The Three Sisters garden lessons Elena Martinez ENV 307, F2010 - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

CBLI SCHOOL GARDENS PROJECT

The Three Sisters garden lessons

Elena Martinez ENV 307, F2010

Why teach in school gardens?

• Enliven and connect curriculum requirements

through experiential learning

• Assist student in understanding new ideas

through hands-on learning and cooperation

• Improve environmental ethic and nutritional

preferences through contact with local ecology

• Increase standardized test scores and grades

through enthusiasm towards lessons

The Three Sisters garden lessons

• A unit of lessons for 4th and 5th grade classes

about Lenni Lenape culture

• Students plan, plant, and harvest a Three Sisters

garden

• Lessons in other subjects connect to the Three

Sisters garden

• Lessons based on 2009 New

Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards and the 2010 Common Core Standards

http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/teach/2003045238014436.html

Suggested Lesson Sequence

• Spring of Grade 4

– Lesson 1: Garden design and planting the Three Sisters – Lesson 2: Life cycles of the Three Sisters – Lesson 3: Lenni Lenape legends

• Fall of Grade 5

– Lesson 4: The Colombian Exchange in the garden – Lesson 5: Harvesting the Three Sisters – Lesson 6: Cooking and eating the Three Sisters – Lesson 7: Lenni Lenape Art

CORE GARDEN LESSONS: Planting and Harvesting

• Lesson: Garden design and planting the Three

Sisters

– Use mathematical skills to plan and plant the garden

• Lesson: Harvesting the Three Sisters

– Review plant life cycles while you harvest corn, beans, and squash

MORE GARDEN LESSONS: Other subjects in the garden

• Lesson: Life cycles of the Three Sisters

– Observe and study the life cycles of corn, beans, and squash.

• Lesson: The Colombian Exchange in the garden

– Reintroduce children to the garden while identifying plants and their origins.

• Lesson: Cooking and eating the Three Sisters

– Learn about nutrition and cook your corn, beans, and/or squash.

SUPPLEMENTARY LESSONS: Literature and Art

• Lesson: Lenni Lenape legends

– Practice writing and editing by writing your own Lenni Lenape legends

• Lesson: Lenni Lenape art

– Create your own Lenni Lenape arts and crafts to display in the Three Sisters garden

SUMMARY

• Students learn about Lenni Lenape culture

and traditions

• Lessons address curriculum requirements in

reading, writing, social studies, science, mathematics, and visual arts

• Children create, study, and

harvest their own garden

http://www.plantingtomorrows.com/corn.shtml

References and Resources for Teachers

Blair, D. 2009. The child in the garden: An evaluative review of the benefits

• f school gardening. The Journal of Environmental Education 40: 15-38.

DeMarco, LW. 1997. The factors affecting elementary school teachers’ integration of school gardening into the curriculum. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Virginia. Mackey, B and JM Stewart. 2008. Grow science achievement in your library with school gardens. Library Media Connection 27: 34-37. Bial, R. 2005. The Deleware. Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark. Grumet, RS. 1989. The Lenapes. New York: Chelsea House Publishers. Messinger, C and S Katz. 2007. When the shadbush blooms. Berkeley, CA: Tricycle Press. Van Laan, N. 1989. Rainbow Crow. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Princeton School Gardens Cooperative Website – http://www.prs.k12.nj.us/GardenCoop.