K-5 Curriculum

Picture Books

Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table

-Jacqueline Briggs Martin

-Innovative urban farming planning: aquaponics and hydroponics

I am Farmer: Growing an Environmental Movement in Cameroon

-Miranda Paul and Baptiste Paul

-Conveys the importance of sound agricultural practices across farms, schoolyards, communities, and nations

Counting Kindness

-Hollis Kurman and Barroux

-helps readers see the journey of finding a new home and the joys of being welcomed into a new community

Curriculum Sites and Teacher Resources

https://kidsgardening.org/resources/garden-activities-diy-hydroponics/

DIY single hydroponics
Along with having a Life Garden hydroponics system in your classroom, with this curriculum resource, kids can create their own hydroponic soda bottle system to keep in the classroom or take home. This DIY option provides the opportunity to capture kids’ attention by introducing gardening in a nontraditional way. This resource provides background information about how hydroponics work and instructions for the hands-on activity.

https://www.farmtoschool.org/resources-main/exploring-hydroponics-a-classroom-lesson-guide

Classroom lesson guide: exploring hydroponics
Exploring Hydroponics provides how-to information for growing hydroponics in your classroom as well as extensive lesson plans to help students learn through hands-on activities. The five lessons included in this resource offer the opportunity for students to learn about nutrition, food production, and agriculture. This resource targets 3rd-5th grade classrooms.

https://greenourplanet.org/introducing-the-culturally-responsive-hydroponics-curriculum-framework/

Culturally responsive hydroponics curriculum framework
The Culturally Responsive Hydroponics Curriculum Framework encourages all students to learn about hydroponics and celebrates the diversity of students. While this framework discusses the science behind hydroponics, it also makes cross-cultural connections between multiple subject areas such as science, math, social studies, language arts, and art. The big ideas covered in the framework are: 1) Understanding Hydroponics, 2) How Hydroponics Relates to Your Life, 3) Water, 4) Seeds, 5) Plants, 6) Nutrition, 7) Environmental Sustainability, and 8) Designing Hydroponic Systems.

https://www.fns.usda.gov/cfs/farm-school-resources

Farm to School Nutrition Education Curriculum
Dig In! Uses twoo inquiry-based lessons that engage 5th and 6th grade students in learning about growing fruits and vegetables. Students will also explore culinary traditions and how food is grown and cooked all around the world.

https://www.learningtogive.org/units/global-health-hunger-and-food-around-globe-9-12/what-do-people-around-world-eat

What do people around the world eat: Grades 9,10,11,12
This lesson plan teaches students about different foods around the world along with nutrition, types of food, cost, and quantity. The students will develop an awareness of the diversity of food around the globe. In addition, they will identify personal biases and stereotypes related to food. Discussion around stereotypes and diversity will help students develop a deeper understanding of different individuals around the world.

https://www.learningtogive.org/units/global-health-hunger-and-food-around-globe-9-12/where-does-our-food-travel

Where does our food travel: Grades 9,10,11,12
In this lesson, students explore how food travels across the world while diving deep into nutritional value, cost, and sustainability. The learner will compare foods from a typical U.S. diet to their own. They will also dive into the issue of food insecurity and how the issue can be resolved through the nonprofit sector.

https://www.learningtogive.org/units/global-health-hunger-and-food-around-globe-9-12/local-food-and-global-health

Local food and global health
In this lesson, students will identify the global sources of the food that they eat. They will explore how to make sustainable food choices for themselves and identify food-related issues. Students will learn how to address the issues through planning and implementing solutions.

https://foodcorps.org/lesson-plans/

These lessons for K-5 students include hands-on activities to engage students about healthy eating. This resource includes 96 lessons that are organized by grade, season, and theme. Each lesson was developed following Culturally Responsive Teaching, Place Based Learning, and Social and Emotional Learning best practices and frameworks.

1

“Students were highly engaged in this activity. They loved measuring the pH levels and checking to make sure the plants had enough water. Students were thrilled when we harvested their lettuce and were surprised at how easy it seemed to be”

2

“This was such an engaging project for my students! They loved helping care for the plants, as well as measuring, testing, and recording observations as the lettuce grew. We were able to integrate with our science time as well as math and reading. It was a great opportunity for making connections across disciplines and content areas and was very stimulating for the students. They were amazed at how well the plants grew, and their favorite part was harvesting the lettuce that they helped grow and getting to eat it with a delicious homemade dressing. Thank you so much!”

3

“Having the Life Garden in our classroom was such a valuable experience for both my students and myself. We all loved watching our plants grow each day! It was so exciting to hear my student's comments about how fast the plants were growing and how anxious they were to eat them. The Life Garden was enjoyed by everyone in my 3rd-grade classroom and took very little extra work which was a win-win all the way around!”

4

“The hydroponics is all set up with a schedule and easy to follow directions. The students loved checking on them each class time. Salad Party Day was a hit!”

K-5 Cu​rriculum