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 look  for ways that the landscape, animal population, land use has changed and how this has influence the present community.  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 making the connections.  Encourage students to begin writing using single words, simple sentences, lists, point form, paragraphs and even poetry.  Please note that spelling is not the focus in a nature journal.  At this age you may start to see art fears - ensure you are re-iterating it is not about a pretty picture.  It is about their observations.  Please see the link below for tips on giving feedback.  Using a combination of 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)

• Can you see monuments, buildings, parks, plants or water that interest you?  Does it have a name, historical influence, etc? Does it have an impact on your feelings from the area?

• Focus on the oldest building you see in the area - compare the size, shape, materials used on this building versus newer construction builds.

• What ways do you notice the community tries to conserve energy? 

• Do you notice the different ways the land and water are being used in the area and how they might have been used in the past?

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.