Woman writing outside
Two woman working on assignments outside.
Group of students working on assignments outside.
Overlook of the Delaware River.

Introduction

Writing Naturally gives teachers an opportunity to create a classroom of writers who are studying a particular subject. Nature-ly gives teachers and students the opportunity to go outside to write about and explore their surroundings. Not all teachers are able to take their students outside. If this is the case, teachers can use imagery (writing using the 5 senses) to encourage students to write about the content of their course. Using imagery to guide writing, allows students to make connections.


Purpose

The purpose of writing is for students to demonstrate their knowledge and experiences of the topic being studied. Writing Naturally allows teachers to create an activity in which students can write with or without restrictions. Writing Nature-ly

Goals

1. Build a community of collaboration through teacher consultants, community members, the Pocono Writing Project, DEWA, and Parks for Every Classroom (DEWA division) to design and implement a digital course experience that addresses writing skills utilizing mindfulness of our natural environment.

2. Collaborate within the design team and other members of the Writing Naturally Program to encourage and refine one another's thinking in regard to authentic experiences for students and the writing process.

3. Use the instructional design process to create assets and digital courses that reflect the principles and content of the Writing Naturally Program.

4. Complete and launch the Writing Naturally Program for educators in 2023-2024.

Assessment

Assessment may vary based on content and instruction by the teacher. Paragraphs should be assessed according to the teacher’s preference and their usual writing requirements. Teachers can grade solely on content requirements and in addition, if a teacher is comfortable they can grade on basic grammar skills; capital letters, spelling, punctuation. The style of writing may also affect the assessment.  Formal style would represent a research based paragraph. Informal style would represent a more creative paragraph or writing activity. Requirements for the two would most likely differ.