Outdoor Learning Resources

Check out the website at https://everykidoutdoors.gov/parents.htm

ATTENTION 4th Grade Students

Every Kid Outdoor Program

Did you know that the Every Kid Outdoor Program provides fourth graders free entry to public lands for a full year? Fifth graders who obtained a pass before COVID have free entry until Aug 2021.

Make a Sit-Upon

Task: Students design and build a waterproof seat to use while outside.

WATCH THE VIDEO: How to Make a Sit-Upon Out of a Reusable Shopping Bag

Other outdoor seating ideas:

5-Gallon Bucket Seats

https://www.positivelysplendid.com/sit-upon/

Sew a sit-upon

Use an old vinyl tablecloth to cut, stuff and sew a seat.

Use a sit-upon to attach supplies to be sun safe: Sunscreen, hat, sunglasses, mask…seek out shade.

Sun Safety

Students learn about the importance of protecting their skin while outside. Post the sign as a reminder to students. The UV index can be used to teach about the sun’s intensity. GRAPH daily temperature and UV index to compare two data points.

Take Photos Outside!

This year students took part in a Bioblitz. As part of this project, we went outside and took pictures of all living things on our campus (see student pictures below).

Other ideas for outdoor photography:

-find evidence of: change of season, rain, plants/animals that live on campus, types of rocks, plants changing over time.

-find patterns in nature, shapes, colors, textures

-phases of the moon, how shadows change throughout the day

-take a photo a day from the same perspective to show change over time

-artistic vision of nature, abstract vision

Lorea took some pictures of beautiful flowers for her outdoor learning.

Ms. Ofer took this photo to capture "melt."

Alex S. took a photo of some creatures.

Watersheds

Watch the video about watersheds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pwW2rlGIa8

Go explore outside to see if you can identify the watershed in your community. Find the highest point of land in your community and the lowest point. Trace where the water may flow. Take a walk around the community and make a list of things that you see that impact the watershed (ie. dog poop, trash, animals, fertilizer, car washing).
Think about ways you can make a positive impact on the local watershed.

Generation Wild

Click on the link above to get a list of: 100 things to do before you're 12.

John Muir: Mission Explore

Mission Explore- Link to the entire document

Have Vision: Go Outside and draw what you think your surroundings would have looked like 150 years ago (when John Muir was alive) and what it will look like 150 years in the future.

Everything is connected: Sketch something that is alive, then draw in its connections to other living things. What does it eat and what eats it? Does anything live in or with it? What happens when it dies?

Open a mini National Park: Follow in the footsteps of John Muir - who helped create the world's first National Parks - and create one of your own. Give someone else a guided tour of its special qualities.

Simple Outdoor Activities

Outdoor Math Activities

Penny Hike- use an object like a penny. Have students find 10 things from the natural/social system bigger/smaller than a penny.

Measuring- use appropriate tools to find items in nature that are 1 inch, 12 inches long, etc.

Shape Hunt- students find and record shapes found in nature.

Measure your yard and create scaled maps.

Measure weather data points to see how they change over time. RXP has a weather station that can be tracked at Wunderground.

Outdoor STEM

Click the link for: 20 Outdoor Learning activities to develop STEM skills

Solar Oven Challenge!

Participate in The NEED Project's Solar Oven Challenge. Build a solar oven with your family using NEED's directions, or design your own oven. Use your solar oven to bake a favorite snack or simply see how much temperature change you can create. Make a video sharing your solar oven design. Were you able to successfully cook your food? How did your food taste? Are there any design changes you would make?

OUTDOOR Learning from the YMCA

Shadow Tracking

Learn all about the movement of the earth by tracking shadows throughout the day. Have students stand in the same spot at various times and mark with chalk on the sidewalk how "tall" their shadow is at each hour. Discuss why our shadows shrink and grow and what that teaches us about the movement of the earth.

Sink or Float

What makes some materials sink in water while others float? Ask them to make predictions about the sample materials (a penny, tin foil, a Lego, a plastic cup, a spoon) and then ask follow up questions about what patterns they noticed. What do they suspect made some objects float while others sank?

I Spy STEM Walk

Take a walk through nature. Identify how or where STEM is involved by pointing out science, technology, engineering and math wherever you see it. How do trees stay alive? How are buildings constructed? What lives outdoors versus indoors and why? What do you notice up in the sky? What technology can be found outdoors?

Go on a scavenger hunt. Use this one or make your own.

Nest Making

Use natural materials to build a nest. Here are some examples built by RXPI teachers.

Nature Bracelets

Put a piece of masking tape, sticky side out, around your wrist. Go outside to look for treasures to put on your bracelet.

Make pictures out of natural materials.

Citizen Science

Citizen Science is collaborative scientific research, managed by scientists and conducted by amateur or non-professional scientists in the field. Its goal is to further science itself---and the understanding of both science and the scientific process.

GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) Protocols to engage students in authentic science data collection.

CoCoRaHs Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network

Project Noah is a tool to explore and document wildlife, a platform to harness the power of citizen scientists everywhere.

Eco-Schools USA Green projects to engage students in creating positive change in 10 pathways to sustainability.

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