Gardening

First grade students will participate in a variety of activities surrounding a school garden. The school is considered under-performing, and the students are of a low-socio-economic status. Ninety percent of the class is English Language learners. In the fall, students will study the soil and inhabitants who live in the soil. They will plant lettuce and other winter vegetables. In the spring the students will plant a garden around a meal of choice, chosen from the book How to Grow Your Own Pizza. Students will grow the plants and create a lunch for another class in the school, producing invitations, menus, and a meal. At the lunch, the students will introduce the other class their project including the benefits of vegetables using a Hyper Studio presentation. Throughout the year, students will cook/prepare healthy snacks to demonstrate that vegetables taste good and are a good snack. Students will share their snacks with a kindergarten class at the school. In addition, each month students will prepare a food item that corresponds to a holiday or celebration.