School Garden Curriculum STEM & Ecology Integration | 8 Units 40 Lessons Gr K-5

Bring the garden into your classroom with a premium, standards-aligned STEM and Ecology Curriculum designed for Grades K–5!

This comprehensive School Garden Curriculum: STEM + Ecology Integration is a massive, 8-unit resource that connects authentic garden-based learning to rigorous science, math, and ELA standards. Whether you have a thriving school garden, a few container pots on a windowsill, or no garden at all, this resource provides everything you need to engage students in hands-on environmental education.

Perfect for STEM blocks, science blocks, or cross-curricular instruction, this resource includes 8 complete unit guides (5 lessons each = 40 total lessons), a student observation journal, data collection sheets, plant diagram labeling activities, STEM connection notes, and harvest math activities!

🌿 WHAT’S INCLUDED

8 Comprehensive Unit Guides (5 Lessons Each): Each lesson includes objectives, materials (with indoor/no-garden alternatives), step-by-step procedures, STEM & ELA connections, assessments, and differentiation for K–2 and 3–5.

Unit 1: Plant Life Cycles (Seed exploration, germination, growth stages, roots/stems/leaves, seed saving) Unit 2: Soil Science (Soil components, texture ribbon test, percolation/drainage, soil food web, erosion) Unit 3: Composting (Decomposition, Greens & Browns recipe, building a bin, compost critters, harvesting humus) Unit 4: Food Systems (Farm to table, plant parts we eat, food miles, cultural gardens, food preservation/waste) Unit 5: Seed Dispersal (Why seeds travel, wind/animal/water dispersal, mechanical/explosive pods, engineering challenge) Unit 6: Pollination (Flower anatomy, pollination process, pollinator syndromes, habitat design, citizen science count) Unit 7: Seasonal Harvest (Phenology, cool/warm season crops, growth rates, harvest readiness, crop rotation) Unit 8: Garden Ecosystems (Biotic/abiotic factors, food chains/webs, symbiosis, biodiversity/IPM, stewardship) Student-Facing Supplemental Pages:

Garden Observation Journal: Custom cover, observation logs, and plant growth trackers. Data Collection Sheets: Germination lab, soil percolation, and pollinator tally sheets. Plant Diagram Labeling: Seed anatomy, whole plant structures, and flower pollination anatomy. Harvest Math Activities: Real-world data tables and word problems using garden yields. STEM Connection Notes: A comprehensive teacher guide mapping the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math concepts in every unit. 🧠 SKILLS COVERED

Science/NGSS: Life cycles, ecosystems, plant anatomy, decomposition, heredity, conservation. STEM: Experimental design, biomimicry, engineering models (catapults/seed planes), data analysis, metric measurement. Math (CCSS): Measurement, graphing, fractions, addition/subtraction word problems, calculating area and volume. ELA (CCSS): Informative/explanatory writing, narrative writing, reading informational text, collaborative discussions. 🍎 HOW TO USE

Full Year Curriculum: Follow the 8 units sequentially as a complete year-long STEM/Science curriculum. Stand-Alone Units: Teach units independently based on your current science standards or seasonal relevance (e.g., teach Unit 7 in Fall, Unit 6 in Spring). Indoor or Outdoor: Every lesson includes "Classroom Alternative" instructions—no outdoor garden space is required! Differentiated Instruction: Easily adapt lessons for lower elementary (K-2) or upper elementary (3-5) using the specific differentiation notes provided in every lesson. 🎯 GRADE SUITABILITY

Designed specifically for Grades K–5. Every lesson contains explicit differentiation strategies, vocabulary adjustments, and varied assessment expectations for K–2 learners and 3–5 learners, making it perfect for single-grade classrooms or multi-age STEM programs.

📏 STANDARDS ALIGNMENT

Explicitly aligned with:

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS): K-LS1-1, 2-LS2-1, 3-LS1-1, 5-LS2-1, 4-LS1-1, 4-ESS2-1, and more. Common Core State Standards - Math (CCSS-Math): Measurement, Data, Fractions, and Operations. Common Core State Standards - ELA (CCSS-ELA): Informative writing, reading informational texts, speaking & listening.