How does your garden grow?

1. Watch the Seasons with Dirtgirl! video².

2. As a team, discuss what you have learned about the 4 seasons, recording the information in your journal.

3. As a team, share your new knowledge with the whole class.

1. Use the Meat and Livestock Australia’s Climate history webpage³ to research rainfall and temperature for your part of NSW.

2. Make a copy of the chart and keep it in your journal.

3. As a team, discuss the differences in rainfall and temperature between the seasons, recording the information in your journal.

4. Compare your part of NSW with a distant town and discuss the differences with the class.

1. Make a seasonal calendar showing everything that you have learned so far. Include information on the seasons, temperature, rainfall and the types of fruits and vegetables that you could plant.
   Tools to help you make a seasonal calendar.

2. Share the information with the people in your team and save a copy to your journal.

1. Create an artwork showing your understanding of Indigenous seasons. It could be a calendar, picture or some other form of artwork.

2. Explain your calendar to your team.

1. Watch Knowsy Nina’s How do plants grow? video.

2. As a team, record in your journal any new questions you have about what plants need.

1. Watch SciShow Kids’ What’s the dirt on… dirt? video.

2. In your journal, make a list of things that you will need to test your soil for.

3. Save a copy of the Soil testing table⁴ in your journal.

4. Choose possible locations in the school for each team to investigate.

1. Read the information in Tools to help you test soil before you begin.

2. As a team, go to your assigned part of the school and take temperature readings of the soil.

3. Remember to wear gloves when handling soil.

4. Record your data on your soil testing table.

1. Read the information in Tools to help you test soil before you begin.

2. As a team, go to your assigned part of the school and take pH readings of the soil. Use the pH quality chart when testing your soil.

3. Remember to wear gloves when handling soil.

4. Record your data on your soil testing table.

1. Watch the Make Me Genius’ Types of soil video.

2. Read the information in Tools to help you test soil before you begin.

3. As a team, collect a soil sample from your assigned part of the school and try to identify the type.

4. Remember to wear gloves when handling soil.

5. Record your data on your soil testing table.

1. As a team, collect a soil sample from your assigned part of the school in a jar or small bucket (each team should collect the same amount of soil).

2. Remember to wear gloves when handling soil.

3. As a class, add a small amount of water to each soil sample and observe what the water does, paying attention to whether or not the water stays on top or disappears quickly.

4. Record your observations in your journal.

1. As a team, go to your assigned part of the school and make a record of the sunlight and shadow in the space.

2. Use photos, videos, sketches or notes to record your findings.

3. Record all of your data in your journal.

4. Repeat the experiment at the start, middle and end of the day for 2 days.

1. As a team, present what you have learned about your space to the rest of the class. Remember to discuss the soil, water and sunlight conditions in that part of the school.

2. As a class, vote on the best location for the class garden.

1. Use planting guide websites to research the types of fruits and vegetables that would grow well in your class garden.

2. Record your findings in your journal.

1. Talk to a local gardening expert (or visit a gardening expert website).

2. Ask any questions that you still have about what to plant in your class garden, the best time to plant and how to look after your plants.

3. Record your questions, answers and any new information in your journal.

Science and technology

This resource supports students in the Science and Technology K-6 NEW syllabus.

• The project in this resource requires students to use all aspects of the design and production skills⁵ continuum for Stage 2.

• The activites included in this resource support students to develop thinking skills⁶ including Design thinking, Scientific thinking and Systems thinking.

A student:

• questions, plans and conducts scientific investigations, collects and summarises data and communicates using scientific representations ST2-1WS-S⁷

• selects and uses materials, tools and equipment to develop solutions for a need or opportunity ST2-2DP-T⁷

• compares features and characteristics of living and non-living things ST2-4LW-S⁸

• describes how agricultural processes are used to grow plants and raise animals for food, clothing and shelter ST2-5LW-T⁸

• investigates the suitability of natural and processed materials for a range of purposes ST2-7MW-T⁹

• investigates regular changes caused by interactions between the Earth and the Sun, and changes to the Earth’s surface ST2-10ES-S¹⁰

Geography

This resource supports students in the Geography K-10 syllabus.

A student:

• examines features and characteristics of places and environments GE2-1¹¹

• examines differing perceptions about the management of places and environments GE2-3¹².

Mathematics

This resource supports students in the Mathematics K-10 syllabus.

A student:

• uses appropriate terminology to describe, and symbols to represent, mathematical ideas MA2-1WM¹³

• selects and uses appropriate mental or written strategies, or technology, to solve problems MA2-2WM¹⁴

• checks the accuracy of a statement and explains the reasoning used MA2-3WM¹⁵

• selects appropriate methods to collect data, and constructs, compares, interprets and evaluates data displays, including tables, picture graphs and column graphs MA2-18SP¹⁶.

Personal development, health and physical education

This resource supports students in the Personal Development, Health and Physical Education K-6 syllabus.

A student:

• increasingly accepts responsibility for personal and community health V4¹⁷

• discusses the factors influencing personal health choices PHS2.12¹⁷.

Creative arts

This resource supports students in the Creative Arts K-6 syllabus.

A student:

• Represents the qualities of experiences and things that are interesting or beautiful by choosing among aspects of subject matter VAS2.1¹⁸.

This resource provides explicit opportunities for students to engage with the Science K-10 (incorporating Science and Technology K-6) syllabus’ Learning across the curriculum content¹⁹.

Cross-curriculum priorities

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures

• Sustainability

General capabilities

• Critical and creative thinking

• Information and communication capability

• Intercultural understanding

• Literacy

• Numeracy

• Personal and social capability

• Work and enterprise

Books (available from Trove – National Library of Australia)

• The vegetable garden²⁰ by Melvin Berger

• How does your garden grow?²¹ by David Keystone and Carole Coburn

• Isabella’s garden²² by Glenda Millard and Rebecca Cool

• Experiment with a plant’s living environment²³ by Nadia Higgins

• Ernie dances to the didgeridoo²⁴ by Alison Lester

• Walking with the Seasons in Kakadu²⁵ by Diane Lucas and Ken Searle

• A year on our farm²⁶ by Penny Matthews and Andrew McLean

• Seasons in Australia²⁷ by Greg Pyers (4 volumes)

• Temperature²⁸ by Alan Rodgers and Angella Streluk

• Dirt: the scoop on soil²⁹ by Natalie M Rosinky and Sheree Boyd

• Grow it, eat it: simple gardening projects and delicious recipes³⁰ by Royal Horticultural Society (Great Britain)

Videos

• SciShow Kids – Be a weather watcher³¹ (learn about different types of weather and how to keep track of your weather observations)

• SciShow Kids – Make the most of compost³² (learn about how you can turn certain types of trash into nutrient packed soil you can use in the garden)

• SciShow Kids – Where does water come from?³³ (learn about the water cycle)

• Splash ABC – Indigenous seasons across northern Australia³⁴ (learn about indigenous seasonal calendars with links to meteorological patterns with changes in plant and animal life across the year)

Websites

• Sydney markets – Fresh for kids³⁵ (games, competitions and information about fresh and healthy food – some Flash-based content)

• Top marks – All about spring³⁶ (slideshow about spring and its effect on plants)

• TVOKids – Get growing game³⁷ (preschool game that teaches about planting and growing vegetable gardens)

• Yates – Garden greenies³⁸ (games, projects, information and school resources to support student learning about gardening)

Students will work collaboratively as they:

• identify what they already know and want to know about seasons and growing plants

• observe, record and describe conditions for growing plants in their space and make joint decisions based on the information gained

• negotiate necessary roles and who will fill them throughout the project

• draw on the expertise of external specialists and use it to make joint decisions.

Students will construct knowledge as they:

• investigate different factors for growing healthy plants

• use their knowledge of the seasons, what plants need and about different plants to decide what to grow in their space.

Students will solve real-world problems and innovate as they:

• investigate how the seasons affect planting decisions

• identify the best place to start a garden and which plants to grow in their space or complete their chosen task (as negotiated in class).

The overview aims to broadly outline the nature of the learning, engage student interest in the project and activate any prior knowledge. The class will also have an opportunity to discuss, and perhaps decide, the product that will be delivered at the end of the project.

Ideally the class will work through the project and deliver a small fruit and/or vegetable garden. The students will investigate various possible sites within the school to determine the best location, and then plan and implement the finished product. If this is not feasible within your school an alternative deliverable could be chosen. See Put it into practice (below) for some alternative ideas.

This resource could be taught over several weeks. It is recommended that learners work in the same small teams throughout the project. Allocate each team a specific space within your school grounds to base their investigations on.

Revise talking and listening skills if necessary, explaining that collaboration requires everyone to participate as equally as possible. Develop class guidelines around collaborative work that learners can add to or amend as they work on their project.

During the project students will take turns using equipment. It may help to develop class guidelines around how to use this equipment safely.

Consider how you will organise the class in deciding what their final project will be (such as deciding which team’s garden design will be worked on). Students may make a decision firstly in their teams and then a representative of each team could present the reasons for their choice to the class. The class could then vote on their favourite proposal.

Online collaborative tools

Team roles

This section explores what students already know about the seasons and builds upon or consolidates knowledge through guided research. Students will brainstorm to share their knowledge and current understandings. They also have an opportunity to ask questions about the seasons, especially in relation to growing plants.

This section of the project might be introduced to the class by watching the Seasons with Dirtgirl! video². Additional support materials may be found on the Seasons in Australia webpage⁴² and Seasonal food guide’s Sydney and New South Wales seasonal produce webpage⁴³.

Rainfall and temperature

Seasonal calendar

Indigenous seasons

In this section students investigate different aspects of soil and learn how these qualities (temperature, pH and type) can affect plant growth. The water absorption of different kinds of soil is also examined. Finally, students will investigate how sunlight moves throughout a day and make observations about how this affects shade/shadows. Learners will use a variety of equipment to complete these investigations (see below). This section of the activity might be introduced to the class by watching the Knowsy Nina How do plants grow? video.

Provide students with scaffolded instructions for using the equipment and recording their data. Use the Soil testing table⁴⁷ template to collate each team’s results. At the end of the investigation, students can collaboratively decide which space looks most suitable for planting.

Soil

Water

Sunlight

At this point students should have collected data about the seasons, soil, water and sunlight. They have also explored various locations for their new garden and when they might plant it.

Planting guides and Ask an expert

The culminating task provides the opportunity for students to show their learning.

If planting a garden or growing plants is not possible, another task which could allow students to apply their learning could be used:

• Producing a garden plan or mud map showing where plants go (see an Example mud map).

• Creating a planting calendar (digital or analogue, circular or conventional). A digital calendar would enable this to be an ongoing task.

• Planning a seasonal menu and publish it to the school website or newsletter.

• Writing a proposal for funding (try your P&C, local council, environmental organisations, local Aboriginal Land Council, or similar) to plant a garden.

• Collaborating with a school in another area to share and compare findings from their investigations.

The task could also be extended in various ways:

• Selling garden produce to your school community or donating it to a charity.

• Inviting feedback from a local restaurant on a seasonal menu design.

• Holding a class fest with food provided from the new garden.

Reflection