This is a good opportunity to discuss New World food contributions. Set up the stick for altitude angle permanently in a location not impeded by shade, preferably in the garden itself. Teach students how to calculate the angle in the classroom. They can use a scientific calculator or a tangent table. If you do not want to mention trigonometry, they can compare shadow lengths.
Scientists work in a very methodical fashion.
Maintaining accurate records of observations and measurements is a key component in this systematic method. Every student should keep accurate chronological record, possibly in a scientific investigations journal or science lab book, of everything which they do in the investigation. These notes should be placed within the student's portfolio for assessment purposes. It is very important that a student understand that different types of living organisms have different requirements from the natural environment in which they thrive. A student's notes in this investigation should reflect the increase in the student's knowledge of what a living organism requires for life.