Activity: Fruit and Veggie Ads

Companies constantly market to children, trying to get them to try sugary snacks and treats.  Students can easily recall and recite products' jingles, slogans, or spokesperson.

In this activity, students will use their own powers of persuasion to create advertisements for items from their school garden.

Assignment:

• Begin with a discussion of advertising and persuasion. 
• Talk about how marketers try to convince their audience to try new products.
• Show examples of advertisements and ask questions, such as:
• What claims does the advertisement make?
• What imagery does it use to sell the product?
• In addition to the actual product, what attributes (i.e. friendship, happiness, comfort, etc) is the ad trying to sell?
• Who is the advertisement targeting? 
• Is it effective? Why or why not?
• Each student or team will each choose, or be assigned, a fruit or vegetable.  
• Students will research the health benefits of their particular fruit/veggie.
• Each student or team will create their own advertisement to convince and persuade their peers to try their fruit/veggie.  Students are encouraged to be creative by making their own video, print ad, or jingle.
• Students will present their finished advertisement to the class. 
• Students will vote or rank the persuasiveness of each advertisement.

Alternatives:

• Students can also create public service announcements boasting the importance of eating fruits and veggies each day. 

Activity: Got Dirt? T-Shirts

With this fun and easy activity, children will make their own Got Dirt? gardening t-shirts.  The t-shirts will be perfect to wear while working out in the garden.

Materials

• T-shirts
• Fabric paints
• Paint brushes, sponges, etc.
• Water
• Paper towels
• Permanent Marker

Activity

• Before having students decorate the t-shirt, write each child's name on the t-shirt using a permanent marker.
• Give each student a t-shirt, some fabric paints and paint brushes.
• Have each student decorate their t-shirt with pictures of fruits and vegetables that will be in the garden.
• Don't forget to have them write "Got Dirt?" on the t-shirt!
• Place the completed t-shirts in a safe place to dry before wearing.

After decorating the t-shirts, students can wear them while working in the garden.  Students will enjoy wearing the t-shirts and parents will like that the students' regular clothes aren't getting muddy!


Work Cited:
Thumb Print Garden T-Shirts

March School Garden Ideas

At the beginning of each month, the Got Dirt? WI blog will feature a variety of month-specific ways to incorporate your school garden into your classroom.

It's the beginning of March, which means spring is on its way! Below are some suggestions for incorporating a garden into your classroom for the month of March.

• March 1-May 3: The Great American Cleanup--A time to beautify parks and recreation areas, plant trees and flowers, and pick up litter.  Take this time to clean up your local park or start to prepare your outdoor garden for planting.

• March 11: Johnny Appleseed Day--Read a story about Johnny Appleseed and have an apple-themed day.  Taste different types of apples, discuss how apples grow, and make apple art!

• March 17: St. Patrick's Day--You may have heard of a fairy garden, but why not create a leprechaun garden!  Think miniature! Have children imagine the leprechauns in the garden and write a story about their mischievous ways!

• March 20: National Agriculture Day--Discuss Agriculture in Wisconsin.  Invite a farmer or gardener to visit your class.  Have students eat food made in Wisconsin.  Discuss all of the ways that agriculture impacts us daily.

• March 26: Make Up Your Own Holiday Day--Have students brainstorm ideas for a new holiday and what they would do to celebrate it.  Get creative and use it as a day to celebrate your garden!

• March 30: Take a Walk in the Park Day--Go for a walk and identify different types of plants.  Identify trees and their plant parts.  Walk through your garden and have students plan what they want to plant.

Do you have ideas on how to incorporate a garden into the classroom? We'd love to hear your ideas! Share below!

Activity: "Planting" an Indoor Garden

Even if you don't have the space available to start a school garden, you can still teach your students about fruits, vegetables, plants and gardening.

This easy activity allows you to "plant" a garden in your classroom and teach kids about various fruits and veggies.

Materials:

• Clip art of fruits and vegetables on white paper for students to color
• Coloring materials (markers, paint, crayons, etc.)
• Scissors
• Craft sticks
• Glue
• Container and potting soil or styrofoam to create "garden plot"

Preparation:

• Find clip art of fruits and vegetables for students to color
• Print pictures on white paper

Activity:

1. Give each child one or several images of fruits or vegetables.
2. Have the children identify the type of fruit/veggie and color it the appropriate color.
3. Have children cut out the pictures and glue them to the craft sticks.
4. Place the potting soil or styrofoam into the container.
5. Have students "plant" their garden by placing their craft sticks into your "garden plot"
6. Continue to have children identify the fruits/veggies in their garden.

Extension:

• Have children use the fruits and vegetables from their garden as puppets. 
• Have children create skits or plays with the puppets.
• Read a garden story and have children hold up their fruit/veggie when it is mentioned in the story.
• Use the pictures of the fruits and vegetables to help plan your school garden.  Have students decide where each one should go and place it into the "garden plot" accordingly.

Activity: Super Fruits and Veggies

Fruits and vegetables sure are super!  They provide us with vital nutrients and vitamins.  In this activity, students will create super heroes out of fruits and vegetables.

Materials:
Paper
Markers, crayons, colored pencils and/or paint
Research materials

Activity:

1. Either assign or have students choose a fruit or vegetable.  If you've already planted your garden, have students choose fruits and vegetables from the garden.
2. Have students research the health benefits of their fruit or vegetable.  The website Fruits and Veggies Matter is one example of a site that lists examples of fruits/vegetables and their nutritional benefits.
3. Instruct students to draw a picture or cartoon of their fruit/vegetable as a super hero.  The fruit/vegetable's super power should relate to its nutritional benefits.  Encourage students to be creative. (Click on the sample below to enlarge the image).
4. Have students share their super hero and then hang their drawings around the classroom.

Activity: Veg-Tea-Ble Party!

Instead of having a traditional tea party, invite your students to a Veg-tea-ble Party. Have students taste various fruits and vegetables or sample microgreens from your microfarm instead of snacking on cookies and crumpets.

You can set up the tables as you would a regular tea party. Invite students to get dressed up and bring a “guest” stuffed animal or toy. Make the Veg-tea-ble Party something special and out of the ordinary so that kids get excited about trying something new.

Encourage kids to try each fruit and vegetable. Remind them that they don’t have to like everything but they should at least taste it. Also remind students to be polite and not say “yuck” or other negative comments about the food. Tell them that the “chef” has worked hard to make these fruits and vegetables. Limiting the number of “yucks” also prevents students from discouraging each other from trying foods.

If you host your own Veg-tea-ble Party, we would love for you to share stories and your experiences!

Cheers!

Activity: Veggie Stamp Holiday Cards

Instead of using store bought holiday cards, consider having students make their own unique cards using fruits and vegetables.

Materials:

• Paper
• Tempera paints
• Paper plates
• Paint brushes
• Knife
• Various fruits and vegetables, such as potatoes, cucumbers, star fruit, apples, mushrooms, carrots, or broccoli.

Activity:

1. Cut fruits and vegetables into manageable sizes for kids to use as stamps. If you're feeling creative, try carving shapes, such as stars, hearts or letters, out of the potatoes or other fruits and vegetables.


2. Put tempera paint onto paper plates for each student.


3. Instruct students to use the paint brushes to apply paint to the fruits and vegetables and then stamp them onto paper. Students can create collages or try to create a holiday scene for a holiday card.


4. Don't forget to remind students to not snack on their stamps. ;)


5. Let their artwork dry and then proudly display their work around the classroom or give as gifts!

(photo from http://whipup.net/2006/09/18/veggie-prints/)

Garden Curriculum: More than math and science

When teachers consider starting a school garden, they typically first think of ways to apply it to math and science curriculum. However, gardens offer a fun and creative addition to language arts and writing skills as well.

When you begin a school garden, have students start a garden journal. You can set aside time each week for students to observe and record what they see. They can also draw pictures of their garden in the journal as a way to keep track of the progress of their plants.

Consider have students incorporate gardening related vocabulary in their journals, which will allow them to practice spelling garden related words and using them in sentences.

Or, if you would like your students to put on their creative thinking hats, have them write a story from the perspective of something in the garden. It could told from the perspective of a plant by describing all of the changes it has undergone from first being planted as a seed to growing big and tall. Or a story could be written from the perspective of an insect in the garden. The options are really endless and they give kids a chance to explore and think about their gardens from a different point of view.

Do you have other suggestions for ways a garden can help students develop their language arts and writing skills? Share them in the comments section!