corporations foundations
Education Home
classroommaterials
Free Classroom Materials
classroomready
Classroom-Ready Resources
edonline
Online Resources
ium
Inquiry in the Upper Midwest Project
sponsorship-options
CRP with Primary Sources Videos
Primary Source Sets
Primary Source Sets
presentations
Webinar Archive
https://www.mncsse.org/
Minnesota Center for Social Studies Education (CSSE)
northernlights
northernlights
Northern Lights
sponsorship-options
Forthcoming Third Edition
sponsorship-options
Features and Curriculum Components
tips
Interactive eBook Tips and Support
resources
Additional Resources by Chapter
northernlights/standards
2011 Standards
northernlights/privacy
Interactive eBook Privacy Policy
historyday
History Day
about
About and Contact
teachers
Teachers
why-teach-history-day
Why Teach History Day
enroll
Enroll in History Day
chat, question
Students and Parents
theme-and-topics
Theme and Topics
historyday/research
Research
hullabaloos
Hullabaloos
links
Research Links
contests-and-judging
Contests and Judging
prepare-competition
Prepare
historyday/contests-and-judging/school-contests
School Contests
historyday/contests-and-judging/regional-events
Regional Events
historyday/contests-and-judging/research-papers
Papers
historyday/contests-and-judging/podcasts
Podcasts
historyday/contests-and-judging/state-history-day
State History Day
historyday/contests-and-judging/national-event
National Event
historyday/contests-and-judging/judges
Judges
categories
Categories and Sample Projects
sample-projects
Sample projects
curriculum-and-timeline
Curriculum Resources
tedworkshops
tedworkshops
Teacher Professional Development
supp-products
supp-products
Supplemental Curriculum Products
native-american
native-american
Teaching Native American History and Culture
Field Trips
Field Trips
Field Trips
Membership
membership
Teacher Membership
historypass
historypass
6th Grade MN History Pass

Choose a Menu

School Gardens (1900-1944)

Historical context

School gardens, past and present, connect students to nature and provide opportunities for student engagement in their communities.

This set highlights various school gardens and youth gardening programs in the first half of the 20th century, and in various places across the United States. This document provides additional context and resources.

Culturally relevant pedagogy considerations

Students can consider the communities where they live — rural, suburban, or urban — and the gardens, green space, or agriculture present. Why is gardening important in all of these communities? If your school has a garden, make connections between your garden and school gardens of the past, including the students tending the space and the food grown. How do these gardens look similar and different across time, and across different parts of the country?

This set was compiled by Angela Bianco, fourth-grade teacher in White Bear Lake.

Classroom ready resources

Learning About School Gardens (Elementary)

School Gardens to School Lunches (Elementary School)

New York school children making a garden

Date: 1900
Creator: Bain News Service
Type: Photograph

School garden, Muskogee Oklahoma

Date: 1917
Creator: Lewis Hine
Type: Photograph

Gathering crops from school gardens, Pittsburg

Date: 1918
Creator: American Red Cross
Type: Photograph

Join the United States school garden army

Date: 1918
Creator: Edward Penfield
Type: Poster

school-garden-clayton

School gardens produce for market, Clayton School

Date: 1919
Creator: Keystone View Co.
Type: Photograph

work-is-play

School garden, where work is play

Date: 1918
Creator: American Red Cross
Type: Photograph

 

War gardens over the top

Date: 1919
Creator: Maginel Wright Barney
Type: Poster

School garden, Gee’s Bend Alabama

Date: 1939
Creator: Marion Post Wolcott
Type: Photograph

Working in school garden, Gee’s Bend

Date: 1939
Creator: Marion Post Wolcott
Type: Photograph

Victory Garden planning, Girl Scouts

Date: 1943
Creator: Ann Rosener
Type: Photograph

Children’s school Victory Garden, New York

Date: 1944
Creator: Edward Meyer
Type: Photograph

Contact

Meghan Davisson (meghan.davisson@mnhs.org), grant director

Disclaimer: Content created and featured in partnership with the TPS program does not indicate an endorsement by the Library of Congress.