Assignment Three: Unit Sketch

Mini Gardens

Brittany Lowry

0874618

November 5 , 2018
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Unit Overview: Grade 3 Mini Gardens

For this project grade, 3 students will be creating their own mini gardens. Students will
first take a field trip to a local community garden learning about the importance of locally grown
food, and the importance of plants. Students will be expected to take note of plants in the
garden and what they think the plant needs in order to survive. After the field trip to the
community garden, students will be creating their own mini gardens in an investigative
matter. They will investigate different soils and select plants to go in their own mini gardens.
They will be fully responsible for the care of their gardens. They will be instructed to draw a
diagram and label the diagram using scientific vocabulary to label their plants and soils. Over
the next few weeks, students will continue to care for their plants along with record data of
growth in their plants if there is any. They will be expected to record the amount of water given
to plant daily, sunlight etc. If no growth they will record this as well with an explanation. In
following weeks students will be learning and compare gardens from early Canada to today’s
gardens. What has changed? What has stayed the same? Has climate change affected plant
growth? Gardening tools changed? Etc. They will be conducting research on computers and
books to find this information. Finally, students will collect all of their diagrams throughout the
weeks, and recorded data and make a report of their finds. What worked and why? What didn’t
work and why? They may write a report, do a visual report or an oral report. A gallery walk will
close this project, look at their peer's gardens.
Grade 3: Mini Gardens

Lesson Science Expectation Cross-Curricular Activity

Week One Understanding Life PE Children will go to the

A trip to the local Systems Growth 1.1 use self- local community
Garden and Changes in awareness and self- garden to investigate
Plants monitoring skills to plants. Walking
help them around the garden
1. Relating Science understand their children will take note
and Technology to strengths and needs, of the plants in the
Society and the take responsibility for
garden, what the
Environment their actions, plants need (sunlight,
recognize sources of soils, nutrients,
stress, and monitor water). They will also
1.1 assess ways in their own progress, learn about the
which plants are as they participate inimportance of local
important to humans physical activities, gardens. For
and other living develop movement example, choosing
things, taking competence, and locally grown food
different points of acquire knowledge you are helping
view into and skills related to growers in your
consideration (e.g., healthy living community. While at
the point of view of the community
home builders, C3.1 Healthy Eating garden learning
gardeners, nursery explain how local about the importance
owners, vegetarians), fresh foods and foods of eating healthy
and suggest ways in from different connecting to the PE
which humans can cultures (e.g., curriculum of C 3.1.
protect plants berries, curries,
chapattis, lychees,
kale, lentils, corn,
nan, wild game, fish,
tourtière) can be
used to expand their
range of healthy
eating choices [CT]

Week Two Understanding Visual Arts After their trip to the

Selecting Plants and Earth and Space D1.4 use a variety of local garden, the next
Soils Systems Soils in materials, tools, and lesson will consist of
the Environment techniques to investigating soil and
respond to design selecting plants for
2. Developing challenges their own mini
Investigation and (e.g., • drawing: use gardens. Students
Communication Skills a variety of lines and will investigate
shapes, drawn with different soil
pencil and marker, to samples, including
2.2 investigate the show movement in a sand, loam, clay, silt,
components of soil flipbook about and peat. In an
 (e.g., nonliving things weather • mixed investigative matter,
such as pebbles and media: use wax students will select
decaying matter; crayons, oil pastels, their soils and plants
living things such as paint resist, and in which they think
organic matter, materials of various will be successful in
bacteria, earthworms, textures [e.g. yarn, their mini gardens.
and insects), the found objects] to Students will be
condition of soil (e.g., depict a tree or plant expected to record
wet, dry), and above ground, and the soils they have
additives found in soil use the technique of selected along with
(e.g., pesticides, elaboration to depict their plant selections.
fertilizers, salt), using what is hidden below They will draw a
a variety of soil ground • painting: detailed diagram and
samples (e.g., sand, create a watercolour label the soils they
clay, loam) from or tempera painting have selected along
different local of animals, using with the plants they
environments, and colour in a non- have
explain how the representational and selected. Students
different amounts of expressive way • will be fully
these components in printmaking: paint responsible for their
a soil sample stencil prints in warm plants, which
determine how the and cool colours, includes watering,
soil can be used creating a simplified ensuring sunlight etc.
pattern inspired by a Students will record
favourite fruit • how much water and
sculpture: use sunlight they give to
modelling clay to their plants. They will
create organic forms draw weekly
that are inspired by diagrams and label
nature, such as any changes they
shells, seed pods, make.
and water-worn
stones, and that Instructions:
show some kind of Students will select
metamorphosis or three different plants,
transformation into two in which will be
another form or baby plants and one
figure) seed. Students will
select at least two
different soils.

Week Two/Three Understanding Life Math As touched on in

Recording and caring Systems Growth Attributes, Units, and week two students
for their plants and Changes in Measurement Sense will continue to
Plants -estimate, measure, record the progress
and record length, of their plants. What
2. Developing height, and distance, is growing, what is
Investigation and using standard units not? Why do you
Communication Skills (i.e., centimetre, think one plant is
metre, kilometre) growing more than
 the other? They will
2.6 use appropriate Collection and record how much
science and Organization of Data water, sunlight and
technology – collect and anything else they
vocabulary, including organize categorical have done to their
stem, leaf, root, pistil, or discrete primary plants/soil. Students
stamen, flower, data and display the will be expected to
adaptation, and data in charts, tables, record and organize
germination, in oral and graphs (including garden data.
and written vertical and Students will be
communication horizontal bar expected to use both
graphs), with appropriate science
appropriate titles and vocabulary when
labels and with labels recording their
ordered appropriately results. For example,
along horizontal the leaf of my tomato
axes, as needed, plant has grown
using many-to-one 0.6cm since last
correspondence week.

Week Four Understanding Life Social Studies Students will

Gardens today vs Systems Growth A1.1 describe some continue to record
Gardens in Early and Changes in of the similarities and their garden
Canada Plants differences in various progress. This week
aspects of everyday they will research
2. Developing life (e.g., housing, gardens from early
Investigation and clothing, food, Canada. How have
Communication Skills religious/spiritual they changed? How
practices, work, have they stayed the
2.4 investigate ways recreation, the role of same? Have plants
in which a variety of children) of selected changed or adapted?
plants adapt and/or groups living in Why or why not?
react to their Canada between How do you know?
environment, 1780 and 1850 (e.g., The will write about
including changes in First Nations, Métis, their finds.
their environment, French, British, Black
using a variety of people; men and
methods (e.g., read a women; slaves,
variety of non-fiction indentured servants,
texts; interview plant habitants, seigneurs,
experts; view DVDs farmers; people from
or CD-ROMs) different classes)

Week Five Understanding Life Language Arts From the past four
Garden report Systems Growth 2.4- Appropriate weeks, students have
and Changes in Language: choose a been collecting and
Plants variety of appropriate recording data,
words and phrases, drawing diagrams
including descriptive and learning about
words and some changes in gardens
2. Developing technical vocabulary, and plants from early
Investigation and and a few elements Canada. They will
Communication Skills of style, to gather all their data
communicate their from the past few
2.7 use a variety of meaning accurately weeks and make a
forms (e.g., oral, and engage the report on their
written, graphic, interest of their results. They may do
multimedia) to audience (e.g., use a written report, oral
communicate with alliteration for report, visual report
different audiences emphasis; use (Bristol board) of their
and for a variety of comparatives such gardens and what
purposes (e.g., make as like, instead of, they have learned.
illustrated entries in a however, the same
personal science as, compared to,
journal to describe unlike to clarify
plant characteristics similarities and
and adaptations to differences; use
harsh environments appropriate technical
terms when
explaining a scientific
investigation)