Urban Gardens

Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge
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Published by Discovery Education. 2013. All rights reserved.
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Grades:
9 12

Essential Questions:
How do you maintain a product or system to ensure proper function?
How can technology be used to create an artificial environment that replicates the
natural world?

Lesson Overview:
Students will investigate different methods of growing fresh produce in urban communities to
encourage a local community project.

Content Objectives:
Evaluate different urban gardening systems
Investigate needs of living things
Collect information to evaluate the effectiveness of a design

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National Curriculum Standards:

Science and Engineering
Practices
Disciplinary Core Ideas Crosscutting Concepts

Constructing
Explanations and
Designing Solutions

Design, evaluate,
and/or refine a
solution to a complex
real-world problem,
based on scientific
knowledge, student-
generated sources of
evidence, prioritized
criteria, and tradeoff
considerations.

HS-ESS3-4. Evaluate or
refine a technological
solution that reduces
impacts of human
activities on natural
systems.

Influence of Science, Engineering,
and Technology on Society and the
Natural World

Modern civilization depends on
major technological systems.
Engineers continuously modify
these technological systems by
applying scientific knowledge and
engineering design practices to
increase benefits while decreasing
costs and risks.

Stability and Change
Feedback (negative or positive) can
stabilize or destabilize a system.
Common Core Mathematics Connections
HSN-Q.A.2 Define appropriate quantities for the purpose of descriptive modeling.

Common Core English and Language Arts Connections
WHST.9-12.7 Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question
(including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when
appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the
subject under investigation.

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Time Frame:
3 days (45 minutes each)
5 minutes at the start of class for two weeks

Background for the Teacher:
Many urban communities have limited access to fresh and affordable produce. A diet that
relies on processed foods often leads to obesity. Approximately 21-25% of all American children
are obese which can lead to health risks and can contribute to diseases such as diabetes and
heart disease. Innovative farming methods are being implemented in cities to increase the
availability of fresh affordable produce. Some methods being explored in urban areas are
vertical gardens, rooftop gardens, hydroponics and truck gardens. Producing locally in any
community space shortens the distance between farmer and consumer increasing the
availability of healthy foods to city residents.

Hydroponics is a method to grow plants in water without soil and will be explored by students.
In this method a plants nutrients are provided through the water and a substrate is used for
the plant to root and stabilize. Substrates are surfaces that an organism can grow or attach to.
For the student systems this might include perlite, coconut fiber, polymer or cotton balls.
Students will be investigating different methods of growing fresh produce to encourage a
community action project.

Classroom Activities:
Materials

For each group of/individual students:
Computers with Internet access
Word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software
Plastic water bottle
wick (string)
scissors
station with a hammer and nail
substrate options (perlite, coconut fiber, polymer or cotton balls )or ask students to
bring some from home
nutrients solution (fertilizer or students can develop their own solution)
basil seeds

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Engage

1. Share with groups of four students four different articles that each highlight different urban
garden methods. Each student will be assigned one article to read and answer the guiding
questions on the Urban Gardening Methods capture sheet. Then, ask students to present their
article to the other group members and record their learning on the capture sheet.

a) Hydroponics
http://afsic.nal.usda.gov/aquaculture-and-soilless-farming/hydroponics

b) Aeroponics
http://afsic.nal.usda.gov/aquaculture-and-soilless-farming

c) Vertical Gardening
http://search.nal.usda.gov/afsicsearch/result-list/fullRecord:vertical+garden/

d) General site for teacher's to select a urban farming method local to their community.
http://afsic.nal.usda.gov/farms-and-community/urban-agriculture

2. Display an image of a seed or pass one around to the students. Pre-assess students by asking,
What does this seed need to grow? It is anticipated that students will respond with water,
nutrients, air or gases such as carbon dioxide, light, and substrate. Explain to students that they
will be exploring that one of these factors can be removed to support urban garden methods.
Hydroponics is a method to grow plants in water without soil. A plants nutrients are provided
through the water and a substrate is used for the plant to root and stabilize.

Explore

1. Students will construct a simple hydroponics system and will investigate a variable to test using
the Investigations in Hydroponics capture sheet. Some suggested variables are to explore
substrate, nutrient solution, or environment.

2. Obtain the following materials per student or groups of two; water bottle, wick (string), scissors
and a station with a hammer and nail. Using a hammer and nail, make a hole in the cap of a
plastic water bottle and thread the string (your wick) through the cap. Screw back on the cap
with the string still attached. Cut the top 1/3 of the water bottle off and invert it back in the
bottle. The string should be touching the bottom of the bottle and be sticking up at least 20

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centimeters from the top. In the base of the water bottle is where you will have your nutrient
solution and water. The inverted section of the water bottle will have your substrate. Using a
sharpie include identifying information such as name and class period.

3. Students will set up their experiment by measuring a substrate to add (this can be brought from
home and might include cotton, coconut fibers or perlite). A nutrient solution might include a
store bought brand to test or creating one with common household grocery items. Students
who chose to use only water will still have growth. All students will want to keep the pH close
to 6 if there are resources available to monitor that data point. It is suggested to plant basil or
another hearty relatively fast growing plant. A light source can be as simple as a window or can
be a heat lamp or grow cart. This lesson can be significantly expanded but in this example is
presented as one method of many students may explore for their change the world challenge.

4. Guide students to create a data table to monitor their system. Students may want to include
data points on date, time, pH, height of growth, water temperature and qualitative
observations. Students can quickly record this information as they come in to class and a cut
off time of 5 minutes can be established. If this lesson is facilitated during a life science unit,
consider making connections to photosynthesis and respiration, conservation of mass and cells.

5. After a couple weeks of growth students will engage in a gallery walk to evaluate other systems.
Students will place their system on their desk with a paper that includes their testable question
in addition to their data collection sheet. Students will rotate through at least five systems and
provided two commendations and two considerations for the systems they observed.

Explain

1. Share a video or images of the evolution of a piece of technology. You might choose to look at
a cell phone, computer, gaming system or TV. Point out to students that designs improve and
change over time meeting the needs of society and competitors. Ask students if there design
was perfect the first time or if they notice changes they would want to make based on other
designs.

2. Allow students time review their peer feedback and propose a redesign of their system. Ask
them to respond to the following prompts:
a. How did your plant use each of the resources you provided?
b. How would your proposed redesign improve your results?
c. What are the benefits and weaknesses of this design if you wanted to use it to grow
fresh produce in an urban community?

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d. Revisit your initial question. Did your results support your prediction?
3. As a class revisit the four different urban garden methods and consider the following questions
for each:
a. Does the method use soil?
b. Does the method use water?
c. Do the plants go through photosynthesis?
d. Does the method involve transporting plants over far distances or do they remain local?

Guide students to consider what might be the best method if they started a local
project. Can they think of other ideas?

Elaborate

1. Students explored how urban farming methods can bring fresh and affordable produce to
people on Earth. How could these methods support humans during space travel? What are
some of the advantages and disadvantges of traditional farming methods to the methods
explored in this lesson on a space shuttle? Students should consider space, weight and
materials.

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Evaluate

1. Students should be evaluated on #2 of the explain section and how well they could explain how
their design supported plant growth.

Emerging

Developing

Using
A description of the Problem to be studied

Description & Rationale of Materials Used

Description of How the Hydroponics System was Designed to
Perform

Nutrients needed for Plant Growth

Explanation of how the Plant uses the Nutrients and Water to
produce Food

Data Table with Plant Growth

Analysis of How the Hydroponics System Worked in Comparison
to Growth in Soil

Analysis of How the Hydroponics System Worked in Comparison
to Other Hydroponics Designs

Recommendations and Rationale for Any Redesign of the
Hydroponics System

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Why are these farming methods useful?
What types of materials are needed?

Vertical Garden

Truck Farms
Aeroponic Towers

Hydroponic Garden

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What will be investigated?

Write the question being investigated Does it only include one variable to test?
It is testable?
Is your question clear and concise?

What do you already know about this question?

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