S.T.E.A.M. Pizza Garden
Objectives
Students will design a plan for a pizza garden utilizing angle measurements as fractions of a circle. Students will use a protractor to construct a model of their pizza garden design.
Students will use seed packets or plant information from technology to determine space needed (in degrees) for growing each vegetable on their design.
Students will work cooperatively and come to consensus as a class on end product.
STEAM Connections & Kentucky Academic Standards
NGSS
Life Sciences - Ecosystems, Growth and Development of Organisms, Biodiversity and Humans - 3-LS1-1, 3-LS4-3, 3-LS4-4, 4-LS1-1, 5-PS3-1, 5-LS1-1, 5-LS2-1
Engineering Design (ETS)
Crosscutting Concepts - Cause and Effect, Systems and System Models, Interdependence of Science, Engineering, and Technology, Scientific Knowledge Assumes and Order and Consistency in Natural Systems, Patterns
Math - Geometry
Technology - Using tools to construct a model of design. Using a computer for research.
Art - Organize and develop artistic ideas and work.
ELA - Reading
Materials
Protractors
Seed packets
Computer access
Colored pencils
Paper with a large circle on it—Pizza Garden Worksheet
Procedures
Introduce the lesson by asking students to think of their favorite kinds of pizza. Ask what vegetables they like on pizza. There may be some students who list meat or cheese, so the teacher can ask where those ingredients originate.
Explain to students that they are going to design a pizza garden. (If outdoor garden space is available, tell students this lesson will result in a real-life garden and they will make pizzas at the end of the growing season. If not, the lesson will become a class project with a pizza celebration at the end.)
As a review, ask students how many degrees are in a circle. 360
Next, review how to use a protractor.
Begin by asking students which vegetables might be found on a pizza. Record answers on the board. Next, ask which vegetables we will need more of? Explain that since the tomato sauce has to cover the entire surface of the pizza and oregano is just sprinkled over the top, we will need more tomatoes than oregano.
Share with students the assignment is to work in small groups to create their own pizza design on a circle template. They will work in groups of three or four to decide what kind of vegetables they would like to grow for the pizza.
Using the seed packets available or the computer to research information, students need to read to determine how much space each vegetable will need to grow. For example, tomatoes will need more space than basil or oregano.
After students decide what they would plant for their pizzas, they need to create a plan on how to split the garden, “What fraction of our circle should be set aside for each of the vegetables?”
After groups’ plans have been approved, explain that we need to make exact measurements for our garden space.
Ask, “How would we determine what angle we should carve out for our tomatoes?”
Lead students through determining the angle measure for one plot of the garden. Ex: “If we plant oregano over 1/6 of the garden, we can determine the angle measure by dividing the entire circle, 360 degrees, by 6.”
Using the circle templates and protractors, each group will create their pizza garden showing the angle measure they will need to plant each vegetable.
After each group completes their plan, call the class together. List on the board the vegetable choices of each group. As a class, vote on the vegetables to determine which ones you will actually plant.
As a class, determine the degrees of the angle for each vegetable chosen.
Ask each group to use colored pencils to color in the choices on their small group plans. Ask for volunteers to color in a template of the whole class plan.
Garden-Free Option
If you are not going to actually plant a pizza garden, create a bulletin board of the group plans and the final plan.
Arrange for a pizza party for the class where they can make their own individual pizzas using English muffins, tomato sauce, and the vegetables they have chosen topped with cheese. Check with your cafeteria staff to see if they will bake the pizzas for you. If not, locate a toaster oven, and with permission, bake them in the classroom.
This is a great way to celebrate student success as garden planners and mathematicians.
In the Garden
If you are actually going to plant a pizza garden, students should plant the garden prior to summer break and harvest the ingredients when they return. Be sure that someone will care for the garden in the summer months. Please follow suggested planting guidelines.
Go outside and use protractors to divide the circular garden bed using sidewalk edging to divide the wedges.
Plant the vegetable plants in their appropriate slices.
Throughout the growing season, continue observing, measuring, weeding, and learning. Consider posting photos on a web site if most of the growing occurs when students are not in school.
When vegetables are ready to harvest, have the class pick the vegetables.
It is easy to make tomato sauce in the classroom using tomatoes, onions, oregano, and basil in a crock pot.
The next day, have students wear plastic gloves as they handle the vegetables. Wash the vegetables and use serrated plastic knives to cut them into pieces for the pizza. Place the unused stems, etc. in a pail for composting.
Place each type of vegetable on a different plate. Use English Muffin halves as the base of the individual pizzas.
Create a creation station by lining up the ingredients, beginning with the English muffins, then the different vegetables on plates and ending with mozzarella cheese.
If your cafeteria is agreeable, ask them to bake the pizzas then serve them to the students in celebration of their amazing skills as gardeners and mathematicians.
Differentiation for higher level students
Use this lesson to teach about circumference. Students could be asked to, based on angle measures, calculate the arc measure—the distance between the two rays of their angles.
Bright Ideas
Schools could also create salsa gardens, soup gardens, historical gardens, or international foods gardens for cross curricular connections.
Alphabet garden
Children’s literature-based gardens (e.g., Peter Rabbit garden)
Cut flower garden
Edible garden (note: any garden on this list can include edible plants)
Herb garden
Salad garden
Salsa garden
Soup garden
Stir fry garden
Historical garden (e.g., Victory garden, Native American garden)
Native plant garden
Multicultural garden
Peace garden
Rainbow garden
Sunflower garden