Garden Lessons: Subtraction in the Garden (3rd Grade)

Grade(s): 3rd

Lesson Objective(s): Students create garden-based subtraction word problems

Ohio Curriculum Standard: students can do simple subtraction

Supplies Needed

• Clipboards

• Papers

• Pencils

• Whiteboard with 2-3 examples of word problem

• snack

• hand sanitizer

• Harmonica

Introduction (5-10 mins):

• In 3rd grade, you’ve been doing lots of subtraction problems. We have to do subtraction in the garden, too!

• Explain activity:

  • Everyone pair up with a partner

  • each pair gets a clipboard, a pencil, and a piece of paper

  • each pair comes up with 3 math related word problems

  • Offer some examples first, like:

    • If there are 12 birds on the high tunnel, and 3 fly away, how many birds are left?

    • If we have to plant 14 spinach seeds in our garden bed, and we plant 6 spinach seeds, how many spinach seeds do we still have to plant?

Activity (10-15 mins)

Students go around garden, come up with at least 3, garden-based subtraction word problems.

Wrap up (5 mins)

• Line up at back door of high tunnel, get hand sanitizer and snack

Classroom Extensions:

Before: Do a few non-garden related word problems as a class to warm up

After: Make a worksheet of all of the word problems students came up with (plus a few really hard bonus ones!). Have students do the worksheet and come up with the “answer key” as a class. If there’s disagreement between answers- have them work it out, because being wrong is such a great learning opportunity!