Tree Museums and Informal Science

Preschoolers walk in an arboretum or ‘tree museum’ to provide them with a guided informal science experience. The project described in this article also provided educators with life science... See More

Preschoolers walk in an arboretum or ‘tree museum’ to provide them with a guided informal science experience. The project described in this article also provided educators with life science training for teachers; early childhood training for arboretum docents; field trip agendas, including explorations and discussions; and pre- and post-visit science curriculum ideas for teachers to use in classrooms. Many of the materials are provided in an NSTA Connection website so that this same activity can be carried out anywhere. Topics within the activity include authentic inquiry, assessment and adult participation. If you are planning a preschool field trip this article is a must read.

A Walk in the Woods

This is a wonderful article for elementary teachers who are wanting to add inquiry into their curriculum and are a little unsure of it's relevance, or how to do it. Although some of the situ... See More

This is a wonderful article for elementary teachers who are wanting to add inquiry into their curriculum and are a little unsure of it's relevance, or how to do it. Although some of the situations may not apply to your school, it would be easy to adapt the activities to a near-by park or your schools Nature Habitat. This activity can also be adapted "upwards" for older children, is easy to implement, and has little to no costs involved (if done locally).

Good Article

I enjoyed reading this article. I think this is a good article for preservice teachers and teachers to read if they are wanting to integrate inquiry into their science lessons. This article ... See More

I enjoyed reading this article. I think this is a good article for preservice teachers and teachers to read if they are wanting to integrate inquiry into their science lessons. This article is intended for preschool children but can be modified for students in older grades. There are so many wonderful things that students can learn while in nature. Field trips are activities that students are more interested in.

Involving the Outdoors

This article is a wonderful resource for elementary teachers who want to move their classrooms outdoors. The article discusses the importance of letting children observe nature first hand an... See More

This article is a wonderful resource for elementary teachers who want to move their classrooms outdoors. The article discusses the importance of letting children observe nature first hand and how to incorporate walking out in the woods into a learning opportunity. There are four major guidelines to follow when project planning and they include connecting big ideas from inside the classroom to outside, and introducing authentic inquiry skills. Students will explore, represent, and engage in science talks and then can be assessed on what they learn when they are outdoors. As a teacher, you can see how your students are responding to the outdoor classroom and see what information you may need to teach more in depth. It is very important for the students to be able to learn information and then see it occurring right in front of their eyes.