Garden Lesson BES Aug. 31- Sept. 11 – 4th Grade Welcome Tour, Weather Observations

Today we will be welcoming students to the garden program for at least the first nine weeks of the semester. We will take a tour of the garden to see the progress of our Spring and Summer garden crops that were grown by last year’s Bobcat Gardeners as part of our Pizza Garden Project. We will also talk about the concept of ‘weather stations.’

Objective Materials Needed • Reconnect students with the garden • Video lesson and worksheets via a virtual tour. • Review life cycle of the crops sown Vocabulary Review and New indoors, transplanted and ready for • Sow – to plant seed. harvest now! • Germination – the action of seeds • Comment on which plants have sending out shoots and roots as it done well, which have encountered begins to grow into a plant. setbacks due to environmental • Transplant – to replant a plant in a conditions. new place. • Introduce the concept of weather • Harvest – To gather crops. stations. • – a facility, either on land or sea, with for measuring Concepts weather conditions to study • Witness progression of growth over the weather and climate. the life cycle of each crop. • - A rain gauge is a • Understand which vegetables were device that measures liquid “in-season” in August precipitation (rain) over a set period • Measuring weather data of time. • Climate vs. Weather • See weather vs. climate and weather station sections below.

Lesson Lessons will be sent to students as videos. We will have special garden assignments for you to do every couple of weeks. Parents should know that all materials are always accessible at www.okcbeautiful.com/OKCHarvest

Welcome Tour for 4th Grade We will visit each bed and give you a quick update about what is growing. You can follow along on our garden map, which tells us where things are located in the garden.

Bed 1 – eggplant and peppers Bed 2 – cucumbers and okra Bed 3 – tomatoes Bed 4 – Sunflowers and melons Bed 5 – tomatoes, basil, flowers Bed 6 – 3 sisters garden Bed 7 – gourds, onions Weather vs. Climate Weather = short term changes (What should you wear today.) Climate = long term trends in weather (What types of clothes should you have in your closet. A sweater and jeans or shorts and t shirts.)

This graph depicts collected temperature data over an entire year to display information about Oklahoma climate.

From this graph we can tell that the climate of Oklahoma is hot in the summer and cool in the winter. This graph is helpful to gardeners because certain plants like to grow in the warm season and certain ones like to grow in the cool season.

This fall we are going to track weather data! Starting with temperature and rain.

Weather Stations In 4th grade, you will learn a lot about energy. In the garden we witness the movement of energy as it is transferred from the sun to plants and then to us as food. This is evident in the way a seed sprouts when the sun warms the soil, helps a plant to grow and produce fruit for us to eat. The sun’s energy moves through the garden into our bodies in the form of calories and nutrition.

Another way we experience energy in the garden is through the weather. Weather is – obviously – very important to us gardeners. Energy is added to the garden with sun, , rain and air. The more we know about the weather, the better prepared we are to grow our gardens well.

A weather station is a set of instruments designed to collect data about the weather. Once we have this weather data collected over time, we can see trends in how the weather is at various times of the year. A few instruments you might find on a weather station are:

• : measures air temperature • : measures • Rain Gauge: measures precipitation • : measures air pressure • Weathervane or Windsock: measures • : measures humidity

Assignments: Fill out the Garden Journal Entry using info from this week’s video.

Use the Weather Data Record Sheet to collect your own weather data about temperature and rainfall. Do this using an outdoor thermometer and a homemade rain gauge. Or, if you don’t have these, visit the Oklahoma

Answer the Oklahoma Temperature Graph Questions after you have collected your own data for a week or so.

Assignments: • Fill out the Garden Journal Entry using info from this week’s video about what is growing in the garden. • Use the Weather Data Record Sheet to collect your own weather data about temperature and rainfall. Each day over the next week record the temperature and rainfall outdoors. Do this using an outdoor thermometer and a homemade rain gauge Or, if you don’t have these, visit the Oklahoma Mesonet • Answer the Oklahoma Temperature Graph Questions after you have collected your own data for a week or so.

Optional Activities: Make a homemade rain gauge and check out this video: SciShow Kids Be a Weather Watcher

Applicable 4th Grade Academic Standards

Garden Tour and Assignment Science Standards 4.ESS2.2 Analyze and interpret data from maps to describe patterns of Earth’s features. Maps can help locate the different land and water features where people live and in other areas of Earth.

Weather Station Science Standards 4.PS3.2 Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents. Light, heat, sound, and electric currents transfer energy. Examples of this can include sound from a radio, light from a flashlight, the sun heating a window pane, and currents to electronic devices. When energy is transferred it can stay in the same form or change forms.

Assignment Math Standards 4.D.1 Collect, organize, and analyze data. 4.D.1.2 Use tables, bar graphs, timelines, and Venn diagrams to display data sets. The data may include benchmark fractions or decimals

Assignment Language Standards 4.2.PC Students will correctly form letters in print and cursive and use appropriate spacing for letters, words, and sentences. 4.2.W.3 Students will correctly spell grade-appropriate words while editing. 4.2.W.4 Students will use resources to find correct spellings of words (e.g., word wall, vocabulary notebook, print and electronic dictionaries). 4.4.R.1 Students will increase knowledge of academic, domain-appropriate, grade-level vocabulary to infer meaning of grade-level text. 4.7.R.1 Students will locate, organize, and analyze information from a variety of written, oral, visual, digital, non-verbal, and interactive texts to generate and answer literal and interpretive questions to create new understandings.

Weather Station Instruments

Thermometer: measures air temperature

Rain Gauge: measures precipitation

Weathervane or Windsock: measures wind direction

Anemometer: measures wind speed

Barometer: measures air pressure

Hygrometer: measures humidity

4th Grade Garden Journal Entry

NAME: ______DATE: ______

Draw an arrow to show the flow of energy through the garden ecosystem.

Use one or more complete sentences to describe how the sun’s energy changes as it moves through the garden. This information is included in the video.

4th Grade Weather Data Record Sheet

Name: ______Date: ______

Date TEMPERATURE RAINFALL (INCHES) July 26, 2020 92° F 0

July 27, 2020 91° F 2.25

July 28, 2020 74° F 1.25

Remember you can visit http://www.weather.ok.gov for this info!

DATE TEMPERATURE RAINFALL (INCHES)

Name: ______Date: ______

4th Grade Oklahoma Temperature Graph Questions Circle your answers or fill in the blank.

1. According to this graph, which month is the temperature the highest?

January July October

2. According to this graph, which month is coldest?

March June December

3. According to this graph what is the daily low temperature in January?

50° Less than 30° 70°

4. Watermelon likes to grow when the temperature is around 80 degrees. Which month has temperatures in the 80s?

February October August

5. On YOUR weather data record sheet, which dates were the hottest and coldest?

Hottest: ______Coldest: ______

(Optional) Make A Rain Gauge

Supplies

• Repurposed wide-mouth jar • Ruler • Tape • Sharpie (Do not use a washable type marker .)

1. Find an old pickle, pasta sauce or mayonnaise jar. The mouth should be as wide as the jar itself. (or close to it.)

2. Place a piece of masking tape vertically from the base of the jar to the top. (Or write directly on the jar)

3. Use a ruler to measure and a Sharpie pen to mark ¼” increments on the tape or onto the jar.

4. Set the jar outside away from buildings and trees. Check each day. Record amounts of moisture collected, then empty the jar.

Remember, if you cannot make a rain gauge, you can check local rainfall amounts at www.mesonet.org.

Other Optional Activities: Check out this video SciShow Kids Be a Weather Watcher Check out this interactive thermometer Print the Bodine Bobcat Garden Map and label the beds with what is growing now, based on the video. Make sure to put the date on the map.