K-6 Curriculum

Introducing Planting Seeds Growing Minds, K-6 curriculum designed to help students:

• Acquire facts and information related to plants by using the scientific processes of observing, gathering data, categorizing and sequencing;
• Gain a deeper understanding and reasoning skills by comparing, contrasting, classifying, summarizing, verifying and analyzing;
• Synthesize information by reorganizing data, hypothesizing, imaging, inventing and creating;
• Examine the impact of this new knowledge by describing feelings, discussing values ad reviewing possible courses of action and the decision-making process

What's Inside?

Although the curriculum was designed to be taught on and around California Arbor Day, March 7, and National Gardening Month in April, it can easily be taught at any time of year and extended for many weeks.

In the first lesson, children will discover that many of the processes scientists use to learn about the world are the same processes they themselves have always used. Students will use these processes in the first guessing game and throughout the curriculum.

In the following lessons, children will grow and observe seeds under different conditions to determine the basic needs of plants and seeds. Students record their data on a sheet that will become a flip book. Activities that include dissecting a seed, making a paper flower and acting out plant parts all focus on the structure and function of seeds, plants and flowers.

Planting Seeds Growing Minds

Download the Planting Seeds Growing Minds Order Form.

A MIDDLE SCHOOL CURRICULUM 7-8th Grade

Introducing Investigations in Horticulture, a middle school curriculum designed to help students:

• Develop an awareness of the many varied facets of horticulture;
• Develop positive attitudes toward the impact of horticulture on society;
• Understand the nutritional, aesthetic, environmental, and therapeutic values of horticulture;
• Appreciate the exciting 21st century opportunities and challenges for those working in the wide variety of horticultural careers;
• Engage in hands-on classroom activities that weave horticulture meaningfully into core content areas (i.e., science, math, language arts, social studies, and visual arts);
• Work individually and in teams to collect, share, and analyze information and ideas.

What's Inside?

Classroom Activities
Investigations in Horticulture contains 15 lessons, or activities, which encourage creative discoveries and applications of knowledge, and help teachers minimize the separations among content areas so that students experience more multidimensional learning. These student-centered activities stress higher-order thinking strategies that challenge students to: be inquisitive about what they're learning; work individually and together to solve problems; and test, revise, evaluate, analyze, and synthesize information and experiences through observation and experimentation.

Appendix A: Teacher Supplements
Optional teacher supplements contain background information related to the student activity. Teachers may choose to copy and distribute these supplements if, in rare cases, students can't find the information via their own research.

Appendix B: Student Blackline Masters
Some of the activities have related student blackline masters to be copied and distributed to help students in completing an activity.

Appendix C: State and National Education Standards
Contains the text of the Science, Math, Language Arts, Social Studies, and Arts Content Standards for California Public Schools and National Education Standards (Grades 6-8), which are aligned to Investigations in Horticulture activities.

Download the Cooking Up Compost Unit
Download the Investigations in Horticulture Order Form