Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

15 minutes

Tune in: Nature’s Treasures

15 minutes

Find out: The Secret Garden

30 minutes

Take action: Making Maps

Tune in: Nature’s treasures

Step 1.

If you aren't already outside, take the class to your outdoor learning space. Review outdoor learning rules and the benefits of outdoor learning with students, including potential hazards and actions to take in the event of hazards.

Step 2.

Invite students to spend one minute looking around the school yard, focusing particularly on natural objects, including both living and non-living things (plants, animals, fallen logs, rocks, etc). Ask students to write down all the things they see from this quick look.

Ask students to briefly share what they have seen.

Step 3.

Now invite students to spend five minutes looking at the school yard again, this time in more detail, and this time looking for the secret, hidden treasures that can be found in the school yard only by looking closely. What can you see when you zoom in on some flowers or blossoms? What can you see when you look at the ground under the bushes or trees? What can you see when you look around fallen branches and rocks? Remind students to only look, and not touch!

Step 4.

Discuss:

What value do these small things have in the garden, and in the broader environment in general?
Why does having ‘secrets’ in a garden make the garden more interesting or appealing?
What are some of the different types of gardens that you have enjoyed?

Step 5.

Discuss:

If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.
FRANCES hodgson burnett, the secret garden

What does this quote make you think about?
What does it make you wonder?

Find out: The Secret Garden

Step 1.

Read the following excerpt from The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgson Burnett: The Secret Garden Excerpt.

Step 2.

Ask students to form pairs or groups and to brainstorm what Mary might have found inside the walled garden.

Prompt students to think about what they would hope to see if they had a secret garden.

Take action: Making Maps

Step 1.

Explain to students that they are going to design a secret garden that could be created in the school yard for students to help to look after and play in at lunch and recess.

Step 2.

Explain that their maps will be drawn from an aerial point of view, as if we were birds looking down on the playground from the sky. Demonstrate how simple 2D shapes can be used to create a map, using the Map Grid Demo (printed at A3 size).

Talk through the process, describing what you are drawing and why you are using certain shapes to represent different objects and plants. By using dialogue to explain your actions, you are helping students to understand the thought process behind certain actions.

Step 3.

Ask students to form pairs. Distribute one copy of the Secret Garden - Map Grid to each pair to complete. Remind students to use 2D shapes to represent plants and objects on the map. Encourage them to imagine they are a bird flying high above the secret garden - what would the bird see? Tell students to label key items on the map.

Reflection

Ask students to suggest ways they could encourage the school to include a secret garden for students to tend and play in. How would this garden make the playground a more valuable space for the students? How could this also be of benefit to the environment? Students’ suggestions may include: a garden design competition, filming a persuasive piece to present to the P&C, writing a persuasive letter to the Principal, or starting a gardening club. Use students’ feedback to guide your next lessons.

Differentiated Learning

Extension: Students could edit and publish their design by using an app or software to create a digital version of their secret garden map. Students could use the map grid to calculate the area and perimeter of garden beds, or the total area required in the playground to accommodate their design. Students could write to local nurseries and hardware stores asking for donations of trees, plants, equipment and landscaping materials.

Make sure you are complying with any applicable school policies regarding asking for community donations.

Provisional Learning Support: Some students may require additional scaffolding in order to draw a map from an aerial perspective or to create written instructions. Some students may require a partner who can act as a scribe when writing instructions.

Outdoor Learning - Mapping a Secret Garden

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Summary

Learning intentions:

Students will...

Success criteria:

Students can...

Lesson Guides and Printables

Lesson Details

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Curriculum Mapping

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