Farm to School Curricular Resources

There are extensive curricular resources available that can serve as an excellent starting
point for teachers interested in food and garden based learning and sustainability
education. The following list highlights many of the leading curriculum sources in this field
and includes Massachusetts specific resources aligned with state standards.

LifeLab
A national leader in garden based learning, their website contains extensive resources on
garden education, garden enhanced nutrition education, creating and sustaining gardens,
as well as curriculum and online lessons, a content standards database updated with Next
Generation Science Standards and Common Core Math and Language Arts Standards.

Shelburne Farms – Sustainable Schools Project
Shelburne Farms’ Sustainable Schools Project is a dynamic model for school improvement
and civic engagement designed to help schools use sustainability as an integrating
context for curriculum, community partnerships, and campus practices The website
provides an Education for Sustainability Starter Kit, sample lessons, and a calendar of
extensive professional development opportunities.

Edible Schoolyard
This network of K-12 educators building and sharing k-12 edible education curriculum
provides a database of curriculum and resources searchable by grade level, subject, and
season.

Center for Ecoliteracy
Their website provides a variety of instructional tools to assist teachers as they plan and
implement sustainable curriculum.

Growing Minds Farm to School
Farm to school lesson plans for pre-school through high school, all connected to Common
Core and age-appropriate literature.

Learning Lab (US Green Building Council)
Hands on curriculum and resources for project based learning for grades K-12.

Teaching the Food System (High school)
Teaching modules which follow the food system from field to plate, this curriculum
developed by the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future will help high school students
explore relationships between food, equity, public health and the environment.

VT FEED – Curricular Resources
Vermont Farm offers a wide variety of curricular resources for educators interested in developing more lessons or curriculum units around food, farming, and nutrition. They offer some excellent examples of Farm to School curriculum, garden-based education guidelines, and even school lunch guides from their partners in education.

National Farm to School Network
Search the National Networks growing database of curricular resources, submitted by
organizations and schools across the country.

Local Resources

Island Grown Schools Curriculum Toolkit
This large collection of curricular units spans pre-K through 12th grade. The toolkit
includes the units, related teaching standards, complementary activities and assessment
tools.

City Sprouts – The CitySprouts mission is to cultivate curiosity and wonder with hands-on science learning through urban gardens. For more than twenty years, CitySprouts has partnered closely with public elementary schools in Cambridge and Boston to provide opportunities for children to learn by exploring the natural world as part of their school journey. Visit their website to learn more about their early and young learners programs
Garden Based Lessons: Examples of garden-based learning from CitySprouts partner
teachers. These lessons show how the school garden improves learning in all grades and
subject areas.

Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom
Classroom curricula on a variety of agriculture topics for grades K-12. Conferences and
workshops available for educators throughout the year.