The Teacher Tool Box is a place where teachers can find new ideas for lessons they can use in their gardens.
Lessons are arranged by subject: math, social studies, science, language arts, and health.
The category called Basic Gardening Lessons includes lessons in a variety of subjects that teach the basics of gardening and plants.
Click on the pictures below to view the lessons.
Lessons are arranged by subject: math, social studies, science, language arts, and health.
The category called Basic Gardening Lessons includes lessons in a variety of subjects that teach the basics of gardening and plants.
Click on the pictures below to view the lessons.
Basic Gardening Lessons
Social Studies
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Math
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Science
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Video of
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Food Doesn't Grow
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Featured Lesson for November
Apples, Apples, Apples!
Apples are everywhere in November!
In our featured lessons this month, students will use the five senses
to examine and taste different varieties of apples.
And they learn parts of the apple and how apple trees are grown.
In our featured lessons this month, students will use the five senses
to examine and taste different varieties of apples.
And they learn parts of the apple and how apple trees are grown.
Five Senses
Apple Investigation for grades PreK-2 OVERVIEW: Fall is the time to investigate apples! In this lesson, students learn that all apples are not the same. One variety of apple can be very different from another. In this apple investigation, students use their five senses to investigate different varieties of apples. They brainstorm adjectives to describe the apples using each sense. Then younger students write a class poem or older students write their own poem, using their apple adjectives in sentences. They vote on their favorite apple and create a graph of the class preferences.
Math, language arts, science, and social studies – it’s all here in one fall lesson! OBJECTIVES; The student will be able to: Use their five senses to investigate different varieties of apples and suggest adjectives to describe them. Assist in writing a class poem or write an individual poem about apples using adjectives they selected from the apple investigation. Discuss how apples are grown in an orchard. Explain that a variety is a different type or kind of something MATERIALS:Copy of The Apple Orchard Riddle by Margaret McNamara, How Do Apples Grow?, by Betsy Maestro, or other book about apples. Five Senses Apple Investigation
PROCEDURES:Before beginning the lesson, write a chart with five columns for each of the five senses on the board or on chart paper. Read the book The Apple Orchard Riddle, by Magaret McNamara, How Do Apples Grow? by Betsy Maestro or another book about apples. (See list under extensions.) Discuss the following questions with the students:
Before beginning the Five Senses activity, students should wash their hands. Ask students to identify their five senses—see, smell, feel, hear, taste. Explain that they will be using their five senses to observe apples. (Optional, if students are writing individual apple poems, give each student a Five Senses Chart.) Show students the three different types of apples and name them. Ask them to describe what they see. Write their descriptive words on the on chart paper or the board under the “See” column. Explain that descriptive words are called adjectives. (Optional: If students are writing individual apple poem books, they should each choose at least two adjectives to write on their own 5 Senses Chart. At the end of the activity, they will use the adjectives on their chart to write a poem about apples.) Cut each apple into slices. Give a green, red, and yellow slice to each student. Ask them to smell the apples and describe what they smell. Write their adjectives on the class chart under the “Smell” column (and on their own 5 Sense Chart if you are using them.) Ask the students to feel the apple slices and describe what they feel. Write their adjectives on the class chart under the “Feel” column (and on their own 5 Sense Chart if you are using them.) Ask the students to take a bite out of one apple slice and describe what they hear. Write their adjectives on the class chart under the “Hear” column and on their own 5 Senses Chart if you are using them.) Ask the students to taste each slice of apple and describe what they taste. Write their adjectives on the class chart under the “Taste” column (and on their own 5 Sense Chart if you are using them.) Ask the students to vote on whether they like red, green, or yellow apples best by choosing a red, yellow, or green one-inch paper square or interlocking cube. Use the one-inch squares on chart paper, or stack the cubes together by color, to create a bar graph to show the preferences of the whole class. If you are working with very young students, work together with the whole class to create a class poem about apples. Or if you are working with older students, have the students write individual books. To create the poem as a class, ask students for suggestions to write a sentence for each of the five senses about the apples they were able to see, smell, feel, hear, and taste, selecting adjectives from the class five sense chart. If students are working individually, each student should choose adjectives from their own 5 Senses Chart to create a sentence describing apples with each of the five senses. To create a class or individual apple poem book, glue the “Apple Book” cover template onto a piece of red, yellow, or green construction paper. Write a sentence describing the apples by each sense using the five lined pages. Use a second piece of construction paper for the back. Secure the book using a hole punch and ribbon. Review these apple facts with the class:
Students read the class book together or Each student reads his/her own apple book to the class. EXTENSIONS: Read some other apple books such as: The Apple Pie Tree, Zoe Hall Apples, Gail Gibbons Up, Up, Up, It's Apple Picking Time, Jody Fickes Shapiro How To Make An Apple Pie And See The World, by Marjorie Priceman Make applesauce. Tour a local apple orchard. Download the complete PreK-2 lesson, lesson materials and apple sauce recipe here. |
Apple Investigation
for grades 3-5 OVERVIEW: Fall is the time to investigate apples! In this lesson, students learn that all apples (as well as all types of fruits and vegetables) are not the same. One variety of apple can be very different from another. In this apple investigation, students test different varieties of apples for nine characteristics – including weight, shape, color texture, and taste – and rank them. They graph results of their taste tests, read about the history of apples and how they are grown, and learn the parts of an apple.
Math, language arts, science, and social studies – it’s all here in one fall lesson! OBJECTIVES: The student will be able to: Explain the meaning of a ‘variety’ of a fruit or vegetable. List the parts of an apple and their functions. Compare different varieties of apples by nine criteria and rank them according to their preferences. Graph the results of a class taste test. Read about the history of apples and the cultivation process. MATERIALS: apples of four or five different varieties, including different colors (red, pink, green, yellow), one of each variety for each group of four students. Plastic knives for cutting apples Apple Testing sheet – one per student Apple Facts sheet – one per student Parts Of An Apple chart – one per student PROCEDURES Ask students in their small groups to brainstorm what they know about apples: their history, how they are grown, where they are grown, etc. Bring the whole class together and ask the groups to report their apple facts. Ask a student to record the facts. Cut up an apple to show the students the different parts: calyx: what is left of the apple blossom on the bottom of the apple flesh: the sweet part of the apple that you can eat seeds: can be used to grow new apple trees, but it takes a long time skin: covers and protects the apple's flesh and seeds stem: attaches the apple to the apple tree, bringing water and nutrients to the apple Next, explain to students that there are many different varieties of apple. There are more than 7,500 varieties or types of apples grown in the world and about 2,500 varieties grown in the United States. In New Jersey, 30 apple varieties are grown. Explain to students that they are going to investigate a few different varieties of apples. Pass out the apples to each group and the Apple Testing sheets to each student. Explain that students are going to fill in the chart for each variety of apple. After tasting all of the apples, the students should then rate them for taste, with 5 being the best taste and 1 being the worst taste. Explain that students can use any number from 1 to 5 to rate an apple's taste. Pass out the Parts Of An Apple sheet to each student. Ask students in small groups to separate the parts of one apple onto a piece of paper and label them – calyx, flesh, seeds, skin, and stem. Students then describe the function of each part on the Parts Of An Apple chart. Pass out the Apple Facts sheet to each student. Ask students to read the sheet silently or aloud together as a small group. Ask the groups to discuss and list facts that were new and/or interesting to them. Bring the whole class together. Ask each group to report on their thoughts on the Apple Facts sheet. Then ask the groups to report each student's results of the apple taste test. Tally the results on the board. Then ask each student individually or in their small groups to graph the taste test results. EVALUATION: Successful completion of Apple Testing sheet, Parts Of An Apple sheet, and apple taste test results graph. Students write a paragraph summarizing what they consider the most interesting information from the Apple Facts sheet. EXTENSIONS: Read books about the life cycle and the history of apples such as: An Apple Tree Through The Year, by Claudia Schnieper Apples, by Phyllis Limbacher Tildes The Life and Times of the Apple, by Charles Micucci Make applesauce. Tour a local apple orchard. Download the complete 3-5 lesson, lesson materials, and apple sauce recipe here. 
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