Winter in the Garden

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OBJECTIVE

Students will use their senses and observation to notice changes in the garden in the winter.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

How do seasons affect the garden?

MATERIALS NEEDED

Three adult group leaders

PROCEDURE

Introduction:
• Review seasons
• What did we see in the fall? Let’s see if things have changed.

Activity:
• Divide the class into three groups. Assign one group to study each of the
following: plants, animals and insects, weather and seasons. Direct all of the groups to observe the changes in the plants (or animals and insects, or weather and seasons) that they notice in the garden. Supply the adult leader of each group with a list of questions such as the following to guide the group’s garden observations.
Plant Group
o What plants are growing in the garden today?
o What plants were here in the fall and are now gone?
o What do you think happened to them?
o Are there any plants now that were not here in the fall?
o Do the plants that are still here from fall look and feel different
now? How?
o What do you think the garden will be like tomorrow? What will the plants be like in the spring? Summer?
Animal and Insect Groups
o What animals/insects can we see in the garden now?
o What animals and insects were here in the fall and are now gone? Where do you think they are now?
o Are there any animals and insects here now that were not here in the fall?
o Are there any animals and insects still here from fall? Are they any different now?
o What will happen to the animals/insects in the spring when it gets warmer?
Weather and Season Group
o What is the weather like in the garden today? What is the sky like?
o Is the air warm? Cold? Wet? Dry?
o How has the weather changed since our last visit?
o What clothes did we wear last time we visited the garden? What clothes are we wearing now? Why?
o What is different about the soil? What will the weather be like in the spring? Summer?
o What will the soil be like?

Wrap up/ Assessment:
• Return to the classroom to discuss students’ observations and predictions.
Have students dictate a list of the changes in the plants, animals, insects and weather they saw in the garden. Write examples on the board.
• Have students draw a line to divide a the sheet of paper in half and draw, on one side, three things they saw in the garden in the fall, and on the opposite side, how those three things look now.