The bond between nature and learning is profound. Whether merely observing the natural world around them or getting their hands dirty, students crave connection to the great outdoors. There is a reason college kids notoriously beg to have class outside on beautiful spring afternoons, or why elementary students erupt in groans the second they learn recess will be inside that day. It is the same reason science teachers design nature walks to explore flora and fauna and English teachers have their students write poetry outside. Learning is intrinsically connected to the natural world. 

In my teaching practice, I strive to consistently include outdoor exploration in my curricula. But this commitment goes far beyond completing a math sheet in the courtyard just for the fun of it. As with all backward design, intentionality is paramount. And intentionally developing nature-based curricula through the UbD framework takes outdoor learning from an exciting bonus to a meaningful practice. 

Connecting to the History of Our Land Through Native Plants

When I taught third grade, I worked with the third-grade team and the lower school science teacher to facilitate a curriculum on California native plants. This program went hand-in-hand with the year’s theme: California history focused primarily on the Ohlone people native to our area. Through field trips, artifacts, art projects, guest speakers, and more, students gained an understanding of life in the San Francisco Bay Area long before colonization. 

A key element of this year-long study involved a native plants project developed through the Understanding by Design model. We assigned each student a California native plant growing in our school garden and tasked them with learning about the plant and caring for it throughout the year. 

As is the reality of nature, some students received thriving plants, while others needed to nurse their plants back to life. This was an incredibly valuable segway into discussing equity in the natural world with students, based on a differentiation of needs and abilities. Some plants produced edible fruits or flowers, while others had poisonous leaves and thorns. 

Additionally, each student shared their plant with a third grader in the other class, requiring them to discuss plant care and uphold their end of the deal on watering or weeding days. 

By the end of the unit, many students shared that receiving and caring for their plants was the unit’s most impactful element. Why was this? 

The Benefits of Specificity in Learning

We knew that students needed to feel a sense of pride and ownership in their plant. They were the experts, capable of informing others and caring for the well-being of a living thing. Thus, it was integral that students had individual plants and maintained them throughout the year.

While having children experience a wider variety of plants might have been more beneficial to a broader understanding, our end goal was clear. It was more important that the third-graders recognize the importance of doing their part to keep a single piece of a larger system running – cooperative learning. They also needed to feel confident in teaching others about their plant throughout the year. These practices built skills of ownership, responsibility, and leadership.

Differentiation in the Garden

An added benefit to pairing students with specific plants was the ability to individualize learning. The project became a low floor, high ceiling task and lent itself perfectly to differentiation based on student need. 

Students in the earlier stages of developing their research and presentation skills could be paired with more common plants. Upon visiting iNaturalist, they were presented with a wide variety of information, ripe for the picking. Students who were ready to be challenged in their research abilities were given plants with less published information or that required more in-depth analysis.

Similarly, differentiation can be applied to social-emotional development. Students working on resilience may benefit from a plant needing significant love and care. While you may not want to give a dying plant to a student who currently gives up easily, finding the right balance in plant and partner for each kid is incredibly rewarding.

Upping the Stakes through Research

With these end goals in mind, individual activities became clear. Our young naturalists first learned about their plants through literature and online research. They studied how the Ohlone people used plants historically and the ways in which they are still used today. They researched how much water and what level of sunlight their plant needed, and what soil they thrived in. Some plants had healing properties, others were found in traditional cuisine, and some just looked beautiful. Before even seeing their plant, students had begun to gather their expertise.

This sort of foundational exploration builds not only understanding but excitement as well. By the time we introduced the garden, the third-graders were itching to get their hands dirty (literally). While there is much to be said for lessons in which children plant seeds, water them, watch them grow, etc., this was not the purpose of our project. The third-graders continued a tradition of maintaining existing plants, just like each grade that came before them had. Unsurprisingly, this upped the responsibility. 

Multi-Subject Projects 

Students visited their plants in social studies and science classes, and even recess throughout the year. 

In science, students practiced scientific drawings with anatomically correct labels. They tested how various water, space, and sunshine levels affected their plant. In social studies, we discussed each plant’s effects on the Ohlone lifestyle. We gave students space to present their plants and inform others about them. And at recess, our eager gardeners frequently popped in to see how things were going or to sprinkle some water – rejoicing with every new leaf and bud. 

By the end of the year, our third-graders had written, drawn, painted, presented, and cared for their plants to the fullest degree.

In spanning subjects, curricula better replicates life. As previously discussed in (Why Lunch is So Popular & Making It Count with the UbD Model), projects in the adult world are rarely, if ever, confined to one specific subject matter. When students are able to draw connections between science, art, writing, and research, they become more capable of applying their enduring understandings. 

One Last Plug

Additional benefits of the project? We had a crew of enthusiastic plant experts maintain a garden for the school throughout the year! And the cooking team was able to use some plants for lunch service. Witnessing these tangible differences in the school community went far in motivating students. The learnings to be grasped from a garden are truly infinite. 

I encourage any and all educators to include gardening in their curriculum whenever possible, but especially when looking into the history of your state. Using the UbD framework to intentionally develop the California Native Plants Project inspired growth, and (if you’ll forgive the pun) we watched our third-graders bloom!