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

Nature Journaling is an incredible tool for helping students to add numeracy to their observations by making connections to numbers used everyday.  Fractions can also be added by looking at an area and figuring what faction is covered in flowers, grass, a certain colour, etc.  These can then be connected to decimal points and percentages.

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 of Bethan's 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. 

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.

First, complete the activity found in Measurement.

Once the plants start to sprout use standard units (mm, cm & m) to measure the height of the plants each day (or each week if there isn't growth to start).

Compare the height of the different plants you have planted (if available). If they are the same type of plant consider reasons for why they may be growing at different speeds. Document the different heights of each plant and determine the average growth and the percentage (showing both a fraction and decimal) of plants that are growing above and below this average height. Continue to document this for every week of growth. 

Week to week, for each plant, determine the rate of growth compared to the average rate of growth.

Curriculum Links:

• See Writing

• See Measurement

• See Data Management & Probability

• See Visual Arts - Flower Fun

NOTE: This can be used with the Nature Journaling activity at the top of the page.