Assessment
Students will draw and describe a garden that they will grow. Students will describe what they will grow, and describe how they will make sure that the plants get the things that they need to produce the food that will make big, healthy vegetables and fruits.

Scoring Rubric (Out of 5 Points)

• 1 point if they draw and describe a garden
• 1 point if they identify air as one of the things a plant needs to produce food
• 1 point if they identify water as one of the things a plant needs to produce food
• 1 point if they identify sunlight as one of the things a plant needs to produce food
• 1 point if they identify nutrients or soil as one of the things a plant needs to survive
• Total: 5 Points

Top

Cross-Curricular Extensions
Social Studies Extension
Students will research what plants are grown and eaten the most in South Carolina and compare these with the plants that are grown and eaten the most in the world. Why are some plants eaten more than others? Do they produce more food energy?

Math Extension
Tell students to pretend that they can measure the amount of food energy produced by a plant in gallons, as if it were gasoline in a car. Pretend that every time the energy was passed in the food chain from one organism to another, five gallons of energy were lost. How many animals could exist in the food chain if the plant produced ten gallons of energy? 20 gallons? 30 gallons?  Have them calculate the energy that is lost and determine how many organisms can be supported based on the amount of energy produced by the plant. Ask them to consider if energy is lost in a real food chain and if there is enough energy in a real food chain for it to go forever. 

English Extension
Have the students write a recipe for the photosynthesis process as if it were an entry in a cookbook. Have them write it in a clear descriptive fashion so that someone totally unfamiliar with photosynthesis could create their own glucose and oxygen by following the recipe.

English Extension
Have the students read the book Weslandia by Paul Fleischman. Have them write their own story about how they could use the plants in their backyard for to build their own civilization.

Social Studies Extension
Create a garden plan that is representative of South Carolina’s diverse plant life. Students can use resources such as field guides to choose plants that can be used in a distinctive garden. The rules are that:

• each garden plan must have at least five different plants that represent both different geological regions of the state and different types of plants (trees, shrubs, wildflowers, aquatic plants, etc.)
• the students should list characteristics of the plants that help them survive in their environment
• the garden plans can be written and/or illustrated, with each plant identified by common name and the region(s) of the state they grow in.

Science Extension
by Brad Burnham