People & Environments
Grade 4: People & Environments
Political and Physical Regions of Canada
Nature Journaling: I Notice..., I Wonder...?, It Reminds me of...
Nature Journaling is an incredible tool for students to observe and investigate the regions of Canada. What is similar what is different? Their nature journal allows them to write/draw their observations helping to cement the concepts being taught.
At this age all three prompts "I notice..., I wonder...?, and "It reminds me of..." become very intuitive. However the last statement becomes very important for connection making. Encourage students to begin writing using single words, simple sentences, lists, point form, paragraphs etc.. Please note that spelling is not a focus in the nature journal. At this age you may start to see art fears - please ensure you are re-iterating it is not about a pretty picture. It is about their observations. Please see the link feedback at the bottom of this lesson for tips on this. Using words, pictures and numbers allows the students multiple tools to document their observations. With permission Bethan Burton has allowed us to link to her website as she has written a blog post for Teaching nature journaling at all ages.
Here are some more ideas to get you started.
Engage the fives senses (whenever possible)
Make leaf prints ( paint the leaf and press the print into the journal)
Make leaf rubbings
Trace the items they are looking at
Add leaves into the journal using tape
Count the birds/squirrels/insects etc.
Measure as much of the phenomena as the students can using non standard and standard units of measurement.
Here is a downloadable lesson from John (Jack) Muir Laws and Emilie Lygren book: How to Teach Nature Journaling. All resources shared with permission. "I Notice..., I Wonder...?, It Reminds me of..."
GIVING FEEDBACK here is a fantastic resource from Jack and Emilie
NOTE: You are encourage to spend time in the outdoors Nature Journaling. However, you can also bring nature inside, look out your wonder window, have a refrigerator Safari or even observe a house plant or pet.
Map of Canada
This activity requires the student to do some online research. They can use E-books through PDSB BYOD or other sources. This activity can be completed over multiple days.
Goal: create an interactive map of Canada with all the provinces and territories with a focus on one or many different aspects. Use an outdoor space with an outline of chalk, string, hula hoops or an indoor space using large poster paper, or string. Attempt to create the map of Canada including provinces and territories from memory.
Next, find a map of all the provinces and territories of Canada. Consider the places of your map that you created correctly. Why was it easy to remember some features compared to others?
For each province or territory create a picture, Lego figure, 3D shape, print a photo, or find a natural object that represents:
Any interesting animals within the area (hint - each place has an animal representative)
The capital city of the region
Popular human activities or recreational uses that bring in tourism
Land forms or interesting physical landscapes
Create a poem, song, rap, brochure, or video from the viewpoint of an animal in the area and why people should visit and what they can do to help the animal to live in harmony with people. Use all the things you have learned about the province or territory to influence your point of view.
Curriculum Link: see Geometry and Spatial Sense
NOTE: This can be used with the Nature Journaling activity at the top of the page.
Photo by: Dariusz Sankowski - Unsplash.com
Nature Journaling: Event Map
In the activity Event Map from John (Jack) Muir Laws and Emilie Lygren's book: How to Teach Nature Journaling. " Students draw a treasure map as they move through an outdoor area, highlighting the cool or interesting things they notice along the way."
All resources shared with permission.