Community Garden - Tomatoes (Prep, Plant, & Protect)
Learning Targets
Learners will articulate and demonstrate the following:
- General & botanical background information on the tomato plant/fruit
- Proper preparation of soil & roots for planting
- Proper positioning and protection of an individual plant
- Proper positioning and protection of multiple plants
- Proper presentation of knowledge and skill (emphasis placed on presenting, use of language, and strategic use of digital media)
Materials Needed
This lesson can be conducted with actual materials (soil, plants, grass/mulch) or with economical material substitutes (e.g., shredded paper as soil, popsicle sticks as plants, etc.).
Time Needed
2-3 class periods of 45-50 minutes each
Project Instructional Plan
Introduction: The following guiding questions and videos can be utilized to hook students and initiate learning:
What is the story behind the tomato? Where is the tomato originally from? Why do we like the tomato so much? What fond family/social/tasty memories do you have that involve tomatoes?
Project: After utilizing 2 class periods to plan and prepare, students will present information on tomatoes to the class and demonstrate proper planting technique. The completed project will involve presenting background information on tomatoes (plant characteristics, life cycle, ideal growing conditions, etc.) and will culminate in a demonstration of proper preparation/placement/protection of tomato plants in a home garden. The presentation & planting rubric can be found here. The following resources can be utilized to fuel successful project completion:
Wikipedia: see Tomato
Proper Planting Preparation & Placement
Protecting the Plants
Assessment
The presentation & planting rubric can be found here.