The School District of Lee CountyPersonal • Passionate • Progressive

Growing Minds

Child Gardening

Growing Minds

Books

  • Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner, illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal
  • Goodnight, Veggies by Diana Murray, illustrated by Zachariah OHora
  • Grow: A Family Guide to Plants and How to Grow Them by Riz Reyes, illustrated by Sara Boccaccini Meadows
  • In Our Garden by Pat Zietlow Miller, illustrated by Melissa Crowton
  • Gardening Lab for Kids By Renata Brown
  • A Seed is Sleepy by Dianna Hutts Aston, illustrated by Sylvia Long
  • Plant the tiny seed by Christie Matheson

CPALMS Lessons - Elementary
The lessons and ideas below can be easily adapted to go hand-in-hand with a school garden.
Login required, free to access for Florida Educators

  • Exploring Plants - 1st Grade Science (major parts of a plant), 2nd Grade Science (life cycle of plants), 3rd Grade Science (plant structures), 4th Grade Science (sexual reproduction of a plant)

  • What Does your Garden Grow? - 3rd Grade Science (how plants respond to seasons), 3rd Grade Math (area of 2-D object), MEA

  • Plants and Gravity - 3rd Grade Science (plant structures, how plants respond to stimuli, record keeping, infer based on observations)

  • How the Seasons Affect Plants - 3rd Grade Science (how plants respond to seasons, raise questions about the natural world, compare observations, record keeping)

  • A Vegetable Garden for All Seasons - 3rd Grade Science (how plants respond to changing seasons), MEA

  • If you Build it, it Will Grow! - 3rd Grade Science (plant structures, how plants respond to stimuli, plants use energy from the sun, compare observations)

  • Plant Cycles: Photosynthesis - 3rd Grade Science (plants use energy from the sun, raise questions about the natural world, infer based on observations, record keeping)

  • Have I Morphed Yet? - 4th Grade Science (life cycle of plants and insects)

CPALMS Lessons - Secondary
The lessons and ideas below can be easily adapted to go hand-in-hand with a school garden.
Login required, free to access for Florida Educators

  • Plant Structures Lab Stations - 9-12th Grade Science (realute plant organs and tissues to physiological processes, Describe the function of models in science)

Resources

Ding DarlingWhole Kids Foundation and American Heart Association School Gardens Activity Guide

Grades: Pre-K - 5

Subjects: Gardening and botany, nutrition, consumer education, agriculture

Florida AgricultureWhole Kids Foundation Let's Get Growing Activity Book

Grades: Pre-K - 5

Subjects: Gardening, nutrition, cooking

Florida AgricultureGardening for Grades, Florida Ag in the Classroom

Grades: K - 12

Subjects: Math, science, social studies

Florida AgricultureGrowing a Wild NYC, a K-5 Urban Pollinator Curriculum

Grades: K - 5

Subjects: Science, environmental science

Note: Make adjustments to fit Florida seasons, plants, and animals

Florida AgricultureBLOOM! Videos

Grades: 6-12

Subjects: Science, technology, horticulture, agriculture, career education

Florida AgricultureSeeds of Wonder, Cornell Garden-Based Learning

Ages 13-19

Subjects: personal growth and community connection

Florida AgricultureFoodSpan, Johns Hopkins University

Grades 9-12

Subjects: Food Systems, sustainability

Florida AgricultureDigging into Soil, Kids Gardening

Grades 9-12

Subjects: Ecology