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Special Collection
This engaging KET-produced video collection helps teach elementary students about the art and science of growing food, with an emphasis on biological and environmental concepts. It also addresses topics related to nutrition and economics.
The collection was created in partnership with the Food Literacy Project at Oxmoor Farms and Cane Run Elementary School in Louisville, Kentucky and Meadowthorpe Elementary School; The Arboretum, State Botanical Garden of Kentucky; Seedleaf; and Karen Angelucci in Lexington, Kentucky.
| RESOURCE | GRADE LEVEL | MEDIA TYPE |
|---|---|---|
Think Garden: The History of FoodThis video provides a brief history of cultivated food. Take a trip through the woods as a hunter-gatherer; see how Native Americans used companion crops like the Three Sisters; and get a closer look at where the tomato got its start. Also learn about how cultivated food is preserved. |
3-5 |
Video |
Think Garden: A Year in the GardenThis video tells the story of a traditional summer garden over the course of a year. Learn how to prepare for a garden during winter months. See students get their gardens ready for planting, and then watch as they tend to their gardens all summer. |
3-5 |
Video |
Think Garden: What's a Food Chain?This video illustrates why all living things need food and explains how organisms provide energy to each other. Colorful graphics show the difference between a food chain and a food web, and an animation and poem make food chains easy to understand. |
3-5 |
Video |
Think Garden: The Importance of WaterThis video explores why plants need water to survive, and how they tell us they’re thirsty. Learn about the part water plays in the process of photosynthesis, and find out how to conserve and improve water quality. Also an animation explains the water cycle and transpiration process. |
3-5 |
Video |
Think Garden: Location, LocationThis video shows how location is important to the health of a garden. Learn about the factors that go into choosing a location for a garden. See a variety of alternatives to a traditional garden plot like raised beds, container gardens, hoop houses, and small kitchen gardens. |
3-5 |
Video |
Think Garden: Soil CompositionThis video explains why soil is more than just dirt. Learn how to tell if soil is rich and healthy or lacking in nutrients, which nutrients are essential, and what happens if plants lack these nutrients. Also find out how to improve soil, and find out what compost is, and how to use it. |
3-5 |
Video |
Think Garden: A Gardener's PoemThis video explores the many roles of a gardener through a short, fun poem. |
3-5 |
Video |
Think Garden: Pizza GardensThis video demonstrates how to make a pizza with ingredients from both spring and summer gardens. Follow students from Cane Run Elementary as they make fresh spring pizzas. Then head back to school with the Cane Run students as they make pizzas with traditional toppings from their own school garden. |
3-5 |
Video |
Think Garden: Plant FamiliesThis video breaks down the scientific classification of living organisms. Learn about the order of classification: kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species. Also get a closer look at some specific plant families to find out which fruits and vegetables are in the same family. |
3-5 |
Video |
Think Garden: Cool CropsThis video explores the possibilities of gardening in the cooler temperatures of spring and fall. Learn about which vegetables like cool weather, and techniques to help plants grow in these conditions like raised beds and hoop houses. Also find out why cool crops are ideal for school gardens. |
3-5 |
Video |
Think Garden: PhotosynthesisThis video explains the process of photosynthesis through a fun poem with stop motion animation. Learn about what chloroplasts and chlorophyll do, and why sunlight, water, carbon dioxide, oxygen, glucose, and carbohydrates are important to the process. |
3-5 |
Video |
Think Garden: Garden Pests and HelpersSee how some creatures benefit the garden by being pollinators, while other creatures help by eating insects that attack garden plants. Also learn techniques to prevent bigger pests from damaging the garden. |
3-5 |
Video |
Think Garden: Sustainable GardeningThis video examines methods of practicing sustainable gardening. Examples explored include companion planting, composting, and more. Also learn about things not to do in a sustainable garden. |
3-5 |
Video |
Think Garden: The Product in ProduceThis video illustrates how gardening is a way of life for many people. Follow students visiting Oxmoor Farm as they learn about the business of agriculture. Also see how school gardens can teach about economics. Finally, learn more about the growing business of organic gardening. |
3-5 |
Video |
Think Garden: Edible EconomicsThis video explains the economics of gardening through a poem. Learn how personal choices – buying produce from a grocery store or farmers market, purchasing supplies like rakes and shovels for a garden, or selling produce from a school or home garden – affect supply and demand. |
3-5 |
Video |
Think Garden: Buying LocalThis video illustrates why it is important to buy local. Follow out of season produce on its journey to the supermarket, and learn about the hidden costs involved. Also visit a local farmers market to see how easy and fun it is to buy local! |
3-5 |
Video |
Think Garden: Garden Health and MaintenanceThis video explores what a garden needs to remain healthy. See the ways thriving gardens depend on humans, and find out special needs of specific plants. |
3-5 |
Video |
Think Garden: Plant StructureThis video examines plant structure by taking a closer look at the root and shoot systems. Learn about roots, stems, leaves, flowers, seeds, and fruit through engaging illustrations and animations. |
3-5 |
Video |
