Science Practices

Lesson Notes

• Start with a review of INIWIRMO (I Notice, I Wonder, It Reminds Me Of) just like in 3rd grade, but go deeper, spend more time, focus on the difference between observation, identification/naming, and opinion. Potentially add coming up with possible explanations from evidence ("I Think Maybe...") - see "Other Ideas" below.

• Magic Spot, with journaling recording their observations, questions, and connections using INIWIRMO about something they found interesting (could be a leaf, because leaves have a lot of interesting featues and evidence of natural processes, but could also be anything else in nature that they see out there). 

  • Could do the journaling activity To Each Its Own (as they did in Taking Root) and if time, try to match objects to journals afterwards - this whole lesson will then be great review on INWIRMO and journaling to record information in pictures, words, numbers, arrows, etc.

  • Also could include some level of mapping as the first journaling assignment - focus on senses, observations, recording, representation, and a type of mapping. Potentially, mapping could be something they build on throughout the program. Treasure Map to their sit spot so they can find the same spot again in subsequent weeks.

• Another alternate, if time, is Shrunken Expedition from CalAcademy, to get them to look closely and imagine a different perspective

Other Ideas:

• Add "I Think Maybe" if group is advanced, for coming up with possible explanations from evidence:  How to Teach Nature Journaling Mysteries and Explanations introduces explanation from evidence in a great follow up to INIWIRMO to help students ask better questions and come up with possible explanations from evidence. (or do in a later lesson possibly during a Nature Scene Investigation)

• Could alternately do Writing to Observe, Writing to Think from HTTNJ to follow up on INIWIRMO and introduction to ways to use Nature Journals - a less in-depth version of this could be their first journaling assignment, including the WHY WEB.

• Emphasize discussion routines and Argumentation from Evidence for 5th grade - possibly introduced during a later lesson

• Possibly include evaluating evidence and evaluating sources as classroom pre-field options

• For future classes, classroom follow up activities such as Indoor Field Observations and Food Web 

Materials:

• Lengths of string if doing Shrunken Expedition, Journals, pencils, sit tarps, dry erase boards and markers for instructor, sanitizer kit for during covid,

Introduction:

• Introduce yourselves (maybe a bit of your background, and why you are excited to be there) 

• Introduce the program ("Branching Out"), goals and objectives (learn the practices of science, connect with the land, become environmentally literate citizens), monthly field program similar to what you did in the 3rd grade in Taking Root, but more advanced now that you are older.

• Introduce the place with a Territorial Acknowledgment and request for respect for the land and the plants and animals who make this place their home. For small schools, something like, "we are on the unceded traditional territory of the Paiute-Shoshone people, Owens Valley Paiute, or Nüümü, who live here and have lived here for a very long time. Their original name for the Owens Valley is Payahuunadü, Land of the Flowing Water." For Bishop, add something like "we are on the land of the Bishop Pauite Tribe as guests, and as such, we need to be respectful. They set aside this place, the Conservation Open Space Area, or COSA, for wildlife and environmental education, and it's pretty awesome to get to come here!"  

• Purpose of the COSA (Conservation Open Space Area) 

“The COSA Refuge will be a model for conserving the natural diversity of plants and animals, preserving cultural resources, and providing opportunities for research, environmental education, and quality outdoor recreation. The refuge will link other wildlands with vital habitat for threatened and endangered species, migratory birds, and resident wildlife, and it will protect the natural resources of Bishop Paiute Reservation. Conservation of the natural health and beauty of the refuge is our promise to the community and future generations.” 

Overview of Today's Lesson:

• Review Behavioral Expectations - such as, this is not recess - this is a lesson, specific practices, such as how to get more out of being outside in nature (quiet walking, looking all around, using senses, listening, use the silent signal, etc)

• What we'll be doing (practicing our observation skills as a group and independently, finding a sit spot (aka "magic spot" aka "power spot") do to some focused observation and recording in our field science notebooks (and maybe mapping* your special spot so you can come back to it for more observations in the future and see how it has changed).

  • *Alternates to mapping are HTTNJ Mysteries and Explanations to focus on coming up with possible explanations from evidence, or Writing to Observe, Writing to Think to follow up on INIWIRMO and introduction to ways to use Nature Journals.

  • *Another alternate is Shrunken Expedition (also see below) from CalAcademy. They use a length of string to make a path and describe what their miniature scientist would see along it.

Sensory activities to help students focus on their 5 senses

Note that you don't need to do all of these - you can pick and choose, or go shorter or longer depending on what your students are engaged with. This is a smorgasboard of sensory activities, and if you know others, feel free to use those! You can introduce each lesson with one or two of these to help ground students, and intersperse some in each lesson to help focus their attention on nature.

Alternate activity: use a "grounding activity" from Everyone Counts: Wandering Eyes, 360 Degree View, or The Humming Bee 

Introduction: 

Here’s a quote from the North American poet Mary Oliver to help us focus during these activities:

“Instructions for living a life: Pay attention.Be astonished.Tell about it.”

Robin Wall Kimmerer, a botanist, professor, and author, also says about giving back to nature: 

“The least we can do in return is to pay attention.”

Okay, you know what your work is now. Let’s pay attention, be awake, utterly conscious, and prepare to be astonished! 

Another alternate set of sensory awareness routines: https://www.wildernessawareness.org/articles/come-to-your-senses/ 

• HEARING

  • First we'll focus on listening: (directed sound count)

  • Close your eyes and be silent (or keep them open, if that is more comfortable for you). 

    • Hold up a finger for each different sound you hear. 

    • Focus on each sound, one at a time. 

    • What do you notice about each sound? Is it high? Low? Loud? Long? Short? Is it one sound or a combination of sounds? 

  • Now try listening as a musician would. 

    • Listen to the sounds as if they were music. 

    • Notice the blend of sounds, the spaces between sounds, and the patterns they form. 

    • Notice the beauty of the sounds together. 

  • Open your eyes. Next is a strategy that copies what mammals with big ears do to listen. 

    • Cup your hands behind your ears and push them forward in the direction of sounds you want to focus on. 

    • Cup your hands in front of your ears to focus on sounds behind you. 

• TOUCH

  • Close your eyes again (if that is comfortable for you). 

    • Notice what you feel in your feet. Legs. Arms. Head. 

    • What does the air feel like against your skin? In your nostrils as you breathe? 

    • Can you feel the sun? If so, where do you feel it? 

    • How does the ground feel beneath your feet? Soft or hard? 

  • Open your eyes and pick up something nearby. Notice its texture, temperature, smoothness or roughness—notice everything you can through touch. 

    • What does it feel like against your arm, neck, cheek? 

    • Choose a very different object and do the same, comparing it with the feel of the first object. 

• SMELL

  • Can you smell anything in the air? 

  • Does the smell bring up any memories? 

  • Can you notice temperature and humidity differences by smelling? 

  • Check out the smells of some nearby objects. 

    • You may choose to crush part of a leaf to smell it. 

    • If you choose to do this, just pick one leaf from each type of plant and only if there are many other leaves of this type in the area. 

  • To improve your sense of smell, Smell Everything!

• VISION

  • Focus in on just the colors around you. Notice all the different variations in browns, greens, etc. 

  • Now, try to ignore the colors and focus on the shadows and light around you, like in a black-and-white photo. 

  • Next is another strategy used by people to spot other animals and used by many animals to spot danger. Some call it Owl Eyes. 

    • Don’t focus on anything. Instead, try to look at everything in front of you at the same time. 

    • Once you notice motion, then focus on the moving object. 

Note that we don't use Taste - You can "taste" the air, but make sure never to taste anything in nature that you don't know for sure isn't poisonous. Natural does not mean "safe" as some plants have defense mechanism adaptations to keep from being eaten, including very serious poisons. Many mushrooms that look edible can kill you. And bacteria on any unwashed item, even if it is edible, can make you very sick. (Instructors can share certain items for students to taste if they know they are safe.)

By intentionally using your senses in different ways, you tend to notice more: 

• You notice much more in nature if you intentionally use senses in different ways. 

• You can do this by focusing on one particular sense or by using multiple senses.

• You can also improve your observations by shifting perspectives, or looking at something from a different point of view. 

Share the following directions to have students observe a tree from as many different perspectives as possible: 

• Notice that tree. Looking at a tree from a distance is one perspective to observe a tree. 

• Look down at the ground and take a few paces or move toward the tree. Now, lift your head and look at the tree again. Keep repeating this until you arrive at the trunk. 

• Look up closely at the bark for an “ant’s-eye view.” 

• You can expand the amount of things that you notice by trying out different perspectives. 

• Now, try to observe this tree from as many different perspectives as possible. 

• If you are inspired by different perspectives you notice other folks using, try them out for yourself. 

INIWIRMO (ITM)

• We will now switch from observations using our body (senses) to observations using our mind (thinking) - see intro in BEETLES lesson below.

• Intro/Tie in: You first learned this in Taking Root in the 3rd grade, so some of this will be familiar. You may do this again in 6th grade in Science Camp next year. Each time you learn it again you will get better! This observation ROUTINE focuses on the most important skills of a scientist: Observation, Curiosity/asking questions, Making Connections, and since you're more mature now than you were in the 3rd grade, we're adding Coming up with possible explanations from Evidence.

• Follow lesson plan (below)

Use discussion routines to have students explain their thinking at various stages in the lesson, for example, share with a partner, pairs share with neighboring pairs, share something your partner said. Use Walk and Talk discussions when moving from place to place, Pair Shares, etc in groups. When full group discussions are happening, ask students to elaborate or explain their thinking, ask if other students have anything to add to that, or have different ideas - you are facilitating students in struggling with ideas during discussions, which is one of the ways that learning happens!

Introduce Journals / Field Science Notebooks (when ready)

• Pass out journals and pencils, have them write their name (first and last), their teacher's name, and your names (instructors) on cover

• Your teachers may have more things for you to record in these during class, so they will keep them for you during the year. (we plan to have classroom materials to share with teachers to support the field lessons, similar to ESWP)

• You will keep these journals at the end of the year and can use them over the summer.

• Tour of useful pages:

  • Today's page(s)

  • Plant Key

  • Native names and uses of plants

  • Checklists

  • Glossary

  • Rulers

Give instructions for Journal Assignment 

Choose one or more of the following:

• INIWIRMO journaling extension

  • Use a natural object that you found during Inquiry Fever to draw and write down your "Notices, Wonders, and Reminds Me Ofs"

  • Use pictures, words, numbers, arrows or lines, etc. You can use symbols, too (see Writing to Observe, Writing to Think (also below)for ideas - this is an abbreviated introductory version of that lesson)

  • Demonstrate this using the whiteboard

  • Tell them which page(s) to use

• Could do the journaling activity To Each Its Own (as they did in Taking Root) and if time, try to match objects to journals afterwards - this whole lesson will then be great review on INWIRMO and journaling to record information in pictures, words, numbers, arrows, etc. The intro to this lesson is a perfect way to get them to do detailed recordings of data/drawings/descriptions in their journals.

• "Treasure Map" to your sit spot (if time)

  • Draw a rough map of where your sit spot is so you can find the same spot next month.

  • Use landmarks, directions, number of steps from landmarks, etc. 

  • Draw some detail of what is right at your sit spot

• Shrunken Expedition (see below - pass out string)

• Mysteries and Explanations (see below - this is not a journaling assignment, but an extension to INIWIRMO - if your class is advanced and you think they are ready for this, you can do this at the end and have them Journal a "Why Web" for the nature mysteries they found.)

Introduce Magic Spots

• Magic Spots can be incorporated into the journaling activity, or done separately at the end - check your time and always allow a minimum of 10 minutes for Magic Spots and also allow time for group sharing at the end (at least 5 minutes) before the class has to go back.

  • Setting up Magic Spots for the first time it is important to be very clear on expectations:

  • We sometimes call them Sit Spots (because you're sitting), Power Spots (because they can be Powerful experiences), or Magic Spots (because when you sit quietly in nature for a time, the animals think you've left and come out, and you see things you otherwise wouldn't get to see or experience. Sometimes it's just because you are quiet and looking around, but sometimes magical things happen like a bird landing on a branch right near you.) 

  • "Rules" for Magic Spots:

    • Set clear boundaries (e.g. Inside this mowed area, not in the marshy parts, etc. I must be able to see you)

    • Find your spot quickly (in 30 seconds or less, for example)

    • Spacing: You must be "this far" (demo - should be at least 10-12 feet) from anyone else

    • Sit down facing away from people, preferably toward a patch of nature

    • Sit quietly - no talking, singing, making noise, no hitting sticks or rocks together, or anything else that would be distracting or scare animals away.

    • Stay seated the whole time - no getting up and wandering around. If you need something, you can raise your hand and we'll come find you.

    • Be Present! Look around, pay attention, notice, wonder, and enjoy the beauty, peace, and quiet. Use your senses!

    • You have a journaling assignment, and you can work on that first, but then be sure to relax and enjoy and just be - you can even take a "nature nap" if you want!

    • Stay there, seated and quiet, until you hear my signal (demonstrate signal)

Reflection Circle, aka "Story of the Day" or Gratitude Circle/Appreciations

• • Bring students back to share what they found, experienced, learned

  • Ask Open-ended or Broad Questions such as:

    • What suprised you?

    • What helped you learn?

    • What was your favorite part?

    • See Questions page for more ideas

  • Don't forget to ask follow-up questions to help students elaborate and explain their thinking

  • Use hand signals for "same-same" or "I'd like to build on that idea" or I have a different idea, etc. Guide and facilitate students into peer to peer productive discussion, not just teacher-student questions and answers.