Grade(s): 3-5
Title: Mapping the School Garden
Synopsis
Students will create a scaled map of the garden. In small groups, students will
pick a unit system (imperial, metric, non-traditional: hands, feet, etc.), and will
determine what other information they would like to record on their maps. Maps
must include a title, compass, and legend.
Preparation: 5-20 minutes
Activity: 30-120 minutes
Group Size: 4+
Location: Inside and Outside
Common Core
 3.SL.1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (oneone-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 3
topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own
clearly.
 3.SL.4: Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience
with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking clearly
and at an understandable pace.
 3.MD.8: Solve real world and mathematical problems involving
perimeters of polygons, including finding the perimeter given the side
lengths, finding an unknown side length, and exhibiting rectangles with
the same perimeter and different areas or with the same area and
different perimeters.
 4.SL.1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (oneone-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4
topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own
clearly.
 5.SL.1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (oneone-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 5
topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own
clearly.
 5.MD.1: Convert among different-sized standard measurement units
within a given measurement system and use these conversions in solving
multi-step, real world problems.
Organizational
Details
Standards
Lesson Objective:
Know and Think
Pre-requisite Skills
and Knowledge
Teacher
Next Generation Science
Lesson could be modified to include NGSS—consider comparing habitat
preferences amongst plants and arthropods.
 3-LS4-3: Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular
habitat, some organisms survive well, some survive less well, and some
cannot survive at all.
Students will learn to think critically about space, and to define their world
mathematically. Additionally, students will become familiar with multiple types
of maps and systems of measurement, and will learn their purpose.
Students must have a basic understanding of units of measurement, be familiar
with maps, and know the cardinal directions.
The teacher should have familiarity with multiple sorts of maps (topographical,
Background Info
road, atlas, etc.) , and should feel comfortable discussing and converting between
various systems of measurement (imperial, metric, non-traditional: hands, feet
etc.).
Crop Rotation: Rotating crops around a bed, so that the same crop is not planted
in the same location each season. This reduces the likelihood of disease, and
helps maintain soil health.
Materials
Preparation
Opening
Agenda
Collaborative
Opportunities
Closing
Resources
 Rulers
 Pencils
 Paper (with or without grids)
 Plant reference books
 Compass
(5-20 Minutes)
 Collect examples of maps/atlases to serve as inspiration.
(10-30 Minutes)
 What do we use maps for? When you need a map, where do you go to
find it? How do you think those maps were made? Why might a map of
the garden be useful? Discuss the importance of crop rotation.
(30-60 Minutes)
 Discuss scale and systems of measurement. What is each system used
for? Would it make sense to map our garden in miles? What sort of scale
is appropriate? Allow freedom—if a group wants to make the
calculations necessary to map the garden in kilometers or hands, it will
make for a great math lesson.
 What additional information do we need on our maps? Title, legend,
compass. Teach students how to use a compass. Incorporate Google
Earth if appropriate.
 Split students into groups. Have them pick a scale and decide what they
want to label on their maps. Review use of a ruler, meter stick, tape
measure.
 Head outside! Bring any pertinent resources with you (map examples,
etc.)
 If reasonable, have students transfer their hand drawn maps to a
mapping/design software, such as ArcGIS or AutoCAD.
 Have students present their maps to the class.
 Students will design and draw their maps in groups.
 Students will present their maps to the class, explaining the logic behind
their decisions.
(10-30 Minutes)
 Remind students what their maps of the garden will be used for. How is
mapping the garden part of gardening sustainably? How do students
want to go about making their maps available to next year’s class?
 http://learn.arcgis.com/en/projects/mapping-the-public-garden/
 http://geography.about.com/od/understandmaps/a/map-types.htm