Resource Library
Discover free lesson plans and materials created by our program and partners.

Resource Library

Crop Planning
In this lesson, students apply what they learned about the soil in their garden in the previous two lessons to identify crops that may grow well in their garden.
Grade: 
6 – 8
Progression:
5 of 13
Standards:
Aligned
Companion Planting
In this lesson, students explore the agricultural method of companion planting, a method developed and still used by Indigenous farmers around the world. In this lesson, students will engage with a text about the “Three Sisters” method of planting beans, corn, and squash together.
Grade: 
6 – 8
Progression:
6 of 13
Standards:
Aligned
Biotic Interactions
In this lesson, students complete a card sort activity that introduces them to the various biotic interactions, or interactions between organisms, that may occur in a garden ecosystem.
Grade: 
6 – 8
Progression:
7 of 13
Standards:
Aligned
Weeding By Hand
In this lesson, students apply what they learned in the previous lesson about biotic interactions to explore the organic farming technique of weeding by hand. When farmers weed, they are removing plants they deem to be in competition with the crops they are intentionally cultivating.
Grade: 
6 – 8
Progression:
8 of 13
Standards:
Aligned
Mapping a Garden Food Web
In this lesson, students expand on what they learned in the previous lesson about biotic interactions to begin mapping a food web of the garden. This lesson forms the foundation for the next lessons in which students will consider how matter and energy flow through a garden ecosystem.
Grade: 
6 – 8
Progression:
9 of 13
Standards:
Aligned
Flow of Energy in an Ecosystem
In this lesson, students take a deep dive into exploring how energy moves through a garden ecosystem. First, students define and observe examples of energy in the garden ecosystem. Then they examine where the energy in a garden ecosystem comes from, and whether it could ever run out.
Grade: 
6 – 8
Progression:
10 of 13
Standards:
Aligned
How Matter Moves in an Ecosystem
In this lesson, students take a deep dive into exploring how energy and matter move through a garden ecosystem. Students start by defining and observing examples of matter in the garden ecosystem.
Grade: 
6 – 8
Progression:
11 of 13
Standards:
Aligned
Compost
In this two-day lesson, students will explore the agricultural practice of composting, and the role of decomposition in a garden ecosystem. The first day focuses on exploring the process of decomposition using observations of a series of compost piles at different stages of decomposition.
Grade: 
6 – 8
Progression:
12 of 13
Standards:
Aligned
Final Project
In this lesson, students will synthesize their learning from the unit in order to develop a planting proposal for the garden. Depending on how in-depth you want your students to go, you may choose to spend anywhere from a day to a week on this part of the unit.
Grade: 
6 – 8
Progression:
13 of 13
Standards:
Aligned
Student Engagement Workbook
Student engagement is the degree of attention, interest, curiosity, and positive emotional connections students experience while learning. It is what we build from to understand instruction.
Grade: 
PreK – 2, 3 – 5, 6 – 8, 9 – 12
Practices of Organic Farming: Cover Crops
In this collection of lessons, students will engage in hands-on activities exploring the practices of organic farming. Students will complete a rotation of four activities: soil investigation, cultivation, planting cover crops, and creating a compost pile.
Grade: 
6 – 8, 9 – 12
Progression:
7 of 10

Pages