Patterns through the Seasons

Question	Response
What skills does this resource explicitly teach?	This resource explicitly teaches the following skills: observation and identification of plants planting, nurturing and harvesting plants using plants to maintain a healthy body using plants to decrease erosion, pollution, carbon emissions etc.

Principle	Rating	Explanation
Consideration of Alternative Perspectives	Very Good	The purpose of this resource is to help teachers make the best possible use of school food gardens, helping to make this important resource into a learning garden for the benefit of students, staff and the school community.
Multiple Dimensions of Problems & Solutions	Very Good	The resource activities addresses all three dimensions. It strongly focuses on environmental learning through seasonal cycles, gardening, and local food systems. The social dimension is also present through collaborative, place-based learning and shared exploration of food and community connections. The economic dimension is included,through general concepts such as comparing local and imported food.
Respects Complexity	Good	The resource shows some complexity by connecting seasonal change, gardening, and food systems to real-world experiences in a place-based way.
Acting on Learning	Very Good	The learning is action-oriented through hands-on, place-based activities involving gardening, growing food, and caring for a school or community garden. Students are actively maintaining a living system and engaging with sustainable food practices.
Values Education	Good	Students keep a garden journal which allows them to reflect on their gardening experiences.
Empathy & Respect for Humans	Poor/Not considered	Not considered in this resource.
Personal Affinity with Earth	Very Good	Students learn about the principles of organic gardening, the threats to native pollinators and the importance of eating food grown close to home
Locally-Focused Learning	Very Good	The garden activity is place-based, hands-on learning in a school or community garden setting where students observe and work with seasonal changes in their immediate environment. It encourages students to connect directly with local growing conditions, weather patterns, and food production, often using their own school grounds as the learning site.
Past, Present & Future	Good	This unit contains information regarding heirloom plants. It provides an interesting way in which students are able to appreciate how plants use to be preserved (through seeds, etc.) in the past. It also discusses how we are able to use this information to make better choices for seeds in relation to where they come from in the present and how to maintain them into the future.

Pedagogical Approaches

Principle	Rating	Explanation
Open-Ended Instruction	Very Good	The resource encourages student inquiry, observation, and exploration in outdoor, hands-on activities, especially through gardening and noticing seasonal patterns. Students often generate their own questions, make observations, and learn through experience rather than following a single fixed answer.
Integrated Learning	Very Good	This gardening activity touches on multiple learning outcomes. The resource list learning outcomes to be used as a starting point, leaving the teacher the flexibility to adapt activities to meet the specific learning needs of the students.
Inquiry Learning	Very Good	The resource supports inquiry-based learning by encouraging students to ask questions and explore answers through hands-on experiences in the garden. Instead of being given all the information, students observe changes, make predictions, and investigate topics like plant growth, soil, and seasonal patterns.
Differentiated Instruction	Very Good	The range of activities suggested in this resource is diverse in terms of the learning needs of the students as well as different activities throughout the four seasons of the year.
Experiential Learning	Very Good	The resource uses experiential learning by turning the school garden into a hands-on classroom. Students learn by doing, planting, observing, and caring for plants throughout the seasons instead of just reading about them. This helps them understand how nature works in a real and meaningful way. Through these activities, students build skills, make connections to the environment, and develop a sense of responsibility for the land.
Cooperative Learning	Good	Students often work in pairs or small groups to plant, observe, measure, and record changes in the garden over time. They also share observations, discuss seasonal patterns, and collaborate during inquiry activities and class discussions.
Assessment & Evaluation	Good	The journal writing task can be used as an assessment tool.
Peer Teaching	Good	Students share observations, explain what they notice in the garden, or discuss seasonal changes with classmates.
Case Studies	Good	In the introduction, the resource does include brief examples of successful school gardens and their positive impacts on communities. These function like informal case studies, short, descriptive examples, showing how school garden projects can lead to benefits such as improved student engagement, stronger community connections, and increased environmental awareness.
Locus of Control	Very Good	Many of the activities conclude with a list of suggested extension activities that are intended to allow students to dig deeper into each topic, extending the learning .

Relevant Curriculum Units

The following tool will allow you to explore the relevant curriculum matches for this resource. To start, select a province listed below.

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Alberta
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    - Earth Systems: Understandings of the living world, Earth, and space are deepened by investigating natural systems and their interactions.
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  - Physical Education & Health
    - Step 4Relevant matches
    - Healthy Eating: A lifetime of optimal well-being and physical wellness is supported by prioritizing nutrition and healthy eating.
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    - Earth Systems: Understandings of the living world, Earth, and space are deepened by investigating natural systems and their interactions.
- Grade 2
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  - Physical Education & Health
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    - Healthy Eating: A lifetime of optimal well-being and physical wellness is supported by prioritizing nutrition and healthy eating
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    - Earth Systems: Understandings of the living world, Earth, and space are deepened by investigating natural systems and their interactions.
- Grade 3
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  - Physical Education & Health
    - Step 4Relevant matches
    - Healthy Eating: A lifetime of optimal well-being and physical wellness is supported by prioritizing nutrition and healthy eating
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    - Earth Systems: Understandings of the living world, Earth, and space are deepened by investigating natural systems and their interactions
- Grade 4
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  - Physical Education & Health
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    - Healthy Eating: A lifetime of optimal well-being and physical wellness is supported by prioritizing nutrition and healthy eating
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    - Earth Systems: Understandings of the living world, Earth, and space are deepened through investigating natural systems and their interactions.
- Grade 5
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  - Physical Education & Health
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    - Healthy Eating: A lifetime of optimal well-being and physical wellness is supported by prioritizing nutrition and healthy eating
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    - Earth Systems: Understandings of the living world, Earth, and space are deepened by investigating natural systems and their interactions.
British Columbia
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- Kindergarten
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  - Science
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    - Science: Plants and animals have observable features
- Grade 3
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    - Science 3: Living things are diverse, can be grouped, and interact in their ecosystems
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    - Science 4: All living things sense and respond to their environment
- Grade 6
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    - Physical and Health Education: Healthy choices influence our physical, emotional, and mental well-being
Manitoba
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    - Life Science
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    - Characteristics and Needs of Living Things
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    - Air and Water in the Environment
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    - Growth and Changes in Plants
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    - Habitat and Communities
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New Brunswick
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    - Explore Your World: Play and Playfulness
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Newfoundland & Labrador
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    - Plant Growth & Changes
Northwest Territories
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    - Science: Plants and animals have observable features
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    - Nutrition
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    - Science 3:Plants and Animals are diverse, can be grouped, and interact in their ecosystems
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    - Science 4: All living things sense and respond to their environment
Nova Scotia
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Nunavut
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    - Life Systems: Growth and Changes in Plants
Ontario
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Prince Edward Island
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    - Plant Growth & Changes
Quebec
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Saskatchewan
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Yukon Territory
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    - Science: Plants and animals have observable features
- Grade 3
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  - Science
    - Step 4Relevant matches
    - Science 3: Living things are diverse, can be grouped, and interact in their ecosystems
- Grade 4
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  - Science
    - Step 4Relevant matches
    - Science 4: All living things sense and respond to their environment
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    - Physical and Health Education: Healthy choices influence our physical, emotional, and mental well-being
- Grade 7
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    - Physical and Health Education: Healthy choices influence our physical, emotional, and mental well-being

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Patterns through the Seasons

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Description

General Assessment

Sustainability Education Principles

Pedagogical Approaches

Relevant Curriculum Units

ExemplaryClassroom Resources

Reviewed By Teachers For Teachers

Patterns through the Seasons

Print this review

Description

General Assessment

Sustainability Education Principles

Pedagogical Approaches

Relevant Curriculum Units

Exemplary
Classroom
Resources

Reviewed By Teachers
For Teachers