Lesson Plan
Introduction
Students will be given the following question to begin brainstorming ideas. "How can we provide access to fresh vegetables for our students at school and help those in our community?"
- Students will brainstorm ideas in their groups
- Record this information on a piece of chart paper
Steps in Process
Once ideas have been discussed, students will research types of indoor growing systems. They will need to keep the following constraints in mind: classroom space, difficulty, supplies, will the system solve our problem.
In their research, they will find aerogarden and hydroponics systems. Students will vote on which system would be the best at solving our problem.
Once students have decided on the system to use, they will research different models of this system.
- In groups, students will make a sketch of their design.
- List of materials needed.
- Steps in building their system.
Students will be provided with the following materials to use:
- PVC pipe
- Five-gallon bucket
- Plastic hose
- Small fountain pump
Students will build a model of their design. They will test their design to make sure that the system works. They will present their prototype to the class.
Students will vote on the design that best suits our needs. They will then build a larger model of this system to begin our classroom garden. They will use wool pods to plant vegetable seeds and begin maintaining the system.
Assessment
Students' project will be scored using a rubric.