PIZZA GARDEN
(Crust: wheat, an oil plant such as sunflower, sugar cane
or sugar beet. Cheese: yellow marigolds can represent. Tomatoes, peppers,
onions, oregano, parsley, basil)
Social history/geography:
Explore the history of wheat, tomatoes, and sugar cane, and
examine the impact that these three crops have had on world culture. What
is the sugar cane connection to slavery? Interview elder members of the
community to see how they grew these and other crops. Also, ask: how would
you get people to try a new crop that they have never eaten before?
Language Arts:
Read Pizza Man, Pizza Party, Little Nino's Pizzeria.
Keep garden journals; develop your own recipe for pizza, write up nicely
and give as gifts; have kids write an essay: why I love pizza!
Creative Arts:
Involve children in designing the garden, which could take
many interesting approaches. Make herbal vinegars from the herbs, create
a beautiful label, and sell them or give as gifts. Make markers for each
of the plants. Try to make a vegetable dye from one of the plants. Use
some of the wheat to weave.
Music: Learn the lyrics to the British Isle folk tune John
Barleycorn (absolutely wonderful!). This song tells about the whole
process of planting, growing, and harvesting grain, as well as how it is
milled...but in a unique way. Sing the song for an audience at a school
assembly, at a nursing home or harvest dinner.
Science: What will happen if you plant the wheat at varying
densities? Why do herbs smell so good? Why do onions make you cry? Which
plants are more alike? How are they different? Begin the transplants indoors,
and explore plants' needs in the process. Compare the seeds as you plant.
Explore the impact of weather on the plants.
Math: Find out how many seeds or transplants are needed per
given area; quadruple a recipe for pizza; take growth data...which plants
grow the fastest? Mark wheat stems at different intervals along the stems
to figure out where the growth is actually taking place. See if growth
corresponds with a weather pattern.
Earth Stewardship: Explore alleopathy, and the effect that
marigolds have in the garden; prepare the garden site on Earth day, use
disease resistant varieties; and use recycled, attractive bottles for the
herbal vinegars.
Nutrition/Health: Find out why pizza is good food; find out
how to make pizza more healthful; make tomato sauce and compare to store-bought;
grind the wheat* and make the crust; find out more about whole wheat vs.
white flour. In general, the pizza garden presents a good way to explore
where our food comes from. Kids eat a lot of pizza, but most haven't clue
about the historical, nutritional, etc. aspects of pizza.
*Be aware that a fungus called ergot infects some
grains. Eating ergot infected grain can cause ergotism, which can have
mild to severe repercussions ranging from altered behavior to death. If
you use your home-grown wheat, it would be wise to have someone check it
over for the characteristic blackened, swollen ergot-infected grains (they
look a bit like mouse droppings).
Phys. Ed.:
Grind the wheat by hand with a grain grinder. Make a tie
back to social studies; the way we prepare our food has changed drastically
over the past couple of hundred years. How has it affected our physical
health and our lifestyles?
Social Concerns:
Plant or purchase extra marigolds transplants; as a class,
volunteer to plant them at the local library or other agency. Give away
extra tomato sauce to special friends; have students plant the garden in
relay teams. |
