IF YOU ARE NEW TO NATURE JOURNALING PLEASE LOOK AT OUR NATURE JOURNALING PAGE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

Nature Journaling is an incredible tool for students to investigate the relationships between abiotic and biotic elements in the environment.   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 statement "I wonder..." becomes very important at this age all the way up to 18 years as students deepen their understanding of the world around them.  Encourage students to begin writing using single words, simple sentences, lists, point form, paragraphs and even poetry. 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.

You will need to use the PDSB BYOD Library or other sources to help with this activity.  

Watch the Fisher Story. This video is from Issac Murdoch and the Lessons From the Earth and Beyond website which is designed to help us understand and discuss the importance of Indigenous knowledge. 

1)   What are some positive characteristics and features of the animals in this story?

• Choose and research an animal that best represents your personality and compare 3 traits you feel are similar to you (body shape, personality, behaviour, features, adaptations, etc.).  Make sure you have researched the actual animal and do not base your knowledge on what you have seen in media

• How does this bird/mammal/amphibian/reptile/plant/tree help the earth?

2)  Choose an ecosystem of your liking (land, water, wetland, forest, space, garden, etc.)

• Choose at least three characteristics/adaptations that you feel would help a creature in your chosen ecosystem have the best chance of survival.  For example, in a water ecosystem the creature could breathe underwater or be able to hold their breath for extended periods of time, but also breath on land if needed - you choose what you feel would be more beneficial. Perhaps it is a new creature with different abilities to help it survive.  

• What do you believe this creature has within itself to benefit the earth? Not the people of earth, but the actual earth. 

3) Consider this thought, if all creatures had the same characteristics or attributes would the earth survive?  In reflection of the animal you created, what are the ways, positive or negative, it would impact the earth and, in turn, our society? 

• If your animal was taken out of your ecosystem and moved to another planet what would be the effects on Turtle Island (North America)?  

• What would your creature need in order to survive on another planet?