Our Clubhouse Project

Performance Task 3: Landscape design

Note: Budget and money continue through Performance Task 3 as students will purchase more supplies for garden design.

LESSON 1:             FLOWERS EVERYWHERE

Objective:

Students will learn the names of flowers and plants as they create a collage.

Students will create an acrostic poem about flowers.

Activity 1

Materials:

Down To Earth by Michael Rosen

Home and Garden magazines

A field’s guide to flower and plant names

Sample acrostic poems

Art paper

Glue

Scissors

Begin landscape discussion by reading a few stories from Down To Earth by Michael Rosen.  Have students share personal garden stories. Using Home and Garden magazines, make a collage of different flowers and plants on art paper.  Label the names of the plants and flowers when finished.

Journal

Choosing a flower or plant, write an acrostic poem.

Example:

Red     

Ornamental colors

Sweet smelling

Extraordinary

Assessment

Check students’ acrostic poems for the use of vivid and colorful descriptive words.
LESSON 2: GARDEN SHAPES

Objectives

Students will determine the area of a closed figure using the geoboard and the graph paper.

Students will use research skills to find out information about flowers and plants.

Activity 2A

Materials

Garden Crafts for Kids by Diane Rhodes

My Backyard Garden by Carol Lerner

Growing Things by Angela Wilks and John Shackell

Geoboards &  rubber bands

Introduce Garden Crafts for Kids by Diane Rhodes, My Backyard Garden by Carol Lerner, and Growing Things by Angela Wilks and John Shackell.

Tell students that there is a 4’ by 4’ plot of land next to the clubhouse that can be used for a garden.

Using a geoboard as a model of their garden, students explore design possibilities.  Facilitator might want to refer to attached Sample  A.

Students choose their favorite design and determine the square footage for their design.(Area)

Some may use the entire 4’ by 4’ land and some may not depending on their design.

Activity 2B

Materials

My Backyard Garden by Carol Lerner

Garden Crafts for Kids by Diane Rhodes

Graph paper

Coloring markers/coloring pencils

Students transfer their geoboard design on graph paper. 

Facilitator reads pages 10-11 in My Backyard Garden by Carol Lerner.  Using reference books, students decide which flowers, vegetables and or shrubs will grow successfully in their geographic location.

Refer to pages 11-14 in Garden Crafts for Kids.

Journal

Write about what you would like to grow in your garden and why.

Example-

“ I want to grow carrots because a rabbit family might move in.”

 Assessment

Assess the accuracy of the students’ graph drawings of the area of their garden.

Assess students’ ability in using reference books to find appropriate information about the flowers and plants.
LESSON 3: RESEARCH

Objectives

Students will make a map of their garden following the specifications for optimal growing condition including a key, scale and a compass.

Activity 3

Materials:

Internet access

Graph paper

Encyclopedias

Ruler

Coloring pencils

Using reference books and Internet sites, students research optimum growing conditions for selected plants.  Students discuss spacing and light requirements.  Using the graph of their garden, students draw and color the arrangement of different plants and flowers in their garden.  A key, scale and a compass to this garden should be included.  Refer to Sample C.

Homework

Journal: Calculate the footage they will need to build a fence around their garden. (perimeter: the distance around the edge of a figure. )  Explain how you figured out the perimeter of the garden.

Assessment

Check the key, scale and the compass to see if students have a clear understanding of maps.

Check students’ accuracy on the perimeter of their garden.
LESSON 4 AND 5: Grow! Grow! Grow!

Objective

Students make a 3-D model of their garden.

Activity 4

Materials:

Clay

Toothpicks

Construction paper

Pipe cleaners

Using land (the base of the clubhouse) students will make a 3-D model of their garden according to the following steps:

1. Students refer to their budgets and order necessary supplies which will include modeling clay, toothpicks etc.

2. Students lay down soil (modeling clay) and begin planting ( flower and plant faces attached to toothpicks) See Sample D.

Homework

Journal : Students balance their budget. 

Assessment

Check students’ budget sheet.
LESSON 6: Final showcase for parents, students and or school

Objective

Students advertise or sell the committee (parents and classmates) their special clubhouse.  Presentation will include:

Efficient use of budget

Safety precautions

Creative design

Function of clubhouse

Assessment: 

Rubric

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bailey, Vanessa & Robson, Denny.             1991.             Rainy Days: Grow it for Fun. Gloucester Press.ISBN 0-531-17343-7.

Fell, Derek.             1989.             A Kid’s First Book of Gardening: Running Press. ISBN 0-89471-750-2.

Handelsman, Judith. F.   1993. Garden From Garbage: Millbrook Press. ISBN 1-56294-229-8

Ichikawa, Satomi. 1990.             Rosy’s Garden: Philomel Books. ISBN 0-399-21881-5.

Krementz, Jill.             1991.             A Very Young Gardener: Dial Books. ISBN 0-8037-0874-2

Lerner, Carol.               1998.             My Backyard Garden: Morrow Junior Books.

ISBN 0-688-14755-0

Rhoades, Diane. 1995.            Garden Crafts for Kids: Sterling/Lark Books. ISBN 0-8069-0998-6

Robinson, Fay.             1994.             Vegetables, vegetables!: Childrens Press. ISBN 0-516-06030-9

Rosen, Michael.            1998.             Down to Earth: Harcourt Brace & Company. ISBN 0-15-201341-5

Smith, Maggie.             1998.             This is Your Garden: Crown Publishers. ISBN 0-517-70992-9

Gardening

Library Catalogue section – J 635