Activity 1: What do Plants Need?

1. Open the attached Aeroponic Farming PowerPoint presentation on the screen or projector. Use the presentation to guide a discussion on the needs of plants, addressing common misconceptions about what plants really need to survive and grow.
2. Take 2 minutes and ask students to use their prior knowledge to list everything plants really need to survive and grow. (Slide 3)
3. Before moving to the next slide, ask several students to share at least one item they wrote down.
4. Explain that most people probably wrote things like water, soil, air, sunlight, and heat, but there's more to the story. (Slide 4)
5. Explain that air, water, and heat are definitely things that plants need. Carbon dioxide is obtained from the air, water is taken up by plant roots, and all plants need to be in a temperature that they have adapted to. Ask students about sunlight and soil—do plants really need these? (Slide 5)
6. Explain that plants do not actually need sunlight or soil to thrive. However, plants do need light and nutrients. These can be provided in ways other than traditional soil and sunlight. (Slide 6)
7. Describe how plants can be grown without soil in a variety of ways, including hydroponics, aquaponics, and aeroponics. Explain a little about what each of these terms mean. Explain that special lights called "grow lights" emit certain colors of light that can be used to provide the optimum light for growing plants indoors. (Slide 7)
8. Review the five things that plants need for healthy growth—air, water, heat, nutrients, and light. Explain how each of these essential components for plant life can be provided. (Slide 8)

Three Dimensional Learning Proficiency Disciplinary Core Ideas: Engineering Design: The more precisely a design task’s criteria and constraints can be defined, the more likely it is that the designed solution will be successful. Specification of constraints includes consideration of scientific principles and other relevant knowledge that is likely to limit possible solutions.

Activity 2: Aeroponic Garden Design Challenge

1. Once your students have completed Activity 1 and can identify all the factors impacting plant growth, project the Aeroponic Farming PowerPoint beginning with slide 9. Introduce the design challenge by explaining the problem (slide 10) and a possible solution (slide 11). Explain your students' role (slide 12) and the steps they will take for their assignment (slide 13).
2. Students will proceed by using the Engineering Design Process to guide their steps in designing their aeroponic garden. Choose one of the following options to guide students through the process. Option 1 is more simple, outlining each step of the process and allowing students to make all of their notes in their handout. Option 2 requires students to create a design notebook and use it throughout the entire process. This option requires more thought and organization, but allows students more creative liberty. Choose the option that fits your class best.
   • Option 1: Give each student one copy of the Aeroponic Garden Design Challenge handout. Inform students that they will follow each step precisely and keep all their notes and observations in this handout.
   • Option 2: Give each student a design notebook (or use existing notebooks) and explain your expectations using the Aeroponic Garden Design Notebook Rubric found in the Essential Documents section of the lesson. You may also provide a good example of a design notebook for students to model.
3. Now that students understand their goal (to create an aeroponic garden) and that they will be keeping all of their notes on their handout (option 1) or in the design notebook (option 2), teach the Engineering Design Process in greater depth.
4. Discuss the career of an engineer as well as the process of engineering. Discuss how science and engineering are connected. Referring to the aeroponic garden students will soon be designing, ask, "Could an engineer successfully design an aeroponic garden if he/she did not understand the science of plant growth?" (No, knowledge of both plant science and technology/engineering are required for success.)
5. Show the Engineering Design Process video.
6. Using the Aeroponic Garden Design Challenge handout, review the entire Engineering Design Process in the context of an aeroponic garden. Inform students they will be following each of these steps shortly. Encourage students to ask questions as you go.
7. Divide students into small groups. 3-4 students is ideal, but larger groups may be necessary depending on budget and availability of supplies.
8. Assign students to complete steps 1-4 of the design process. To save on materials and cutting mistakes on the buckets, require students to have their plans signed off before they begin construction.
9. Once students have their design plans signed off, provide students with the materials and allow them to begin building their prototype. Once students have completed step 5, they should have their bucket constructed, water should be flowing, plants will be in place, and they will have taken all of their beginning measurements and pictures. Remind students of the importance of this step to accurately document the starting point of their aeroponic garden. This step is crucial to accurately evaluate the success of their design.
   • The watering system in each bucket will need to be programmed and controlled so that the water is on for 30 minutes and off for 30 minutes. This can be accomplished using an electric timer with 30 minute increments. However, to expose students to computer programming, complete the Optional Programming Activity below (using the instructions and PowerPoint) to allow students to build and program their own timers.
   • Review Tips for Classroom Aeroponics for a list of tips and best practices for success in the classroom.
10. Over the next 3 or more weeks, students should monitor their aeroponic gardens. They should add nutrient solution as needed and record regular measurements and observations.
11. Once the time period has lapsed, have students complete steps 6 and 7 of the Engineering Design Process on their handout or in their notebook.
12. Discuss with students the results and what innovations may have led to the best results. Discuss how the various solutions (including the best solutions) might be improved to result in more plant growth.
13. Once optimal conditions have been discussed, return to the original introduction to the problem and ask your students, "Would it be feasible to grow large quantities of food using aeroponics to conserve land and water?"
14. Have students turn in their completed handout or their Design Notebook for grading.

Three Dimensional Learning Proficiency: Crosscutting Concepts Connections to Engineering, Technology and Applications of Science: All human activity draws on natural resources and has both short and long-term consequences, positive as well as negative, for the health of people and the natural environment.

Optional Programming Activity (50-60 minutes)

This activity will enable students to program the watering cycle in the aeroponic system they designed in Activity 2. This activity is a great candidate for the "Hour of Code" or other initiatives to expose students to computer programming.

1. Give each team one copy of the Aeroponic Garden Programming Activity instructions (or make it available electronically). Explain to students that this activity will help them learn how to program a microcontroller to manage the watering cycle of their vertical garden.
2. Pass out the supplies listed in the Materials section of the lesson plan and pictured below. Be advised that students do not actually need the water pump to complete the coding assignment. They should complete the programming and then they can test it with the actual pump later during the design challenge.
3. Allow students time to work on the activity, and provide help where needed. If you need additional resources to troubleshoot, check out these resources:
   • Arduino Language Reference
   • Arduino Forum
   • Arduino Documentation: Foundations
4. Some students who have been exposed to coding may finish much earlier than the time allotted. Have these students assist their peers.
5. At the end of this activity, students should have produced a program that will enable them to control the water pump in their own vertical garden and set the spray timing and duration.