Students will design growing systems to provide warmth and nutrients to summer vegetables in order for them to grow during the fall, winter and spring months.

Summer vegetables have a wide variety and are enjoyed best by many, but in Virginia (as well as other areas) producing them outside of the summer months is not always possible.  This lesson will encourage students to experiment with different concepts of growing in order to grow summer producing plants and have them produce out of season.

Students will use National Science Standards of Unifying Concepts and Processes, Science as Inquiry and Life Science.  Based on Virginia State Standards students in the second grade will master the understanding of the life cycle of the seed.  This standard is usually presented in the spring months and students normally do not see the end result of a seed producing a vegetable.  By having students investigate and design other ways to force summer vegetables to grow, if any of their growing systems work, students will possibly be able to see the end products grown from their seeds.

Through the process of making something – a model, an object, or a poster – and then creating an actual growing system, the students will investigate a creative solution for the hypothesis.

The objective of this design process is to encourage students to explore a variety of models and solutions in order to investigate a variety of growing systems for growing summer vegetables in off-season time frames.  The investigation will allow the students to see the significance of how and why the design process is used in making an idea become an actual situation.  Further, students will develop an understanding that not all designs are best, some will work and some will not.  If any one of the students' growing systems work, students will have an opportunity to see the seed cycle move through the production cycle.  The end result will enable students to develop a greater understanding of the design process and how it can relate to the “scientific inquiry method."

Students will be able to:

• understand the life cycle of a seed, the procedures of the Scientific Method, and to recognize a variety of growing systems
• use National Science Standards of Unifying Concepts and Processes, Science as Inquiry, and Life Science
• use the Mathematics strand of Statistics and Data Analysis in this learning sequence

Computers with Internet access (Note: Teacher should pre-bookmark safe sites that apply to lesson.)

Books relating to vegetables and the growing process

(Note: Student Web sites and book resources will vary depending on grade level.)

• handouts (directions, explanation of the scientific method, lesson outline to include the design process as it relates to the scientific method, and tables and bar graphs for collecting data)
• poster board
• construction paper
• markers
• glue/glue sticks
• scissors
• wooden craft sticks
• newspaper

(Note: Students will develop a list of other needs and items; this list should include items that can be recycled to make growing systems. For example: soil; old pots, plastic tubs and plastic bottles that can be used as planting containers, watering cans and seeds.)

• design: to plan and make something in a skillful or artistic way, to intend something for a particular purpose
• evaluate: to consider or examine something in order to judge its value, quality, importance, extent, or condition
• model: a copy of an object, especially one made on a smaller scale than the original; something used as the basis for a related idea, process, or system
• outcome: the way that something turns out in the end
• process: a series of actions directed toward a particular aim; a series of natural occurrences that produce change or development
• solution: a method of successfully dealing with a problem or difficulty; to find the answer to a question

(Note: Teacher will begin this unit by incorporating the Scientific Method and how it relates to the Design Process.  Use the attached handout.)

Step 1: Students Ask a Question (Note: This is Step 1 in the Scientific Method and Step 1 in the Design Process {Review the Challenge}.  Just as asking the hypothetical question in the Scientific Method helps define the problem, in the Design Process it is important to identify if something works well or if improvements would make it better.  The challenge or question in this lesson is wanting to know if it is possible for summer vegetables to grow out of season.)

1. Give the students the following prompts as step one of the challenge:

• Can summer vegetables be grown out of season?
• Why do summer vegetables not grow well during the winter months? (This question will help students identify why summer vegetables are not readily grown out of season.)
• What are the best growing conditions for summer vegetables?  (As above, this question will help students identify why summer vegetables are not readily grown out of season.)
• Make lists of summer vegetables.

2. Have students identify if there is a demand or need for these types of vegetables.

Step 2: Students do Background Research (Note: Step 2 of the Design Process is to gather and analyze information. In the Design Process, data is critical to determine if there is a need for the desired product.)

1. Students will use the Internet and the library to research the best growing conditions needed for the summer vegetables.

2. Students will investigate a variety of growing systems, how they work, and what types of materials can achieve or mimic summer growing conditions.  Students should research:

• the effects of composting
• hydroponics – the use of water as a growing system
• greenhouses

(Note: The questions here include: Will any of these methods of growing force summer vegetables to grow off season?  Can these methods be enhanced and used in the average home situation?  Are they practical to use or will the overall growing systems' cost be greater than if the vegetables were purchased from a local market?  The data can help to determine the cost effectiveness of the design.)

Steps 3 & 4:  Students Construct a Hypothesis and Build a Model (Note: Part of the Design Process is determining the performance criteria for successful solutions, generating alternative solutions, and building prototypes.)

1. As a group, students will compare the different growing systems they researched.

2. The students will make drawings to represent the growing system they intend to build as their design project.

3. The students will build models prior to building the actual item used for the project.  This will enable students to enhance, adjust, or rethink as their design before moving on to the final product.

Step 5: Students Test With an Experiment (Note: This part of the Design Process includes evaluating the choices that have been implemented.  Students will use and test the different models, and will compare the costs of all designs, as well as maintain a record of product yielded.  The students will then compare which method would better benefit the consumer.)

1. Using materials determined from building the model, students will develop a growing system to use for planting and maintaining seedlings and adult vegetable plants. They will care for the plants by watering them and maintaining proper lighting and air quality needed for growth.  In order for the experiment to be fair all students will grow the same vegetables, plant on the same day, and attend to the care of the growing system at the same time each day.  Students will maintain daily records of all data collected during their experiment.

Step 6: Students Analyze Data (Note: The Design Process also evaluates outcomes. This portion of the process will provide a visual and mathematical comparison to determine the effectiveness of each individual design. It will also provide data to determine if additional improvements could be made or if the design could be more efficient.)

1. Provide graph paper for students to use to record collected data. Groups will develop graphs in order to compare their data with the other groups' data.

Step 7: Students Communicate Results

1. Students will present their findings to their classmates with a visual presentation and verbalize their conclusions regarding the effectiveness of the growing system.

An assessment should be made at each step of the lesson in order to ensure the students have completed each section.  This will enable the teacher to establish whether each student went through the entire design process and to make sure all objectives were met.  In order to differentiate the instruction, students should be grouped heterogeniously.  This will allow groups to have a variety of strengths and will foster peer mentoring.  A simplified version could also be offered for students who have difficulty reading.

Community Involvement: Teacher will enlist the support of community helpers to provide advanced knowledge in the area of the growing systems by inviting local professional or advanced hobbyist gardeners to come to the classroom, and will ask local nurseries and hardware stores to make donations to assist in the construction of the growing systems.