Curriculum planning chart Generative Topic (Blythe et al, 1998): Agriculture and the Community (4th grade) Subject:

Literacy
Concept ("The student will understand") (The big idea, the "enduring understanding" [Wiggins, 1998]; a broad way of making sense of the world, or a life lesson) In communities, members come together for the common good of all. Different texts support this idea.
CC.1.2.4.G: Interpret various presentations of information within a text or digital source and explain how the information contributes to an understanding of text in which it appears. CC.1.2.4.I: Integrate information from two texts on the same topic to demonstrate understanding of that topic. CC.1.2.4.L: Read and comprehend literary nonfiction and informational text on grade level, reading independently and proficiently. CC.1.4.4.E: Use precise language and domain specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic. CC.1.4.4.S: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research, applying grade level reading standards for literature and informational texts.

Name: Michelle Ruiz

Problems to pose ("Guiding questions" or "unit questions") - Where does our food come from? - Is there anyway we can create a greener community surrounding Kirkbride Elementary? - How can you make a change in your community through urban agriculture? - Does socioeconomic status affect the access to healthy foods and is there a way we can change this? - How can I provide my family with access to fresh produce and healthy food items? Keeping a food journal documenting the intake of foods from beginning to end of the unit Small group readings to further clarify how we can make changes in our own community through the things we eat Reading Seedfolks throughout the two week unit, focusing on vocabulary and character relationships Read Omnivores Dilemma in small groups to further view the affects of what we eat on our society Discussing what is in our kitchen, what we would buy in the grocery store and how we could change this Activities:

Standard

Assessment (How will you have evidence that they know it?) - Observations of student conversations, participation responses, how they use the vocabulary in different discussions - Evaluate writing based on a writing rubric similar to the PSSAs that ensures they write from different perspectives using specific vocabulary - Rubric of grading written work, especially created for journal work - Observations in guided reading groups and through discussions of food journals - Responses to worksheets especially on character development in guided reading

Facts ("The students will know") - How to change their community with simple acts of kindness and by being aware - How everyone is different but can still be united under a common cause - How one can start a community garden - Why growing plants and creating a greener, more environmentally friendly community is important

Skills ("The students will be able to") -Write from different perspectives using specific language and vocabulary - Read informational texts and determine how to analyze important information and facts - Reflect on experiences of reading a given text - How to decipher between characters in a story and draw evidence from the readings on the relationships between characters - Determine the difference between fiction and nonfiction readings on the environment and community and how the relate to one another

Central problem / issue / or essential question (intended to "get at" the concept; the motorvator) Anyone, old or young, big or small, can make a difference in their community.

Curriculum planning chart Generative Topic (Blythe et al, 1998): Agriculture and the Community Subject: Social Studies
Concept* ("The student will understand") (The big idea, the "enduring understanding" [Wiggins, 1998]; a broad way of making sense of the world, or a life lesson) Living in an urban environment does not mean that agriculture is absent or impossible to do.
CC.7.1.4.A: Describe how common geographic tools are used to organize and interpret information about people, places and environment. CC.7.1.4.B: Describe and locate places and regions as defined by physical and human features. CC.7.2.4.A: Identify the physical characteristics of places and regions. CC.6.1.4.A: Identify the scarcity of resources in a local community. CC.6.1.4.B: Recognize the difference between basic needs and wants. Explain the role of the producers in making goods and providing services. CC.6.2.4.E: Explain why local businesses open and close.

Name: Michelle Ruiz

Skills ("The students will be able to") - View maps and other geographic tools to determine where their food comes - Create a map of their own community that shows resources that support the community - Read a map and determine where certain resources are located in relation to street names and landmarks - Use a map to determine where it appears there is a scarcity of resources - Determine what counts as a positive, essential resource in the community Problems to pose ("Guiding questions" or "unit questions") Where are resources located in the community that support local businesses, and where are there locations that seem to have a scarce amount of resources in the community? Where would be the best place to determine where resources could be added to the community that will benefit everyone that lives there? Why would this be a good location? How would it benefit others? Use a map of the world to track where food they eat comes from by reading labels of where food is from/made Use a map of Philadelphia, specifically of East Passyunk to determine where resources are located in the community determine which resources listed are important and benefit everyone in the community and which resources may not be as essential View information from What the World Eats to see what other cultures/countries are eating and see how it compares to our own grocery lists Watch related videos and respond Activities:

Standard

Assessment (How will you have evidence that they know it?) - Observation of the conversations between students and the overall class discussion to analyze the connections students make with their neighborhood resources and how they use them or dont use them - Worksheets that have the students reflect on the ideas of creating a greener urban environment through urban agriculture and that have them apply those ideas to a real life scenario in their own neighborhood - Reflections on how they can create a greener environment in their own neighborhood through the concepts we have discussed in the lessons

Facts ("The students will know") - Where there are resources in their community that support a greener environment as well as healthy foods - How and where they could create more resources for their own community - How positive changes may not seem as obvious as they may think - What other cultures/countries eat and how this reflects what we eat and where we get our food from - Where we can get locally grown food and why buying locally supports the community

Central problem / issue / or essential question (intended to "get at" the concept; the motorvator) How can we create a green environment in East Passyunk or even at Kirkbride Elementary school or are there limitations?

Curriculum planning chart Generative Topic (Blythe et al, 1998): Agriculture and the Community Subject: Math
Concept* ("The student will understand") (The big idea, the "enduring understanding" [Wiggins, 1998]; a broad way of making sense of the world, or a life lesson) Designing isnt the only step to creating a great idea; convincing others its great is a large part of the battle.
CC.2.3.4.A.2: Classify twodimensional figures by properties of their lines and angles. CC.2.3.4.A.3: Recognize symmetric shapes and draw lines of symmetry. CC.2.4.4.A.1: Solve problems involving measurement and conversions from a larger unit to a smaller unit. CC.2.4.4.A.2: Translate information from one type of data display to another.

Name: Michelle Ruiz

Skills ("The students will be able to") - Apply mathematical concepts to real life situations in the form of garden designs - Learn how to make a change in their community through gardening - Discover solutions to gardening problems and invent methods of irrigation or even how to develop planter boxes using geometry facts, area and perimeter - Analyze data found in What the World Eats and present the information in a simplistic way to the class Problems to pose ("Guiding questions" or "unit questions") How can we make East Passyunk a greener community than it already is? Are there other ways besides gardening that could support the community? How does gardening support the community? How does what we eat affect what people around the world eat? - Go on a fieldtrip, possibly around the neighborhood or even just at Kirkbride to determine where we could create a greener space in our community - Determine what the best planter would look like in order to grow the most plants create a design and convince other students why your design works best - Grow plants in the classroom and use measurement skills to determine the growth in our plants, and to see if there are patterns - Use data from What the World Eats to create a poster of the information on a given country Activities:

Standard

Assessment (How will you have evidence that they know it?) - Create a rubric for a long term project - Collect blueprints of the garden designs - Blueprints of school gardens will be created to focus on geometry and symmetry as well as area and perimeter where students will use these concepts to invent urban gardening solutions for a greener community - Classroom growth chart will also be visible for the students and under the responsibility of groups to measure plant growth - Observe conversations between students and in a whole class discussion

Facts ("The students will know")

- How to create a blueprint of a space after observing and analyzing the space - What a garden needs to have in order to produce healthy, delicious produce - What plants need to grow healthy and strong - The benefits of helping a community and how simple it can be - See the difference between what different countries eat, how much the spend on groceries and the geographical location of said countries

Central problem / issue / or essential question (intended to "get at" the concept; the motorvator)

What are ways we can create a community garden in our own neighborhood?

Curriculum planning chart Generative Topic (Blythe et al, 1998): Agriculture and the Community Subject: Science
Concept* ("The student will understand") (The big idea, the "enduring understanding" [Wiggins, 1998]; a broad way of making sense of the world, or a life lesson) Even in an urban environment, access to fresh plants are available to everyone regardless of race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status.
CC.3.1.4.A2: Describe the different resources that plants and animals need to live. CC.1.4.C2: Describe plant and animal adaptations that are important to survival. CC.3.4.4.B2: Describe how technology affects the environment in good and bad ways. CC.4.4.4.A: Describe the journey of local/global agricultural commodities from production to consumption. CC.4.4.4.B: Describe how humans rely on the food and fiber system. Identify Pennsylvanias important agricultural products. CC.4.5.4.A: Identify how people use natural resources in sustainable and non-sustainable ways.

Name: Michelle Ruiz

Skills ("The students will be able to") - Distinguish between types of consumers in the food web - How relationships work among the food web and how humans rely on the relationships - Distinguish between natural and artificial foods and why some of these foods are unhealthy for us - Say what plants grow in Pennsylvania and what is accessible to them throughout the different seasons - Explain the life cycle of a plant and what a plant needs to survive Problems to pose ("Guiding questions" or "unit questions") - Grow plants from kitchen scraps, determine what we could grow and what we couldnt grow in this method, and why this method works - Discussions on what our plants will then need as they grow in our class (KWL chart) - Observe the lifecycle of a plant in videos and also draw what the life cycle will look like and how plants fit into our foodweb - Creating food webs that could be found in our own garden and why this food webs are important - Keeping a food journal to monitor eating habits challenge students Activities:

Standard

Assessment (How will you have evidence that they know it?) - Monitor the group work between students and observe conversations, curiosity - Create worksheets that discuss life cycle of a plant, what plants need, how to grow plants, particular vocabulary associated with plants and eating - View the growth chart and observe how measurement occurs, see if students pick up patterns

Facts ("The students will know")

- What resources in their community are available that supports plant growth and green space - What a plant needs to survive (food, water, oxygen) - Food webs of a garden and of what we eat and how the relationships work with one another - When certain plants are in season and why this is significant to know - How certain vegetables can grow from kitchen scraps and how to grow their own at home - The life cycle of a plant

How are food webs so interconnected and why are the relatioinships found in food webs so significant to humans? Why is it important to know how to be self-sustaining? Why is it important to shop for local products, especially local produce? What is the harm in buying produce from foreign countries? How can we better our community through food?

Central problem / issue / or essential question (intended to "get at" the concept; the motorvator)