Many experts agree
that climate change, which by some estimates has already nudged up
large swaths of the country by one or more plant-hardiness zones, has
meant a longer growing season and a more robust selection. There are
palm trees in Knoxville and subtropical camellias in Pennsylvania."

But, according to the article, horticulturists warn, "Warmer temperatures
help pests as well as plants, and studies have shown that weeds and
invasive species receive a greater boost from higher levels of carbon
dioxide, a heat- trapping gas, than desirable plants do."

Read the A rticle!!

Discussion-Starters for Younger Children

How many different kinds of living things can your students
identify on your school's property? How many different kinds of
living things can your students think of?

If possible, have students take pictures of the different
organisms that they can identify. If they use digital
cameras, these images can be uploaded to the computer.
Alternatively, students could draw organisms that they
identify.

Ask: What kinds of things do your students think that they need to
eat and do to grow properly?

Consider asking students to make lists in groups. The
entire class can then review these lists.

Do your students think that it is important for the world to be
clean? Why/why not? What can your students do to help keep the
world clean?

Consider asking your students to help you clean up the
school grounds.

Do your students think that plants and trees are important to
people? Why/why not? In what ways can people use plants and
trees? What can people do for plants and trees?

Students can develop skits in which they answer these
questions.

Discussion-Starters for Older Students

Vocabulary terms to discuss: Flounces; Swaths; Horticulturist;
and, Penchant.

What kind of implications do your students think that the
agricultural change described in this article might have for life in
the United States, in another 100 years? Encourage them to
explain.

Consider asking students to write essays, within the genre
of science fiction, in which they explore the answers to
these questions.

What school subjects do your students think that a professional
horticulturist must understand? Why?

In groups of two or three, students could identify these
school subjects and provide a rationale for their answers.

Ask your students to imagine that they are a plant that is now
growing in a new region. If they, the plant, could think, what
would it think as it sprouted and saw the world for the first time?
Encourage your students to explain!!

Consider asking students to develop songs using the voice
of the plant. Students could certainly use the computer to
provide background music. They might consider
podcasting their songs.

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