Resources for PreK-8 Activity 16 – Pass the Plants, Please

Understanding Food and Climate Change: An Interactive Guide uses video, photos, and hands-on experiences for educators and students to learn about how food and climate systems interact. Explore how personal choices about food can make a difference. Ideal for grades 6–12, with connections to Next Generation Science Standards and the National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies themes, the guide offers activities for student research and resources for further investigation.

This 86-minute documentary film, Evolution of Organic: The Story of the Organic Movement Documentary, tells the story of the growing organic agriculture movement. It shares insight into some of the most effective organic farming techniques and the people inspiring and building the movement. The documentary is divided into four acts that can be watched one after another or separately. The fourth act concludes with hope for the future of organic farming and offers advice for young people for ways to grow organic farming and carbon farming and sequester carbon dioxide.

There are over 7,000 school gardens across the nation and you can have one at your own school! This fact sheet from USDA’s Farm to School program provides successful gardening examples and tips in PreK-12 school settings.

The Teaching in Nature’s Classroom: Core Principles of Garden-Based Education e-book highlights 15 principles and best practices for successful garden-based education programs. Use this guide to deepen elementary and middle level students’ connection to nature, food, and outdoor education.

Farm Academy TV provides students with a virtual field trip to an agricultural destination. The 45-60 minute lessons are taught by a Farm Academy Live teacher via a free video conferencing program. Students get to witness agricultural production and processing methods they may never be able to experience otherwise, learn about where their food and fiber comes from, and meet the farmers who produce the products they have grown to love. Raw products are sent directly into the classroom for the students to physically touch and see.

This USDA resource titled School Gardens: Using Gardens to Grow Healthy Habits in Cafeterias, Classrooms, and Communities provides a brief overview of the benefits and educational uses of school gardens. It includes links to successful school garden programs and tips for planning, staffing, funding and maintaining a school garden.

Gardening resources, grant information, and seasonal tips are available at the U.S. Department of Agriculture People’s Garden website.

DooF (“food” spelled backwards) is a fast-paced television series that teaches students ages 6-11 about where food comes from and interests them in good food, because it’s healthy and tastes good!  The accompanying website, www.foodbackwards.com, offers recipes, food-related videos and stories, a blog, and food-literacy materials.

This NPR podcast describes one Oregon School’s Cafeteria strategy to bring real cooking back into the school kitchen.   

Using the USDA-sponsored Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Website, students can learn about local and regional food systems, read case studies, watch videos, and see pictures from the field. Students can also use the interactive Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Compass to discover local and regional USDA-supported food projects in communities across the USA.

Resources from The Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future introduces students to food-system topics and issues. Explore questions such as: What are the strengths and weaknesses of local food systems? How is our food supply dependent on ecosystems? Find slides, handouts, and other supplemental materials on their FoodSpan: Teaching the Food System from Farm to Fork website.

K-4 students explore edible plants in this interdisciplinary life science unit developed by the University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley. Teachers can access supporting resources online. Explore ideas for dissecting plant seeds, observing plant embryos, and organizing observations using diagrams. 

This free, and downloadable book from the National Science Teachers Association entitled, “Gourmet Lab: The Scientific Principals Behind Your Favorite Foods,” gives students the opportunity to discover science concepts and learn experimental design skills through interactions with everyday foods. Targeting students in grade 6-12, Gourmet Lab offers lots of ideas for science teachers to take on the role of scientist and chef as they boil, bake, and toast their way to better understanding science concepts. 

These fact sheets from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension’s Nutrition Education Program provide information about 30 fruits and vegetables. Each fact sheet includes an illustration of the fruit or vegetable along with nutrition information, uses, description, varieties, and where the fruit or vegetable was first cultivated. The sheets could be incorporated into K-12 biology, health, or nutrition lessons or shared with students’ families to help promote healthy eating habits.

Planning to start a garden project? Download this step-by-step guide, provided by the Let’s Move! Presidential initiative, to ensure you won’t miss any information that could support the health of your garden. Detailed checklists offer tips about soil safety, site selection, overall design, plant palette, how to build and use the garden, and the importance of creating local partnerships and utilizing local resources.