Nature walks
The
benefits of spending time outside are many and varied. Studies show that
children who spend time outdoors get better grades in school, have less
behavior problems, and are healthier over all. Nature walks are great way to
introduce your students to spending time outdoors during the school day.
Sit Spots
Sit spots
are a place for students (and adults!) to regularly sit and observe the natural
world around them. They should be close to home or school and easily
accessible. They teach students to relax, slow down and observe. It is amazing
what you can notice about the natural world when you are sitting on the ground
quietly looking and listening.
Take
students on a walk to a quiet wooded area either close to your school or on a
nature trail close to school. It should be a location within walking distance
so that it can be accessed regularly. Instruct students to find a comfortable
place to sit alone but within eyesight or hearing distance of teachers. Students
should find a spot that appeals to them personally. Allow 10-20 minutes
(depending on age of students) for students to sit quietly and observe and
listen to what is around them. It is amazing the sights and sounds they will
observe once everyone is still and quiet.
Return to
your sit spots at least once a week. Observe the changes in your sit spot as
the seasons change. Sit spots are a wonderful lead in to nature journaling.
Look for more information on nature journaling coming next week!
Backyard/Schoolyard Nature Find
Nature is
all around us - it is not someplace that we need to travel to find. Who lives
near you? A colony of ants? A robin? Take students outside to your schoolyard.
Instruct everyone to quietly observe, search, listen, look for wildlife, and plants.
Make a list of what you find. As an assignment that evening have students do
the same in their own backyards. Even if students do not know what they saw
they can write down a description. Compare lists the next day. Investigate
animals or plants that you did not know. How will the changing seasons change
what you observe? Make predictions and check them throughout the school year.
Seed Hike
As the
season slowly changes to fall nature prepares itself for the coming cold
months. Plants produce seeds to carry on the next spring. Many seeds have hooks
or barbs that get stuck in animal fur (or socks) and then get distributed. Some
seeds get eaten by wildlife, others get dropped and grow in the spring.
Have each
student bring an old pair of socks to school. Take a walk to a local prairie,
pasture, meadow or other area with tall grasses and plants. Have students put
the old socks on over their shoes. Walk through the grassed area. Observe as
you walk. What seeds do you see? What plant are they growing on?
After you
have walked though the area have students take off their socks and examine them
carefully. Outdoors or once you have returned to the classroom have each
student remove the seeds from their socks and sort them. Use a magnifying glass
or microscope to observe the seeds. What do you see? What kind of barbs or
hooks do the seeds have? How do this help with seed distribution? What animals,
if any, do you think eats these seeds?
Book Lists
Grades 3-5Art, H.W. and M.W. Robbins. 2003. Woods Walk: Peepers, Porcupines and Exploding Puffballs! What You'll See, Hear and Smell When Exploring the Woods. Storey Books.
Boring, M. 1999. Fun with Nature. T&N Children's Publishing.
Burns, D.L. 1996. Berries Nuts and Seeds. T&N Children's Publishing.
Kirkland, J. 2002. Take a Tree Walk. Stillwater Publishing.
Kirkland, J. 2006. Take a City Nature Walk. Stillwater Publishing.
Ross, M.E. 1993. World of Small: Nature Explorations with a Hand Lens. Yosemite Association.
Grades 6-8
Lawlor, E.P. 1993. Discover Nature Close to Home: Things to Know and Things to Do. Stackpole Books.
Grades 9-12
Leslie, C. 2003. Keeping a
Nature Journal. Storey Publishing.