1.03 Let’s Beautify Our School-Installing a Pond
This is Lesson 1.3 (“Let’s Beautify Our School: Installing a Pond”) from the Grow Your PALS Program Guide, part of the National FFA Mentoring Program’s Plants and Gardening unit. In this large-group lesson, mentors teach students about maintaining a healthy landscape and then guide them through hands-on construction of a small landscaped pond, including its installation, stocking, and ongoing maintenance.
At a glance
- Learning objectives
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- Explain the importance of maintaining a healthy landscape.
- Construct a small pond in a landscape.
- Time required
- Instruction time for this lesson: 50 minutes.
- Materials
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- Approved area for pond installation
- Gloves – one pair per student
- Shovels – as many as available to accommodate students
- Sand – approximately 1.5 cubic feet
- Heavy plastic pond liner – 7'x10'
- Utility knife to cut plastic pond liner
- Smooth, flat stones or bricks for pond edging – number will vary depending on size
- Plants and aquatic animals – Water lilies, water snails, fish
- Extra T-shirts – as back-up dress for students in the event they get wet
- Large tarps – optional – for kneeling to install landscape
- Landscape spray paint
- PALS1.3.LG.TM.A
- Colored pencils, markers or crayons
- Plain, drawing paper – one per student
- Unit
- Plants and Gardening
- Lesson Type
- Large Group
- Precepts
- A. Action – A8. Evaluate and reflect on actions taken and make appropriate modifications. B. Relationships – B2. Interact and work with others.
- Key Terms
- Landscape; Pond
Downloads & Links
Aligned Standards
National Standards
- NL-ENG.K-12.12Applying Language Skills
- NS.K-4.3Life Science