Design Brief: Designing your own miniature garden.

Students are tasked with creating their own miniature garden bed. They will design what
will hold the seeds, including what materials and suitable environment is needed. Then over
the course of half a term, the students will look after their seeds as they grow into plants.
Before starting, students will plan out all aspects of their project. They will need to design
how and where the seeds will be positioned.
Students will need to consider the following during the planning phase:

 What basic functions the plants will need to grow and survive.
 Containers that would suitably hold 5 seeds in it. Think the likes of old ice cream
containers, shoeboxes etc… (students will not use custom plant pots, instead using
old containers from home).
 How much room they think each seed will need to grow. How big does the container
need to be?
 The positioning of the seeds. How far apart will the seeds be spaced?
 Is there any alterations that could be made to the container to help the plants grow
better? (e.g: think about water drainage).
 Think about decorations. What can be added to the miniature garden that will make
it look appealing?
 How much soil is needed, and how full will the container be filled to?
 Where do they want to position the containers?
 A plan of how they will water the plants, and how often they will do this.
 A schedule of how often the students will monitor the plants progress.

As the plants are growing and in between checking

progress and watering, students will look at how using
old containers can be sustainable. What are the
benefits of using old containers and making them hold
plants? Is this a form of recycling?
Students can come up with a list of other household
items that could be used to grow plants. They can
present this in the form of a mindmap.

Equipment Supplied by Teacher

 Bean Plant seeds (5 per person)

 Soil
 Water (from taps)
 Scissors, glue, tape
Equipment Supplied by Student

 Container that will hold the seeds.

 Measuring devices such as rulers.
 Any decoration that will be added.
 A water carrying and delivering system.
 Pencils to write observations.

Technological Considerations
Investigation: students are to consider a selection of existing plant pots, and how they work
to encourage plant growth. They will see if it possible to replicate this with recycled plastic
container items. This will determine through observations whether their original plan of
nurturing the plants is successful.
Design and Engineering: Students will have plan out their ‘miniature garden’ so that is
provides enough space for the plants to comfortably grow in. They will also design their own
water providing system. This will be device that either stores water for easy pouring onto
the plants, or some type of funnel which makes water pouring more controlled.
Science: Students will use their science knowledge to know what requirements plants need
to grow, and then apply this to their planning.
Mathematics: students will record the height of the plants as they grow. Using this, they can
calculate rate of growth and how much each day. They can compare each plant against each
other, and therefore determine if positioning plays a part.
Evaluation:
Functionality: Students will evaluate on the function of using old recyclable containers for
use in growing plants. They can evaluate after the project whether they felt it achieved the
purpose, by examining results, and reflect on anything they feel they would change for next
time.
Creativity: will the students think of different strategies for planting their seeds? Creativity is
encouraged with the type of container and any modifications made to it. Artistry and
decorations to make their ‘gardens’ stand out is also encouraged.