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  INTRODUCING STUDENTS TO THE GARDEN

There are several steps in preparing students for their three-year experience in the garden. The first one takes place in the sixth grade classroom, before students have set foot in the garden itself. At the beginning of the school year, the garden manager visits each classroom and presents a thirty-minute discussion centered on the concept of respect. Rather than giving the students a list of the things that they can't do in the garden (no stepping on beds, no throwing tools, etc), the garden manager discusses the concept of respect and how it might translate in the garden. At the end of the orientation, students are offered a taste from the garden, typically Cape Gooseberries, which few students have tried before and come in their own natural package.

The second activity used to familiarize students with the garden is a card hike that comprises each sixth grade student's first garden class. The card hike is a self-guided tour that leads students across the garden by means of a series of sequentially numbered cards placed throughout the garden. Approximately 40 cards are used in our garden due to its large size. Some cards ask students to observe a plant or point of interest, others encourage students to sample something using their senses (taste, touch, and smell), and other cards provide historical information about the garden. Some examples of the things written on the cards are: "Pick a yellow cherry tomato and eat it," "Smell the rose geranium" "Feel the leaf of this plant," and "Check out all the seeds in the head of the sunflower!" The card hike gives the students a structured, yet self-paced opportunity to explore and get acquainted with the garden.

The third activity is the sixth grader's second visit to the garden. Within this class period, each small group harvests ears of corn and roasts them on a charcoal grill. Planting the corn is also an annual ritual, undertaken by the seventh grade each spring to welcome new students in the fall. The experience of harvesting, cooking, and eating fresh corn is one that students refer to continually throughout their time at MLK Middle School.

Garden Orientation Sheet
Coming soon...

EDIBLE SCHOOLYARD SENSORY SCAVENGER HUNT

As an alternative to the Card Hike, this activity can be done at the beginning of the year with 6th grade students. Its purpose is to familiarize students with the garden through activities that invoke sensory learning. The Scavenger Hunt takes less time than the Card Hike because students work collaboratively. Each child works with a partner to solve riddles focused on taste, smell, touch, hearing, and sight. This activity can be adjusted to the seasonality of the garden, as well as to meet any special group needs - it works with teachers as part of staff development day, as well as visiting groups of younger students.
 
Materials
5 brown paper lunch bags, construction paper of various colors, and 1" by 8" strips of paper to write clues on.

Procedure
Mark each paper bag with one of the five senses and fill it with riddles or clues that will encourage students' exploration of the garden. Explain to the class that they will be looking around the garden for answers to clues using their senses. Brainstorm what the 5 senses are. Students are paired and each group picks a riddle from one of the paper bags. They explore in the garden until they find the solution to their riddle. NOTE: It is important that they do not eat anything without checking with an adult first; we post adults near the edible clues. When they have solved a clue, each pair of students returns it to the bag and takes a new one. Approximately 5 different clues per sense, in duplicate, should be adequate for a class.

Sample Questions
(This can be amended for any grade level; these are some we have used with 6th graders)

Taste
  • Find a tall plant with yellow umbrella-like flowers. Taste a flower. What does it remind you of? Ancient Roman warriors sometimes wore crowns of the leaves on their heads. (Fennel)
  • Find a plant in the herb garden with lots of red trumpet shaped flowers. Eat a flower. What does it taste like? (Pineapple sage)
  • Find the rows of raspberries, try a golden raspberry and a red raspberry. Which do you like better, which is sweeter?

Smell
  • Find a plant near the arch that has tall stalks with tiny purple flowers. Smell the flowers. This flower is used to make perfumes, and research shows that the smell can make you more alert. (Lavender)
  • Find a plant with leaves that look almost like pine needles. Rub the leaves and smell your fingers. Do you recognize the scent? The leaves are used in cooking and also in perfumes. (Rosemary)
  • Find a shrub with thin bright green leaves and small white flowers. Rub the leaf. What type of fruit does it remind you of? You can boil these leaves for tea. (Lemon verbena)

Touch
  • Find something spiky.
  • Find something smooth.
  • Find something soft.

Sight
  • Two different things get put into these bags. Paper cut into shapes, and squares of different colored construction paper. Students choose a color and go around the garden looking for an exact match. They then choose a shape and look for that shape in the garden. The shapes and colors are varied but not made with any specific plant in mind.

Hearing
  • Listen for how many different birds you hear in one minute.
  • Listen for 3 natural sounds and 3 non-natural sounds.

Closing
At the end of class time (approximately 30 minutes), students come back to the closing circle to share one observation they have made during the Scavenger Hunt with the entire group.

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