Garden to Classroom
My Students
My students are 6th, 7th and 8th graders attending a public middle school in Union City, CA. My students are all working with learning differences of varying types and degrees. About a third of my students are also English Language Learners. Many of my students struggle with engaging with school in the traditional way.
My students love coming into class and getting straight to work when they are excited to do the tasks.
What I am working on is integrating language, math and scientific skills using many learning styles. Your gift can help one of the most diverse groups of students around access interesting topics and skills in ways that they wouldn’t be able to otherwise.
My Project
Students will be working on building the soil at the school garden so that they can grow their own veggies, which they will include in their cooking and baking projects. We will be composting, growing worms, and planting vegetables from students’ national traditions.
Students can and will learn about science, math, and biology through growing healthful food that they cook and bake themselves.
In the garden and classroom, they will be exploring the nitrogen cycle, photosynthesis, chemical reactions, fermentation, and heredity.
Many students with learning differences have not had access to diverse ways of learning and have, at times, developed a negative connection to math and science. Through applied measurements, fractions, data tracking, recipe building, and documentation, my students will thrive and create long-lasting positive connections to science and math.
We will be using the garden tools (rakes, shovels, and rakes) to bring our school garden back to life from its current weed-infested state and to keep it in awesome condition going forward. We will also be using the Cuisinaire cookware sets and toaster ovens/baking equipment in class to learn about healthy eating habits, math, and the science of cooking. This is truly going to be a garden to classroom project that will last for years and impact the students for their entire lifetime.