Sample Curriculum Lessons and Activities
- School Garden Curricula compiled by the National Environmental Education Foundation that are selected in light of their adherence to state, national, and/or NAAEE educational standards and are thus suitable for classroom use.
- Alice Ferguson Foundation: Sample Lesson Plans
This link provides lesson plans for grades 3-6 focusing on the scientific method, recycling and the food web. - Junior Master Gardener Curriculum: Garden Bingo, Garden Bingo Answers
For additional sample lessons and activities visit the Junior Master Gardener Web site
- Five Minute Field Trips was produced through a partnership between the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, the Calgary Zoo, and the Global Environmental and Outdoor Education Council (GEOEC). This document offers quick lessons and activities based on awareness, understanding and action.
- Chesapeake Bay Program
A comprehensive online resource for environmental science topics
Curriculum Guides Available for Purchase:
- Junior Master Gardener Curricula
- National Wildlife Federation: Schoolyard Habitats Program
You can purchase various schoolyard habitat guides through NWF. Examples include Schoolyard Habitats How-To Guide, Access Nature, and Happenin’ Habitats. - "Schoolyard Ponds: Safety and Liability," Greening School Grounds: Creating Habitats for Learning. Tim Grant and Gail Littlejohn, editors. Gabriola Island, BC, Canada: New Society Publishers, January 2001, pages 87-88.
- Smithsonian National Zoo Curriculum Guides
Activity guides for both elementary and middle school students can be purchased for $5 each. Topics vary from adaptations – of birds, invertebrates, large mammals, etc. – to botany guides and backyard biology.
Curricular Links to Standards of Learning
- National Wildlife Federation’s Schoolyard Habitats Program and National Standards of Learning is a excellent resource that aligns schoolyard projects with learning standards.
- DCSG Science Standards