CBLI SCHOOL GARDENS PROJECT
The Three Sisters
garden lessons
Elena Martinez
ENV 307, F2010
Why teach in school gardens?
• Enliven and connect curriculum requirements
through experiential learning
• Assist student in understanding new ideas
through hands-on learning and cooperation
• Improve environmental ethic and nutritional
preferences through contact with local
ecology
• Increase standardized test scores and grades
through enthusiasm towards lessons
The Three Sisters garden lessons
• A unit of lessons for 4th and 5th grade classes
about Lenni Lenape culture
• Students plan, plant, and harvest a Three Sisters
garden
• Lessons in other subjects connect to the Three
Sisters garden
• Lessons based on 2009 New
Jersey Core Curriculum
Content Standards and the
2010 Common Core Standards
http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/teach/2003045238014436.html
Suggested Lesson Sequence
• Spring of Grade 4
– Lesson 1: Garden design and planting the Three Sisters
– Lesson 2: Life cycles of the Three Sisters
– Lesson 3: Lenni Lenape legends
• Fall of Grade 5
–
–
–
–
Lesson 4: The Colombian Exchange in the garden
Lesson 5: Harvesting the Three Sisters
Lesson 6: Cooking and eating the Three Sisters
Lesson 7: Lenni Lenape Art
CORE GARDEN LESSONS:
Planting and Harvesting
• Lesson: Garden design and planting the Three
Sisters
– Use mathematical skills to plan and plant the
garden
• Lesson: Harvesting the Three Sisters
– Review plant life cycles while you harvest corn,
beans, and squash
MORE GARDEN LESSONS:
Other subjects in the garden
• Lesson: Life cycles of the Three Sisters
– Observe and study the life cycles of corn, beans, and
squash.
• Lesson: The Colombian Exchange in the garden
– Reintroduce children to the garden while identifying
plants and their origins.
• Lesson: Cooking and eating the Three Sisters
– Learn about nutrition and cook your corn, beans,
and/or squash.
SUPPLEMENTARY LESSONS:
Literature and Art
• Lesson: Lenni Lenape legends
– Practice writing and editing by writing your own
Lenni Lenape legends
• Lesson: Lenni Lenape art
– Create your own Lenni Lenape arts and crafts to
display in the Three Sisters garden
SUMMARY
• Students learn about Lenni Lenape culture
and traditions
• Lessons address curriculum requirements in
reading, writing, social studies, science,
mathematics, and visual arts
• Children create, study, and
harvest their own garden
http://www.plantingtomorrows.com/corn.shtml
References and Resources for Teachers
Blair, D. 2009. The child in the garden: An evaluative review of the benefits
of school gardening. The Journal of Environmental Education 40: 15-38.
DeMarco, LW. 1997. The factors affecting elementary school teachers’
integration of school gardening into the curriculum. Unpublished
doctoral dissertation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Virginia.
Mackey, B and JM Stewart. 2008. Grow science achievement in your library
with school gardens. Library Media Connection 27: 34-37.
Bial, R. 2005. The Deleware. Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish
Benchmark.
Grumet, RS. 1989. The Lenapes. New York: Chelsea House Publishers.
Messinger, C and S Katz. 2007. When the shadbush blooms. Berkeley, CA:
Tricycle Press.
Van Laan, N. 1989. Rainbow Crow. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Princeton School Gardens Cooperative Website –
http://www.prs.k12.nj.us/GardenCoop.