Grow knowledge in your classroom. Incorporate horticulture and landscaping into your lesson plans. You don’t have to have a green thumb, and you don’t have to talk about plants in science class only. They can serve as a wonderful teaching tool in math, language arts and visual arts curriculums, for example. And you might even encourage a budding gardener toward a new hobby.

Consider developing a garden or landscape at your school. This class project will help kids get hands-on experience with the plant growth cycle. It can also be used for math and writing lessons, and it can teach important skills about planning and organization, teamwork and good citizenship. Use our interactive YardBuilder to help determine the placement of elements and plan the landscape.

Visit our Sun Safety page for tips and helpful information about staying safe while working and playing outdoors – an important health lesson for kids of all ages.

We’ve included a few lesson plans to get you thinking about how you might use nature and landscaping topics in your classroom:

Landscaping Poetry and Creative Writing

Even in the winter, students can stay in touch with the outdoors (plants, weather, insects and other natural wonders). Work with students to write a poem, essay or story, strengthening their grammar, spelling, phonics, parts of speech, figurative language and individual expression. Suggested topics:

• Have students describe their backyard using as much detail as possible. If they have a hard time, tell them to describe time they spent with family or friends in their backyard.

• Show students an image of a beautiful landscape and invite them to create a story in that setting.

• Bring in a flower or plant and ask your students to write a poem about it. You can also have each student bring in their own flower.

Decorative Hanging Flowerpots

Ask each student to bring in an empty two-liter soda bottle. Help students cut the bottle in half. Using the bottom, they will cover the edges with masking tape, then punch holes on either side of the top edge. They will then thread pipe cleaners through the holes and twist the ends together to form the handle. Punch holes in the bottom of the pot for water drainage. Students can decorate them and take them home.

Integrating Math and Landscaping

Students will complete activities and projects that incorporate horticulture and math reasoning as they discover many links between science and math and acquire knowledge about numerous types of plants. Suggested lessons:

• Plot the best locations for planting.

• Learn to create a scale drawing as they develop dimensions/diagrams of plots and plantings.

• Use/read a measuring tape as they measure dimensions.

• Analyze plant information/specifications for proper planting instructions such as spacing, depth, and sun requirements.

• Study the effects of weather on plants.

• Learn about the use and handling of garden tools and equipment. • Create color patterns.

Photosynthesis and Transpiration

(Appropriate for grades one and up)

Students will examine and understand the effects that light and air have on green plants. Materials:

• Two planting containers

• Seeds (beans or peas)

• Soil

• Dark area and bright area

• Glass bottle and drive

Soak seeds in water overnight. Together with the class, plant a few seeds in each container. Place one container in a dark place (closet), and the other in a bright place (on a windowsill). Ask students to predict and record by drawing or writing what they believe will happen to seeds above and below the soil. Keep seeds in their light and dark places for about a week, and water them when the soil gets dry.

After a week or so, compare seeds. Ask students to record their observations. Were their predictions correct? Ask the class to discuss why they think there is a difference between the two plants. Explain photosynthesis: Plants use light to make food for themselves.

Place the rest of the unhealthy seedlings in the bright place and record any changes. Review photosynthesis. Place healthy seedlings in a bright place with a clear bottle on top. Overnight, condensation will collect on the inside of the bottle. The condensation is the water vapor emitted by the plant when it exchanges oxygen for carbon dioxide, a process called transpiration.

Kids can learn more about the amazing things going on right outside their backdoor in a special section  of this site designed just for them. It’s full of safety information, games and interactive fun.