The following is essentially a follow-up to the post “6 Tips for Gardening in the Classroom”, posted a few months ago. I decided to do a diary type format so I could capture my thoughts while the event was in progress. As I am posting this about 5 days later, I would like to add that the kids are super excited to water their seeds every day and can’t wait to see them sprout. It’s awesome to see them engaged. This is how this class activity went- from my point of view:)
The afternoon before planting day
Dear Diary,
I am so proud of myself for being super organized this year! I am going to make this easier on everyone-the students and me! This is what I did today:
- I gave the students an activity today that they could continue tomorrow when they are not planting;
- I set everything up: labeled seed containers, filled soil pots, placed the sharpies and popsicle sticks and watering cans on the table;
- Made a list of To Do’s for the students in order in case my demonstration wasn’t enough;
- Made an exemplar!!!
PLANTING DAY
10:44am Period Two
Dear Diary,
No one is following instructions, even after the instructions have been verbally communicated/ demonstrated AND an instruction sheet and exemplar has been put right in front of them! The past hour was spent answering the same questions over and over. I’m exhausted and I have two more classes to go this afternoon. Fingers crossed. This is what it my pretty table looked like after this period. Off to supervision…
12:48pm Period Four
Dear Diary,
I have told the fourth period class to be mindful of putting the lids back on the seed containers so they don’t get knocked over and dump all over the floor. It’s not being done. They are so excited it’s like Black Friday for vegetable seeds!
So far both classes can’t seem to gauge the 75% or 3/4 filled pot… They all under estimate and put the level at about 1/2 to 2/3 full, despite that there are three examples in front of them. What did I do wrong?!
I did make the mistake of offering carrots, green onions, radishes and chives. These are not practical for individual pots as one seed produces only one carrot, one green onion, one chive and one radish. So now I have to use larger pots, which I have, but it is going to need more dirt, and so I will have to go to the garden centre on the weekend to get more, or have the students choose other vegetables. Lesson learned.
The students also have an activity that they are supposed to be working on while they are waiting to plant, but it seems some group members from yesterday’s activity didn’t show up, and they have the group’s copy of the activity etc., and now I am left with boys having arm wrestling competitions and playing multi-player games on their phones while a group of girls are playing cards. This is NOT how it was supposed to go!!!
This is what the table looked like after period four:
PERIOD FIVE 2:31PM
Dear Diary,
This afternoon’s class began by some students thanking me for allowing them to do this! I wanted to cry. What a lovely bunch of young people. After the chaos from the last period, I was going to cry anyways…
It is safe to say that teaching the same course three times a day allows me to better my skills in terms of communicating instructions to the students and reinforcing whatever seems to have been lost on the first groups. This last period is so much easier!
The students are now gone and I have cleaned up. As I am viewing the table I have concluded that having the newspaper down was a lifesaver. But the real superstar is my $5 IKEA dust brush and pan. I have never had a clean-up so easy before!
This was the last clean-up for the day:
Post-Planting Report (aka Lessons Learned for next time):
*No single plant seeds! ie. No, 1 seed=1 carrot;
*Choose an activity for the students not planting to be independent, and not group work;
*Reinforce the 3/4 or 75% soil level;
*Place newspaper around the table;
*Dustpan and brush are a must!
I truly hope something in the chaos above helps you in some way!
Happy Teaching,
