Unit Plan: Miniature Garden World Story Project
Science / Grade 1-2
Big Ideas
Arts
- People connect to story through the arts (Arts 1)
- Engagement in the arts creates opportunity for inquiry through purposeful play (Arts 1)
- Inquiry through the arts creates opportunities for risk-taking (Arts 2)
Science
- Living things have features and behaviours that help them survive in their environment (Science 1)
- Living things have life cycles adapted to their environment (Science 2)
- Water is essential to all living things (Science 2)
Applied Design, Skills & Technology
- Designs grow out natural curiosity (ADST)
- Skills can be developed through play (ADST)
English Language Arts
- Language and story can be a source of creativity and joy (ELA 1/2)
- Curiosity and wonder lead us to new discoveries about ourselves and the world around us (ELA 1/2)
Essential Questions
Students will keep considering…
- Where could this be?
- What is scale?
- How do we build a garden?
- What skills do we need?
- How do we build a garden?
- What do we need to build a garden?
- What steps are required in building a garden?
- How can I express my story in my garden?
- What do plants need to grow?
- How do plants grow?
- How can I express my story in my garden?
- What will happen in my story?
- What will happen in my story?
- How can we make a story interesting?
- How do I publish a piece of work?
- What makes a good copy?
Evaluative Criteria
N/A
Monitoring Progress
Teacher will monitor progress:
Teachers can monitor progress through ongoing formative assessment including but not limited to:
- Self-assessment of these skills: of the skills required, what are your goals for the project?
- Reviewing paper project plan
- Peer assessment – share your plan with a class and receive feedback
- Reviewing 3D garden
- Story word list
- Story map
- Rough draft
- Final story book
Resources
N/A
Reflection
How will teachers and their students reflect on and evaluate the completed project?
Teacher Reflection
- What aspects of the unit went well?
- What did students struggle with?
- What did you struggle with?
- What would you add/revise the next time you taught this unit?
- Were there any unintended outcomes?
- Were students engaged?
Downloads
Stage 3 – Learning Plan
EXECUTE THE LEARNING PLAN
LEARNING EVENTS:
- These learning events/activities are suggested activities only.
- In some cases the plans are not fully completed lesson plans.
- The teacher may choose some lessons/activities to span over several lessons.
- Teachers may add, revise and adapt these lessons based on the needs of their students, their personal preferences for resources, and the use of a variety of instructional techniques.
Learning events are enriched for students when teachers consider the “WHERE TO” acronym and guiding organizer by Wiggins and McTighe.
The Learning Events should always be prefaced by focusing on the essential questions:
- Where could this be?
- What is scale?
- How do we build a garden?
- What skills do we need?
- How do we build a garden?
- What do we need to build a garden?
- What steps are required in building a garden?
- How can I express my story in my garden?
- What do plants need to grow?
- How do plants grow?
- How can I express my story in my garden?
- What will happen in my story?
- What will happen in my story?
- How can we make a story interesting?
- How do I publish a piece of work?
- What makes a good copy?
Acquisition-Meaning-Transfer
Week 1 - Lessons 1 & 2
The Learning Events should always be prefaced by focusing on the essential questions:
- Where could this be?
- What is scale?
- How do we build a garden?
- What skills do we need?
WEEK 1 – LESSON 1
Content
Hook: Introduce idea of an imaginary garden
Activities
- Show picture of a fairy garden or imaginary garden (ie. Hobbit world, etc.)
- Look at scale of items/ homes in the garden
- Link/ connect to other “little” people (The Littles, the Hobbit, etc.)
- Explain summative assignment
Essential understandings
- Stories take place in unique settings
Evaluation
- Introduce garden project
WEEK 1 – LESSON 2
Content
Core competencies
Activities
- In partners, create mind map of skills needed to create a miniature garden
- Link to core competencies posters
Essential understandings
- We need to use all our core competencies for this project
Evaluation
- Self-assessment of these skills: of the skills required, what are your goals for the project?
Week 2 - Lessons 1, 2 & 3
The Learning Events should always be prefaced by focusing on the essential questions:
- How do we build a garden?
- What do we need to build a garden?
- What steps are required in building a garden?
- How can I express my story in my garden?
WEEK 2 – LESSON 1
Content
- Criteria for garden
Activities
- Co-create criteria with class: soil, outside collection, bucket, plants, rocks
- Introduce idea of drainage: how can make sure soil doesn’t get soggy?
Essential understandings
- Gardens need drainage
- Rich soil is needed to grow plans
- Plans need sunlight and water to grow
Evaluation
- Formative
WEEK 2 – LESSON 2
Content
- Plan for the garden
Activities
- Students describe and draw their garden in plan /paper form
- Set goals for the project
- Outline the story being told in the project
Essential understandings
- Designs require plans with multiple steps
- Plans may need to change along the way
Evaluation
- Formative: submit paper project plan
- *Peer assessment – share your plan with a class and receive feedback
WEEK 2 – LESSON 3
Content
- Collection
Activities
- Go outside, Collect natural items (i.e. small stones, moss, rocks, etc)
- Ask students to bring in imagination objects from home (trolls, animals, etc.) for the garden
Essential understandings
- Stories take place in unique settings
Evaluation
- Formative
Week 3 - Lessons 1, 2 & 3
The Learning Events should always be prefaced by focusing on the essential questions:
- What do plants need to grow?
- How do plants grow?
- How can I express my story in my garden?
WEEK 3 – LESSON 1
Content
- Build the garden
Activities
- Set drainage systems : rocks and soil (teacher brings in soil)
Essential understandings
- Plants have needs to survive
Evaluation
- Creating 3D garden
WEEK 3 – LESSON 2
Content
- Plant the garden
Activities
- Plant plans in gardens (use microgreens, or quick-sprouting seeds from the grocery story)
Essential understandings
- Plants have needs to survive
Evaluation
- Creating 3D garden
WEEK 3 – LESSON 3
Content
- Design garden
Activities
- Add collections and miniature objects (brought form home) to the garden, as per design set at the beginning of project
Essential understandings
- Stories take place in unique settings
Evaluation
- Creating 3D garden
Week 4 - Lessons 1 & 2
The Learning Events should always be prefaced by focusing on the essential questions:
- What will happen in my story?
WEEK 4 – LESSON 1
Content
- Story map
Activities
- Create word map for their story
Essential understandings
- Stories have multiple elements
Evaluation
- Story word list
WEEK 4 – LESSON 2
Content
- Story map
Activities
- Create story map
- Outline plot, setting, characters, etc. for what will happen in the story (See Reading44)
Essential understandings
- Stories have multiple elements
Evaluation
- Story map
Week 5 - Lesson 1
The Learning Events should always be prefaced by focusing on the essential questions:
- How can we make a story interesting?
WEEK 5 – LESSON 1
Content
- Write story
Activities
- Teach story hooks
- Model from other stories — read books, beginnings of books, etc.
- Start writing story
Essential understandings
- Stories are unique
Evaluation
- Rough draft
Week 6 - Lesson 1
The Learning Events should always be prefaced by focusing on the essential questions:
- How do I publish a piece of work?
- What makes a good copy?
WEEK 6 – LESSON 1
Content
- Finalize story
- SACC
Activities
- Peer editing
- Make story books to publish in book form
- Self-assess core competencies used in the project — refer back to skills map at beginning of unit
- Present stories
Essential understandings
- Stories can be published
- I can still make stories
Evaluation
- Final story book
The following resources are made available through the British Columbia Ministry of Education. For more information, please visit BC’s New Curriculum.
Big Ideas
The Big Ideas consist of generalizations and principles and the key concepts important in an area of learning. The Big Ideas represent what students will understand at the completion of the curriculum for their grade. They are intended to endure beyond a single grade and contribute to future understanding.
Core Competencies
Communications Competency
The set of abilities that students use to impart and exchange information, experiences and ideas, to explore the world around them, and to understand and effectively engage in the use of digital media
Thinking Competency
The knowledge, skills and processes we associate with intellectual development
Social Competency
The set of abilities that relate to students’ identity in the world, both as individuals and as members of their community and society
Curricular Competencies & Content
Curricular Competencies are the skills, strategies, and processes that students develop over time. They reflect the “Do” in the Know-Do-Understand model of curriculum. The Curricular Competencies are built on the thinking, communicating, and personal and social competencies relevant to disciplines that make up an area of learning.
Additional Resources
First People's Principles of Learning
To read more about First People’s Principles of Learning, please click here.
For classroom resources, please visit the First Nations Education Steering Committee.
