It's hard to imagine growing a garden
without using math skills. After all, there are
planting dates to calculate, scale maps to draw, seedlings
to space, and so on. Then there are garden-inspired
science investigations that help students develop math
savvy. They might look for patterns in nature (the relationship
between the number of flower petals and pistils, for
instance), sort and classify plants to make an identification
key, calculate the surface areas of leaves growing in
different conditions, or chart the annual weight of
produce donated to a food shelter. And that's
just for starters.
Earning money with plants has been a great
math motivator in classrooms that have ventured into
garden-related businesses. What's for sale? Seedlings,
worm composting kits, homemade salsa, garden design
services, and more. Young entrepreneurs need to project
and track expenses and sales; collect money and make
change; and calculate profits. Some classes have even
obtained business loans or sold stock to students!
We hope the following articles, Web sites,
and resources will inspire you to cultivate math skills
in school gardens, habitats, and outdoor classrooms.
Page 2 Radishes,
Roots,& 'Rithmetic. A plethora of ideas for
weaving math into classroom gardens.
Page 3 Grappling
with Data. Strategies to help students make sense
of data gathered in garden 
investigations.
Page 4 Measuring
Up, Metrically Speaking. A contest to grow the biggest
bean plant moves kids toward metrics.
Page 5 Measuring
Tree Growth. Two challenges for puzzling out tree
growth.
Page 6 Thematic
Gardens Measure Up. Square-foot gardens -- from
cereal bowl plots to herb patches -- boost grasp of
math.
Page 7 Weather
Matters. Activities for measuring soil temperature
and wind speed, creating a garden weather station,
and more.
Page 8 Questions
and Answers. More opportunities for applying math
in the garden.
© 2007
National Gardening Association