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Lesson One: Joy Hall 34 ACTIVATE: ASPECTS OF LIFE AND THE GARDEN MEDICINE WHEEL ACTIVITY In this activating strategy students will learn about how the four aspects of life connect or impact the garden and our food systems. The four aspects of life are: Mother Earth, Plants, Animals, and Humans. Plants include all vegetation including flowers, trees, moss and lichens. Mother Earth includes the elements of air, earth, water, and fire. Air includes wind and weather change. Earth includes soil, mud and rock. To begin the lesson, ask students to take out a piece of loose leaf paper. You will draw a Medi- cine Wheel on the board. Draw a large circle on the board and divide it into four quadrants with an X. This will be the model for students for their Medicine Wheel graphic organizers. Label on the outside of the top quadrant with an "N" or "North"; the right-side quadrant with an "E" or "East"; The bottom quadrant with an "S" or "South"; and the left-side quadrant with a "W" or "West". Instruct students to do the same on their papers. Alternatively, instead of students draw- ing their own Medicine Wheels, you may hand out a Medicine Wheel Graphic Organizer that is attached below. In the top quadrant (or Northern Doorway, as it is called in the Medicine Wheel) write inside at the top "Mother Earth". In the East quadrant, write "Plants"; In the South quadrant write "Animals"; and in the West quadrant write "Humans". Instruct students to do the same on their papers. When using a Medicine Wheel graphic organizer, you will always start in the East. So for this activity, you will start with "Plants". Instruct students that farming and gardening is a food system. We get food from gardens. Talk about the four aspects of life and connect them to the garden. The four aspects of life are Plants, Animals, Humans and Mother Earth. Pose the question: "How do plants connect to gardens?". Let students have a moment to think to themselves. Have students raise their hands to give some answers. Write their answers down in the Plants section of the Medicine Wheel. Instruct students to write down the answers too. Try to have at least 3-5 examples for each quadrant. Post the same question for each quadrant. •How do animals connect to or impact gardens? •How do humans connect to or impact gardens? •How does Mother Earth connect to or impact gardens? Potential Answers: Plants: •Plants grow in a garden •Trees give shade to a garden •Weeds can be invasive in a garden •Vegetables make up a garden •Seeds germinate in a garden Animals: •Rabbits eat vegetables in the garden •Earthworms help the soil of the garden •Birds could eat the seeds •Some insects need gardens to thrive and eat the leaves •Small burrowing animals may call the gardens soil home Humans: •Humans plant gardens •Humans eat from gardens •Humans play in some gardens such as corn fields (corn maze) •Humans can pollute gardens •Humans may work in a garden Lesson Plan