Soil – Page 3 – Island Grown Schools

Curriculum Toolkit
Over the years, we have honed in on priority curricular units for every grade level, preschool through 12th grade, that build on each other and provide a meaningful food education for the students we work with.
This Toolkit is the compilation of these units, along with their related teaching standards and sequence. We are constantly adding to this site, so please check in again soon for updates.

We designed this curriculum framework to help our students grasp the following key concepts by the time they graduate from High School:

Feel confident in making healthy food choices

Appreciate the farming profession

Know that everyone can grow food

Understand the connection between healthy soil, healthy plants and healthy people

Recognize a regenerative, local food system is inclusive and promotes a healthy ecosystem.

Soil Food Web

MA CURRICULUM FRAMEWORKS Explain and give examples of the ways in which soil is formed (the weathering of rock by water and wind and from the decomposition of plant and animal remains). OBJECTIVE Students will be able to recognize the different elements of the soil food web. Students will understand that soil is alive, and […]

Grade levels 3-5

Core curriculum subjects Science

Island Grown Schools topics Soil

Compost Game

OBJECTIVE Students roll dice to collect cards with different ingredients for compost. This game is an introduction to the term “decompose”, “compost”, and “decomposer”. ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS What are decomposers?What do they do?What are the ingredients in compost? MATERIALS NEEDED Compost game cards (with cards for Brown/Carbon, Decomposers, Green/Nitrogen and Plastic)Die PROCEDURE Introduction:Ask if anyone knows […]

Grade levels Prek-2

Core curriculum subjects Science

Island Grown Schools topics Soil

Cover Crop in the Garden

OBJECTIVE Students understand the role of plant matter and microorganisms in building healthy soil. Students are able to plant a cover crop ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS How can we build soil? MATERIALS NEEDED Legume plant with roots and nodes Cover crop seed Cover crop PowerPoint PROCEDURE Introduction: You guys are newly in charge of a bed in […]

Grade levels 6-8, 9-12

Core curriculum subjects Science

Island Grown Schools topics Soil

Build a Landfill

MA CURRICULUM FRAMEWORKS 3-LS4-3, Can be expanded to 5-ESS3-1, 5-LS2-1,2 OBJECTIVE Students will understand the difference between aerobic and anaerobic and will understand the environmental impact of landfills versus landfills ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS Why should we compost food waste instead of throwingit away? MATERIALS NEEDED One 5-gal bucket with a lid, or 10-12 plastic containers(Tupperware, large […]

Grade levels 3-5

Core curriculum subjects Science

Island Grown Schools topics Food systems, Soil

Curriculum Toolkit

Soil Food Web

Compost Game

Cover Crop in the Garden

Build a Landfill