Lesson Plans

MyPlate for Communicators & Educators 

This toolkit directs those who incorporate MyPlate messages into their communications and lesson plans to a broad array and information and resources.

Great Garden Detective: Curriculum for Grades 3rd & 4th

Discover what fruits and vegetables are sweetest, crunchiest, and juiciest through a series of investigations and fun experiences connecting the school garden to the classroom, school cafeteria, and home. This eleven-lesson curriculum for 3rd and 4th grades includes bulletin board materials, veggie dice, fruit and vegetable flash cards, and ten issues of Garden Detective News for parents/caregivers. 

Dig In!: Curriculum for Grades 5th & 6th 

Explore a world of possibilities in the garden and on your plate using ten inquiry-based lessons that engage 5th and 6th graders in grwoing, harvesting, tasting, and learning about fruits and vegetables. 

• Lesson 1: The World of Edible Plants 
• Lesson 2: Farm to Plate 
• Lesson 3: Healthy From the Ground Up 
• Lesson 4: Seeking Out What We Need 
• Lesson 5: Eat Your Colors 
• Lesson 6: The Global Garden 
• Lesson 7: Chef Challenge 
• Lesson 8: Fruits and Veggies Many Ways 
• Lesson 9: The Power of Choice 
• Lesson 10: Harvest Celebration! 

Kids Gardening Curriculum 

"Garden Tested" by educators and students around the country

• Discovery Hydroponics for Grades K-2
• Exploring Hydroponics for Grades 3-5

Kindergarten 

• Plant a Pizza 
• Budding Tastes 

First Grade 

• Planting a Tops & Bottoms Bed 
• Our Food Traditions 
• Sensory Exploration
• Go Grow Glow 
• Tea Time 

Second Grade 

• Food Story Swap
• Saving Seeds

Third Grade 

• Exploring Our Worm Bin
• Planting Three Sisters
• Celebrating the Autumn Harvest
• Life on the Farm
• Lets Jam

Fourth Grade

• Getting to Know the Garden
• The World Travels of Food
• Reimagined Snacks
• Mealtime Traditions Around the World
• Agents of Change
• Garden Grids
• Learning from our Elders

Fifth Grade 

• The Secret Strategies of Food Advertising
• Break it Down
• Stone Soup
• Seasonal Food Wheels

Pre-K Lessons 

Jersey Tastes! Garden Activity Series: Wonderful Worms Vermicomposting

Jersey Tastes! Garden Activity Series: Scrap Gardening with Sweet Potatoes 

Jersey Tastes! Garden Activity Series: Cool Compost 

Jersey Tastes! Garden Activity : Seed Necklace

• Seed Necklace Activity Sheet 
• Seed Necklace Educational Video 

Jersey Tastes! Educational Video: Peach-y Pairings

Jersey Tastes! Educational Video: Diary of a Space Zucchini

Jersey Tastes! Educational Video: Blueberry Venn Diagram

Jersey Tastes! Educational Video: Potato Variety Matching Game

Jersey Tastes! Educational Video: Kale Leaf Botany

Jersey Tastes! Educational Video: "Scallion If Your're Feeling Fancy" nutritional video 

Jersey Tastes! Educational Video: Where Are Cabbages From? 

Jersey Tastes! Lesson Plan: It's Time To Grow Tea

• Tea Time Lesson Plan 
• Tea Time Power Point