The aim for this Guide is that you will be inspired to use your classroom garden to teach across all components of the curriculum. Science, however, is particularly well-suited to garden instruction. The garden provides ample opportunity for making science inviting and relevant to students' lives by inspiring active exploration and problem solving.

The garden also encourages inquiry, and the application of the Scientific Method, as students use their senses, reasoning, and communication skills to find answers to questions. Students practice and hone scientific process skills by observing, classifying, inferring, measuring, predicting, organizing and interpreting data, forming hypotheses, and identifying variables.

These experiences combined can help improve students' attitude toward science, and encourage study in the STEM areas, which will help students succeed in an increasingly knowledge-based economy.

Key science concepts that can be explored in the garden include:

• Organisms
• Cycles
• Basic requirements for life
• Plant anatomy
• Adaptations
• Interdependence and diversity of life
• Ecological principles
• Pollination

Suggested Classroom Discussion Topics:

• What are the differences between living and nonliving things?
• How are humans like plants? How are they different? Distinguish and describe differences and similarities.
• How does a plant grow? What do plants need to grow? Do all plants need the same things?
• How do plants reproduce?
• How do seeds work? What factors influence germination of seeds?
• How do plants use energy from the sun to make food? Discuss photosynthesis. Do plants need light to photosynthesize?
• Discuss how plants adapt for survival. Research adaptations of seeds for dispersal and adaptations of flowers for attracting pollinators. Observe pollinators in the garden.

Suggested Activities:

• Investigate the functions of different plant structures (cotyledons, roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds). Have students investigate and compare the basic physical characteristics of plants, then report on their findings.
• Discuss with students what helps or hinders plant growth,
• Discuss plant response to stimuli and environmental growing conditions throughout the season.
• Dissect flowers and seeds.
• Observe and discuss the similarities and differences in the needs of various living things, plants included, and differences between living and nonliving things.
• Have students maintain a science journal to record observations, collect data, and keep records and drawings of the garden.

• Project-based learning improves students' knowledge and understanding of ecology and the environment.
• A garden offers an ideal area to teach and reinforce ideas and concepts about plant science, biology, chemistry, soil science, and math.
• Students develop an understanding of the natural world when they are actively engaged in scientific inquiry.
• Create experiments to investigate how light, heat, and moisture affect germination.
• Explain to students that some characteristics are inherited and others are caused by the environment. Locate examples of both in your garden.

Helping students achieve in school and beyond requires a focus on both academic and personal/social development, a focus on the whole child, and whole-school experience. Gardens can facilitate and support such development.