DRAFT 1
Lesson Title: Garden Map
Grade Level: First
Subject Area: Social Studies (Geography)
Setting: Classroom and School Garden
Instructional Time: 30 - 45 min.
Grade Level Expectation (s):
1-G1.0.1 Construct simple maps of the classroom to demonstrate aerial perspective.
3 MNN Behavioral Outcome (USDA Guidance on Apple Sheet):
Eat fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk products every day.
SNAP-Ed Core Nutrition Messages: (Page 5 of Maximizing the Message):
Want your kids to reach for a healthy snack? Make sure fruits and veggies are in reach.
What type of garden setting? Classroom and School Garden
Goal:
The students will draw a simple map of the school garden as if looking down upon it from a “birds-eye
view”. They will note the important features of the garden, and they will harvest some plants that would
make healthy snacks.
Learning Objectives: (no more than 3 per lesson), measurable and observable, SMART
1. The students will draw an areal view map of the school garden.
2. The students will identify garden features such as plants, paths or structures.
3. The students will harvest and identify fruits and vegetables for healthy snacks.
Background (Registered Dietitians and Horticultural Specialists.)
NONE
Vocabulary (less than 5 recommended, none required)
Map- A drawing that shows how a place looks from above.
Aerial – In the air.
Garden Key Legend Advanced Preparation
The teacher should prepare for the lesson by gathering all materials needed in advance and planting an
indoor or outdoor garden.
Supplies
© 2009 MSU Extension, Children, Youth, Families & Communities, Michigan Nutrition Network DRAFT ‐School Garden Nutrition Education 1 
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Garden
Chart paper
Aerial View Fire Exit map (always posted in each classroom)
Examples of aerial view garden maps
8 ½ x 11 unlined sheets of newsprint, 1 per student
Crayons
Pencils
8 ½ x 11 white drawing paper, 1 per student
Clipboards, 1 per student (optional, any hard surface will do)
Vegetables for samples (if none are available in your garden)
Safety Notes (up to 30 words or state “None”)
Remind children not to taste the plants in the garden.
Wash vegetables and fruits before eating them in the classroom.
Procedures
Step 1
Gather students together at their classroom meeting spot.
Step 2
Present GLCE as the focus of the lesson. Ask students to share what they already know about maps.
Discuss. Share pictures of garden maps and ask students what they notice. (Plants are green, trees are
circles, black for pathways, etc.)
Step 3
Tell children they will make a healthy map of the school garden. Explain that the map will be healthy as
the plants grown in the garden fall into the food groups on MyPyramid. Explain that the map will be an
“aerial” view and review the definition of the word. Show the fire exit map posted in the classroom. This is
always an aerial view.
Step 4
Explain that they will make a special drawing of the garden called a map. The map will show how the
garden looks from above (aerial view) just as a bird flying over the garden would see it. Explain that we
see things more completely when looking down from the sky. Nothing is hidden as might happen if the
map was drawn looking across the garden at ground level.
Step 5
Have students return to their desks/tables and practice drawing objects from an overhead view. Students
place four small items on the floor beside them, and draw only how the tops of the items appear from
above. Tell students that they will use this technique for making a map of the garden. They can imagine
that they are a bird flying above.
Step 6
© 2009 MSU Extension, Children, Youth, Families & Communities, Michigan Nutrition Network DRAFT ‐School Garden Nutrition Education 2 Discuss and list on chart paper the students’ ideas for important things to include on the garden map
(Example: Garden paths, beds of flowers, fruits, and vegetables, the greenhouse, garden-theme areas,
grade-level areas, statuary, etc.) Develop a simple key or legend.
Step 7
Go to the garden and pass out drawing materials. Have students draw their own maps of the school
garden, including the important things listed on the chart paper.
Step 8
Check for garden plants that are ready to harvest. This might include radishes, tomatoes, carrots,
cucumbers, etc, depending on the time of year. Take fruits/vegetables back to the classroom. Wash them
and taste test them identifying where each item belongs on MyPyramid for Kids.
Step 9
While students taste test, review what aerial maps are, and how the students made this one. (An aerial
map is drawn from above; a drawing that shows the entire garden from above.) Have students share
their garden maps with the class.
Step 10
Send home the garden map to show their families.
Assessment
1. As the children are creating their maps, the teacher is walking around and checking their
garden maps for accuracy. She/he will be looking for overhead views and for the
inclusion of important features.
2. Children will select healthy snacks from the garden. If this is the first year for your garden,
purchase some vegetables for taste testing. For example, if cucumbers are planted but
not ripe yet, have cucumbers from the grocery store available to taste test.
Answer Key
Student Pages
Student Page
Visual Aid Drafts/Suggestions
Show students the fire drill map which is posted in the classroom. This is typically an aerial view.
Maps of other gardens:
Strategies for Below-Level Readers
Work with a buddy to place important features on the map.
Strategies for Above-Level Readers
© 2009 MSU Extension, Children, Youth, Families & Communities, Michigan Nutrition Network DRAFT ‐School Garden Nutrition Education 3 Add map symbols and a legend. Provide graph paper and have students draw the map to scale.
Extension Ideas
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Discuss MyPyramid, the recommended servings of each food group, and have students map an
areal view of a place of food. The plate would need to be divided ahead of time, perhaps on a
poster sized paper.
Map the classroom.
Plan and map an ideal garden, including features that are favorites of the student.
Supporting Resources
Teacher Resources
Map of Longwood Gardens: http://www.longwoodgardens.org/docs/MapOutdoor2009.pdf or
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/1251489
Interactive Map of Versailles Gardens:
http://en.chateauversailles.fr/templates/versailles/map/MapMain.php
Schoolyard Mosaics: Designing Gardens and Habitats (National Gardening Association, 1100
Dorset St., So. Burlington, Vermont 05403 (800 538-7476)
Literature
Map Mania, Michael A. DiSpezio, Sterling Publishing Co. Inc., 2002.
Me on the Map, Joan Sweeney, Knopf Books, 1996
My Map Book Sara Fanelli, HarperCollins Publishing, 1995
Websites
http://www.proteacher.org/c/103_MAPS_Globes.htm
www.kidsgardening.com
The teacher poses the following question: What does the playground look like to a bird? With their eyes
closed, students imagine the bird is flying over their classroom. Students describe what they see. The
teacher displays the first two pages of the book Me on the Map
© 2009 MSU Extension, Children, Youth, Families & Communities, Michigan Nutrition Network DRAFT ‐School Garden Nutrition Education 4 ME ON THE MAP By Joan Sweeney. Interest Level =K-3 Reading Level.=1.7A
child describes how her room, her house, her town, her state, and her country become part of a map of
her world. ISBN-13: 978-0-517-88557-4
Perhaps the teacher could show an aerial map of the school if it exists. Take the students to Google
Earth on the computer and show them an overhead view of their school or even of their own
neighborhood. http://earth.google.com/geoeye/index.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lswBDZuL-8w If you are really brave, take a flight with a golden eagle
and see what “bird’s eye view” really means.
Bird’s Eye View of A Baseball Pitcher from www.fotosearch.com
http://www.smallstep.gov/kids/flash/can_your_food.html CAN YOUR FOOD DO THAT? Easy to use
animated site to use with an adult. Color pictures and big text discuss the benefits of certain fruits and
vegetables.
Guess what veggies grow the fastest? Leaf lettuce, radishes, bush beans, onion sets, mustard and turnip
greens, beets and peas.
FUN Fact: The best time to water your plants is in the morning.
© 2009 MSU Extension, Children, Youth, Families & Communities, Michigan Nutrition Network DRAFT ‐School Garden Nutrition Education 5 HOW GROUNDHOG’S GARDEN GREW by Lynne Cherry ISBN-13: 978-0-43932371-0
Interest level=K-3 Reading Level = 3.7 Booklist (Review February 1, 2003 (Vol. 99, No. 11))
PreS-Gr. 3. Little Groundhog loves eating from the neighbor's vegetable garden--maybe too much.
Perhaps it's time he planted his own garden and, fortunately, Squirrel is willing to show him how. The two
animals collect seeds, store them, and after winter hibernation and spring thaw, plant and tend them. By
summer, Little Groundhog is joyfully harvesting and eating what they sowed. And such a plentiful harvest
calls for sharing, bringing a wonderful Thanksgiving feast for all to enjoy. In simple, descriptive language,
Cherry, author of The Great Kapok Tree (1990), tells a charming and also informative story about plants,
gardening, and environmental respect. Her beautiful, full-color illustrations--realistic and wonderfully
detailed--often incorporate spot-art borders of labeled seedlings and plants, highlighting a diverse array of
wildlife. In an author's note, Cherry describes her own gardening experiences and suggests a few
resources for information. Little Groundhog is an endearing character whose awe in the miracle of growth
is irresistible; by the close of the story, he has learned the rewards and joy of gardening, as well as the
pleasures of friendship and giving.
Bird’s Eye View of A Subdivision. www. fotosearch.com
LADDER GARDEN
An old wooden stepladder makes a nice easy herb garden. Lay the ladder down on a flat area of your
garden. Fill in between the rungs with potting soil. Plant a different herb in each section.
© 2009 MSU Extension, Children, Youth, Families & Communities, Michigan Nutrition Network DRAFT ‐School Garden Nutrition Education 6