Hydroponics Harvest Hub

Learning Goals & Products

Learning Goals

Students will be able to explain how living things grow and mature by observing a plant in a hydroponic garden.

Students will be able to use a model of a hydroponic garden to show the relationship between a plant’s needs and its place.

Students will be able to identify practices that are good for the environment by choosing water-saving and waste-reducing care actions for the garden.

Students will be able to communicate solutions for helping plants and protecting living things in their local environment.

Students will be able to describe positive ways to show care, consideration, and concern while working with partners on the garden.

Students will be able to encourage safe and healthy behaviors during plant care routines by using simple reminders and helping words.

Products

individual

My Hydroponic Garden Design Page and Oral Explanation

Each student creates one design page with a labeled picture or sketch of a simple hydroponic garden, plus a short oral explanation of how it helps a plant grow. Students must include their own ideas, care actions, and what they learned from observing the plant.

team

Little Growers Hydroponic Garden System and Gallery Showcase

Teams build and care for one working hydroponic garden, test it with teacher-supported checks, make at least one improvement, and present the final system with growth evidence at the Little Growers Gallery. The showcase must explain the team’s choices, how they cared for the plant, and how the design helps living things with less dirt.

Rubric

Mastery-Based Rubric Standards-first rubric

Category	Standard	Beginning (1)	Developing (2)	Proficient (3)	Exceeding (4)
California	K.1.5.P - Identify practices that are good for the environment, such as turning off lights and water, recycling, and picking up trash.	I can help take care of my garden by doing one safe, kind, and environmentally friendly practice (like turning off lights or saving water when I remember) I can pick up trash or help keep our area clean so we protect living things.	I can explain one good environmental choice I use during hydroponic gardening (like turning off water or recycling) and I can show how it helps our plants and our community I can follow routines for safe plant care with gentle hands and listen when others remind me.	I can identify multiple ways to protect the environment while we care for our water garden (like saving water, not wasting resources, and keeping the space tidy) I can communicate what I am doing and why using simple words, pictures, or actions during our garden tasks.	I can independently use and teach several environmentally friendly practices during our hydroponic garden (like turning off water, saving water, and picking up trash) I can clearly communicate solutions to reduce our impact on land and water by sharing how my choices help my plant grow and how I help care for others and living things.
California	K-ESS3-3 - Communicate solutions that will reduce the impact of humans on the land, water, air, and/or other living things in the local environment.	I can tell what plants need to grow by pointing to my plant (roots, leaves, and water) and saying one simple idea about caring for it I can share one gentle garden habit I use to help living things I can name a way our water garden helps our environment.	I can explain how our water garden is different from dirt by using pictures and pointing to parts of my system (water, plant, and light) I can communicate one solution we use to reduce impact on land or water, and I can describe how I helped my plant grow I can listen to others and share my idea at the Little Growers Gallery.	I can describe how our choices (like careful watering and turning off or limiting water use) help reduce impact on land, water, air, or living things I can use evidence from our observations (drawings or check marks) to explain what helped my plant grow in our system I can work with a small team to present our solution clearly and kindly to visitors.	I can communicate a complete solution for a water garden by connecting our actions to reducing harm to the environment and helping living things thrive I can use multiple pieces of evidence from our observations to explain how the water, light, and care changed my plant over time I can lead or support my team’s presentation with empathy, solve small problems in our system, and encourage others to use gentle, safe plant care habits.
Next Generation Science Standards	K-ESS3-3 - Communicate solutions that will reduce the impact of humans on the land, water, air, and/or other living things in the local environment.	I can tell with help one way my family and I can care for living things (like plants) by using water carefully I can point to my plant’s water and say it helps the plant grow.	I can explain, with pictures or simple words, one solution our class uses to reduce impact on water and living things I can say how my plant in water helps answer the question: how can we build and care for a garden using water instead of dirt?	I can communicate a clear solution to reduce human impact by sharing how we build and care for our water garden I can describe using evidence from observations (like roots, leaves, and water) how people help plants grow while using resources carefully.	I can communicate a strong solution that reduces impact on the land and water by explaining how our hydroponic garden works and how we care for it safely I can confidently share evidence from our growth over time and tell how I helped my plant grow and care for the environment.
California	K.7.2.M - Describe positive ways to show care, consideration, and concern for others.	I can show that I care for others by using kind words and listening when my teacher or a neighbor nursery partner tells me how to handle plants safely.	I can show care and consideration by taking turns, following gentle plant-care routines, and encouraging a teammate during our water-garden work and class gallery practice.	I can consistently show care and concern for others by working collaboratively, using safe and healthy habits while caring for plants, and helping my team explain what our plants need to grow.	I can lead with empathy and responsibility by encouraging others to use safe, healthy “gentle gardener” behaviors, resolving teamwork challenges respectfully, and communicating our garden-care solutions to reduce impact on water and living things.
Next Generation Science Standards	K-ESS2-2 - Construct an argument supported by evidence for how plants and animals (including humans) can change the environment to meet their needs.	I can use pictures, drawings, or simple words to tell one need that my plant has (like water or light) and how I can help it grow With support, I can point to what I observed in our water garden as evidence.	I can explain how plants change as they grow in our water garden and name at least one way people help plants meet their needs I can use my drawings/observations to give a simple reason (because) for what I think will help our plant.	I can make a claim about how our plant’s needs (water, light, and gentle care) help it grow in the hydroponic system I can support my claim with evidence from observations (like root/leaves changes) and tell one solution that reduces harm to the environment.	I can build and share an argument supported by evidence: I can claim how our plant meets its needs and how people change the environment to help (using water instead of dirt) I can give multiple pieces of evidence from observations and clearly explain how my team and I helped the plant grow in safe, caring ways.
Next Generation Science Standards	K-ESS3-1 - Use a model to represent the relationship between the needs of different plants or animals (including humans) and the places they live.	I can use a simple model (like a picture or drawing) to show that plants grow when they have what they need (like water and light) in the right place.	I can use a model of my water garden to show how plant needs (water, light, and gentle care) connect to where the plant lives and how it changes over time.	I can explain using my model how different plant needs help plants survive in water instead of dirt, and I can show (with a drawing or label) what I observe in my garden.	I can use my model and evidence from our garden to describe the relationships between plant needs and their environment, and I can clearly tell how our choices help the plant grow and meet its needs over time.
California	K.8.1.M - Encourage others when they engage in safe and healthy behaviors.	I can help others at school be safe and healthy by using gentle “gardener hands” when I touch plants and by following simple plant-care rules when my teacher reminds me.	I can encourage others to use safe and healthy plant-care behaviors by demonstrating gentle handling, using the class watering chart with help, and reminding a friend to care for the plants the right way.	I can encourage others to practice safe and healthy behaviors during our hydroponic garden work by explaining what to do (like checking water and handling plants gently) and helping my team follow the routines.	I can encourage others consistently to use safe and healthy plant-care behaviors by modeling the “gentle gardener” actions, checking that my team follows the routines, and guiding others with kind, clear words so our garden stays healthy.
Next Generation Science Standards	LS.2.D - Social Interactions and Group Behavior	I can work with my group by following classroom rules for caring for plants and using kind words while we share materials.	I can take turns and help my group make simple choices about caring for our water garden (like checking plants and watering gently), and I can ask for help when needed.	I can listen to my group, share ideas about what plants need using observations (roots/leaves/water), and we can solve small problems together to keep our garden care routine going.	I can lead my group with kind, respectful teamwork by encouraging others, explaining how our group’s actions help plants grow, and coordinating roles to care for the garden and communicate our learning at the Gallery.
Next Generation Science Standards	LS.2.C - Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience	I can notice plants in water and explain that living things grow I can point to my garden materials and say one way I help care for the plant (for example, gently using water).	I can describe what my plant needs by using my observations (such as water and light) and compare it to a plant in dirt I can tell one simple solution for caring for plants in a water garden and show it with my drawings or pictures.	I can use evidence from my observations (roots, leaves, and water changes) to explain how plant needs help the ecosystem and keep the garden healthy I can work with my team to solve small garden problems (like checking water) and communicate my solution kindly to others.	I can explain, using my model and data from the garden, how caring actions affect plant growth over time and how our water garden reduces impact on land and other living things I can lead others by encouraging safe, gentle “little gardener” habits, sharing what I learned, and linking my actions to how plants and the environment respond.
California	K.1.1.G - Explain that living things grow and mature.	I can tell that living things grow and change over time, and I can point to my plant’s leaves or roots to show growth in a simple way I can share one way I help care for the plant during our water-garden routine.	I can explain that living things grow and mature by observing my plant’s changes (like new leaves or taller stems) and using my drawings or photos as evidence I can tell how my actions help the plant grow in our water garden and work with my team to care for it.	I can describe how my plant grows in our water garden by using evidence from observations (roots, leaves, water, and light) and connecting it to what the plant needs I can communicate a solution for caring gently and saving water, and I can help my team solve problems in our hydroponic setup.	I can clearly explain how living things grow and mature by comparing how my plant changes over time and using our class model of the water garden to support my ideas I can present my learning at the Little Growers Gallery by telling what I learned, showing how water helped my plant grow, and describing how my careful choices reduce impact on the environment while encouraging others to be gentle gardeners.