The sustainable vegetable garden

LEARNING PATHWAY CREATED BY THE LEARNING COMMUNITY


The sustainable vegetable garden

Authors: C. Albrici, G. Boni, N. Pellegrino

Overall aims:

  • Increasing knowledge and respect for the natural world;
  • Understand the need for collaboration and communication;
  • Experiencing autonomy in management;
  • Assuming responsibility and daily attention;
  • Developing fine motor skills.

Intended learning outcomes

  • Understand the importance of proper nutrition;
  • Recognise different types of vegetables;
  • Recognise the classification of foods;
  • Know how to plant, water, cultivate;
  • Know how to represent food in the food pyramid;
  • Recognise the seasonality of vegetables;

Pathway structure

The learning pathway is composed by 3 activities in total. There is a 10-day active period and an observational period during the school year.

Activity 1: The food pyramid – 2 days

  • Day 1 (2h): A youtube video is shown in which different foods in the food pyramid are presented, followed by an explanation. Discussion on one’s eating habits. 
  • Day 2 (2h): Representation of one’s own food pyramid.

Activity 2: Creating the vegetable garden – 1 week

Each child brings a jar (yogurt) from home. The teacher brings soil, seeds, cotton wool and spoons for planting. Setting up the vegetable garden in a sunny spot in the garden.  Each day the children will water the garden for 5 minutes. Each child will be assigned 3 different seeds.

Activity 3: Observe the transformation of the vegetable garden – during the different seasons

Evaluation

Final evaluation through oral questions related to what was observed in the creation of the garden. 

  • Which vegetables did we plant?
  • Can you tell me a type of carbohydrate?
  • Can you tell me a type of protein?
  • Can you tell me in what season a vegetable of your choice grows?

References

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