Writing
Grade 5: Writing
Generate, gather, and organize ideas and information to write for an intended purpose and audience; draft and revise their writing, using a variety of informational, literary, and graphic forms and stylistic elements appropriate for the purpose and audience; use editing, proofreading, and publishing skills and strategies, and knowledge of language conventions, to correct errors, refine expression, and present their work effectively; reflect on and identify their strengths as writers, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful at different stages in the writing process.
Nature Journaling: I Notice..., I Wonder...?, It Reminds me of...
A major part of nature journaling is using words to document what is being observed and experienced. This can be done using multiple types of text. simple sentences, point form, lists, etc. Nature journaling is also a great place to introduce poetry as well as short stories or even interview skills. How do they think a rock will answer interview questions?
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 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.
Active Bodies
Now that you know how our bodies respond to different activities organize the information into a piece of writing (song, poem, article or letter, etc.) that tells of your experience. Summarize your data and give a presentation of your findings.
Describe the experience. How did you decide what activities to do?
What did you think would be the outcomes and what actually were the outcomes?
Do an interview with one of the participants about their experience. What did they find hard and did it reflect in their measurements?
Curriculum Links: see Life Systems
NOTE: This can be used with the Nature Journaling activity at the top of the page.
Angle Search - Writing
Complete the activities found in Geometry & Spatial Sense and Data Management. Look at the results of your exploration and answer these questions in writing:
Describe the conclusions of your study
Write an explanation for these findings. Why do you think the probabilities resulted as such?
Is there another view or perspective of objects with differing angles that you could possibly take to change the results of your study? What could be changed to adjust your results if you were to do this again?
Curriculum Links:
NOTE: This can be used with the Nature Journaling activity at the top of the page.
Nature Journaling: Event Comic
In the activity Event Comic from John (Jack) Muir Laws and Emilie Lygren's book: How to Teach Nature Journaling. "Students use words and pictures to create a true-life “nature comic” and tell the story of an event they have witnessed in the outdoors."
All resources shared with permission.
Nature Journaling: Poetry of Place and Moment
In the activity Poetry of Place and Moment from John (Jack) Muir Laws and Emilie Lygren's book: How to Teach Nature Journaling. "Students have the opportunity to write poems that record the details of their surrounding and their personal experiences and reflections."
All resources shared with permission.
Nature Journaling: Sit Spot
In the activity Sit Spot from John (Jack) Muir Laws and Emilie Lygren's book: How to Teach Nature Journaling. "Find your sit spot and see what comes.” This activity offers students the opportunity to engage with the outdoors on their own terms."
All resources shared with permission.
Nature Journaling: Writing to observe, Writing to think
In the activity Writing to Observe, Writing to Think from John (Jack) Muir Laws and Emilie Lygren's book: How to Teach Nature Journaling. "Students focus on a subject in nature and practice using different writing approaches to capture their observations and thinking."
All resources shared with permission.
Planting - Research
Research the seeds you are planting using the PDSB BYOD Library (link on the left) or other sources. Keep the following questions in mind while researching:
Why are you growing the plants? Example: food for your family, food for animals, aesthetics, etc.
What habitat do the plants require? Example: full sun, shade, etc.
What type of soil does it require?
How much space does it require to grow?
How large will it grow?
If it is a flowering plant, when will it flower? Will it only flower once or continue to flower?
If it is a vegetable or fruit what is the estimated time before it will be ready to pick?
Does the plant have any medicinal properties?
Can you find out if this plant is used by Indigenous peoples in Ontario or other folks, and what it is used for?
Is it an annual or perennial?
Curriculum Links:
See Measurement
See Visual Arts - Flower Fun
NOTE: This can be used with the Nature Journaling activity at the top of the page.
Super Human
Pick one system within the human body and create a speech on what you would add to the system to make it super human.
Why did you choose this system and what are its deficiencies that need to be improved?
How would the new improvement work with the system you chose?
Who is your audience and how can you best appeal to their needs? For example, younger people move differently than older people. How can your addition to their body make them function better?
Review your piece of work and improve your writing using more complex sentences or change the content to better appeal to your audience before presenting your idea
Curriculum Link: see Life Systems
NOTE: This can be used with the Nature Journaling activity at the top of the page.
Water Cycle - Journal
After learning about the water cycle, get outside or look out a window to see the cycle in action. Take a journal or something to write on and a pencil and go write a story about the water cycle. Look around you, find a quiet space to sit and witness the water cycle first hand. Consider the type of story you want to write: fictional, fun, factual, etc. Consider your audience: yourself, your friends, your family, your teacher, etc.
Continue on to one or all of the the following activities.
Curriculum Links:
see Matter & Energy
see Dance
see Drama
see Music
see Visual Arts
NOTE: This can be used with the Nature Journaling activity at the top of the page.
Where Is Here? And How Does One Get 'Here' From Mars?
Now that you know where you are. Give directions to your location, but the person—or thing—needing the directions is coming from Mars. How does one get from Mars to this actual location? Be specific. Consider the following:
How should they navigate outer space in order to find Earth?
Where would their spaceship land?
How would they then find your location once on Earth? Use intermediate cardinal directions (NE, NW, SE, SW) to navigate your town/city/area all the way to your door step
How would they know when they are at the correct location and how do they tell you?
Continue your journey by completing the activity in Oral Communication.
Curriculum Links:
NOTE: This can be used with the Nature Journaling activity at the top of the page.