Where to Walk on Early Fall, Grade 1 Nature Walk
Please read the walk guide for details; this page is a summary.
Goals
• Living vs. Non-Living
• Find examples of living and non-living.
• Discover how living things depend on non-living
Living World – grows and reproduces
• Observe living things (plants and animals) in the schoolyard
• How do we know something is alive? It grows and reproduces. Also: breathe, excrete
waste, die, move.
• Look for signs of growth and reproduction (nests, seeds, pine cones, trees growing)
Non-Living World – does not grow or reproduce
• Observe sun, water, air, rocks, sand. These are natural but are not alive.
• How do we know something is not living? It does not grow or reproduce. For example,
water does not grow.
• Air. Collect some air in a baggie. Can’t really see it, but you know it is in the bag.
• Sit, listen, and feel the air moving and sounds of nature. Feel sunshine. Study sand.
• Think or observe clouds, rain, puddles
Living and Non-Living Together
• Living depend on non-living, but also can adapt.
• Non-living are important because they provide the needs for living. Plants need sun,
water, aire and soil to grow and make seeds. Animals need plants to live.
• Think about trees rooted in dirt trying to absorb the water (non-living) that they need.
• Do changes in non-living affect living? Yes, if tree cannot find water it might die.
String circles: set down string circles and observe. Look at
• Living items such as grass
• Non-living items such as stones or asphalt
• Once-living items such as mulch, dead grass, pine cone
Brook: Walk over bridge. Observe water
Meadow: Unmowed area behind the school. This is the home of many animals.
• Record any animal sightings
• Talk about weather changes: autumn brings shorter amounts of sun and cooler temps.
How does this affect living things? Animals will:
o migrate (monarch butterfly, insect eaters: robins and tree swallows)
o stay active (chickadee, squirrel, raccoon)
o hibernate (bear, chipmunk, bat, woodchuck)
o die, but offspring survive as eggs and larvae (spiders, moth, grasshopper, ladybug)
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GradeOne
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GRADEONE NATUREWALKS
Grade one Nature walks usually last 4s minutes and
are
based on:
1.
E n v i r o n m e n t aAl w a r e n e s s
Sensoryexploration
/ Senseof wonder
DiscoveryI Joy of learning
Sharingthe excitement
Experiencing
nature'srhythmsand cycles
2.
D e v e l o p i n ga t t i t u d e s o f r e s p e c t o w a r d
The environment
Animalslivingin Conantschoolyard
Eachother
Themselves
as learners
3.
E x p l o r a t i o na n d d i s c o v e r y i n c o n a n t s c h o o r y a r d
ydd#
Understanding
differencesbetweenrivingand non-riving
t[rings
ldentifying
what all animalsneed to suivive
Discovering
the varietyof animalsliving in their schoolyard
Discovering
how animafscope with seasonalchanges
understanding
how changesin non-livingthingsaffect
animals
R e m e m b e r ,f i r s t g r a d e r s a r e s t i l l l e a r n i n g h o w t o
behave
on a Nature walk, how to focus, observe, wonder, and
t h e r e b y e n j o y e x p r o r i n g ,d i s c o v e r i n g ,r e a r n i n g ,a n d
sharing.
B u t t h e e x c i t e m e n tg e n e r a t e db y m a k i n g a n d s h a r i n g
their
o w n d i s c o v e r i e sw i l l l e a d . t o t h e d e s i r J t o e x p t o r e ,
discover,and continuelearning
Gradeone Naturewalks usuallylast about45 minutes,
but returnto
schoolearlierif the group losesfocus.
communicate
with the teaeherhow the walk went, as well as
excitingdiscoveries.The teacherneedsto know so she
can
integrateoutdoorexperiences
and excitementwith classroom
learning.
GradeOne
GRADE ONE EARLY FALL NATUREWALK
Schedulethis Walk fo? the beginningof October.
Obiectives:
Explore
Observe
Discoverand explorenon-livingthings in the schoolyardn n
Observeanimalslivingin Conantschoolyard
/ / / /
Before going out:
Ask childrenaboutthe interesting
thingsthey discovered
and did
last year on their Naturewalks.what madethe warkssuch fun? Do
they see all these interesting
thingswhen they are outdoorsfor
recess? Why not?
Do childrensee thingsoutsidethat are alive? Can they namesome?
write them on the blackboard
underthe tiile 'LlvlNG'. How about
thingson the playground
that are not alive? can they namesome?
Writetheseon the boardunderthe title'NOT LlVlNG,
Qffigl'rrl3gr*
How can they tell the difference?What can livingthingsda?
Listento children'sideas,try to directthem to two main ideas:
Living things need food to grow bigger. (Too complicated
to
distinguishbetweenanimalseating and plants makingfood from
water, mineralsand air. Just concentrate
on the fact that living
things need food/energy
to grow.)
Living things also reproduce.They make new livingthingsjust
like themselves.Animalshave babiesand prantshave seeds.
Doesthe sun reproduceand havebabysuns?
Does a rock grow bigger?
(Livingthings also breathe(use
oxygen),die, and excretewastesbut
mostlyyoungchildrenfocuson growingand reproducing.)
3
4
GradeOne
Do we have both livingand non-living
thingsin our classroom?Look
around. How aboutthis chair? ls it alive?What is it madeof? A
tree that was once alive. Hand out the Living/Non-living
Worksheet
(page 10); after explaining
the three categorieswith examplesask
childreneither in pairs or small groups to write-at least two things
in each space. As a classshare what childrenwrote and perhaps
make a class chart.
How should first gradersbehavewhen they are on a Naturewalk?
suggest makinga class list of appropriatebehaviorsand post:
Stay togetheras a group
Move slowlyso they don't scareanimals
Talk quietly
Share their discoverieswith others
Listento natureand to each other
Cooperatewith Environmental
Aides
M a t er i al s :
Stringcircles(one per two students)
Tonguedepressorslabeledsun, rocks,sand, air, water
Plasticbag to catch air
Trowel
Handlenses(one per student)
4 inch squaresof blue construction
paper
Bug box
C l i p b o a r dp, a p e r ,p e n c i l
1. stop by the MountainAsh which is the children's
Adopt-a-Tree.
They will have done the first of a seriesof seasonaldrawings.
what did it look like the first day of school? what has changed?
Are the leavesstill green? What do leaveslook like and how do they
teel? What is happeningto the leaves?
What aboutthe berries? Why does a tree have berries? Picka berry or
find one on the ground;open it to find what is inside. Do they knowwhy
a tree has berries?what do seedsdo? can they nameany otherseedsi
(They could plant a berry seed to see if it will grow, but most seeds
need to go througha periodof freezingfirst, so perhapsplantone in the
winter and then bring it indoors.)
GradeOne
Does anythinghappento the berries? Have they seen any.evidenceof
berries being eaten? What happensto the seeds insidethe berry?
Notethe pinecones. Are they part of the tree? Did theygrowhere?
Listento children'sobservations;
ask for reasons. (The pine cones
are bird feedersmade last winter).
ls a tree a livingthing? Childrenmay answereitheryes or no, but
you needto ask for reasonsfor their answer.How can theytell if
something
is alive? Havechildrenlook at terminalbud marksand
discoverhow eachbranchgrowslongereachyear.
The rootsof a tree growout as far underground
as the crownor
branchesof a tree growout from the trunk. Havechildrenstandin a
circleunderthe crownto discoverhow far out the rootsgrow.
lf a tree grcws bigger eachyear and if it producesseeds so new
trees can grow does that mean it is alive?
I n r e v i e w i n tgh e d i f f e r e n cbee t w e e nl i v i n ga n d n o n - l i v i ntgh i n g so n
this NatureWalk,remember
this is a very hard conceptand children
get
often
confused.Theymay remember
the wordsfrom the
classroomdiscussion,
but not reallyunderstand
the concepts,hence
the repetition.
fs this a specialtree? What do they like aboutit?
2. walk overtowardthe whitepines. Do othertreeslosetheir
leavesin the fall? Do othertrees produceseedsand grow bigger?
Can childrenfind any pineneedlesunderthe tree?(Needles
are
leaves.) Do pineslose their leavestoo? They drop their reavesa
few at a time all year long,insteadof all at once. Hencethe term
"evergreen'.
Do pinetreesproduceseedsso new treescan grow?'Anybody
see
any berries? what do childrenthink pine seedsmightlook like?
Lookfor pineconesunderor on the tree. Seedsare hiddenat the
baseof eachscaleof the cone. Checkand see if any seedsremain;
the seedsfall out whenthe conedries and opens. Sguirrels
pull off
the scalesto find the seedsfor food. Sometimes
you can find a cone
-which has been strippedby a hungrysguirrel.
Y
5
6
GradeOne
To see if pine trees grow taller walk over to the small pine at the
edge of the woods.Pinesgrow a circleof branchesat the top (or at
the terminalbud) each year. Countthe whorlsof branchesfrom the
top down and then add five to see how old the tree is.
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3. Havethe groupsit downunderone of the whitepines.Are trees
living things? How do they know sornething
is alive? Listento
children's
commentsso you can pick up any misconceptions.
Suggest
they sit with theireyes closedand see if they can hearsoundsmade
by thingswhichare alive. can they hear soundsmadeby things
whichare not alive? Hold up a fingerfor each soundthey hear. can
they feel thingswhichare not alive? Sun on their facesor wind
b l o w i n gt h e i r h a i r .
After several'minutesask them to open their eyes and talk aboutthe
soundsthey heardand thingsthey felt. How did they decideif a
thing was alive or not alive? Think of thingswhich are alive such as
the mountainash and whitepine,as well as themselves
and other
animals.
Doesthe sun reproduce
and havebabysuns?
Does a rock grow bigger?
How aboutthe soundsof cars and trucksthey hear? Or an airplane
overhead? Do they grow biggeror produceseeds?
How do childrendecidewhethera thing is livingor not?
Living things reproduce, i.e. rvakenew young plants"andanimals.
Animalshave youngand plantshave seeds.
Living things need food for ttte energy to graw bigger.
(Livingthings also breathe(useoxygen),die, and excretewastesbut
mostlyyoung childrenfocus on growingand reproducing.)
l
i
GradeOne
4.
Let's see what other non-livingthings childrencan find.
spread a stringcirclefor each two childrenon the grassor half
the grassand half on sandor blackop.
what can they find in their circlethat is alive? (yes, grass is alive;
kids need repetition
to graspthis,) They may find ants or othertiny
creatures,and will certainlyfind a varietyof plants. But movetheir
attentionto the non-livingworld.
what is not alive? Dirt, rocks,sand, air, sun shining,waterif found.
You may want to dig intothe groundto find moisture.Any things
that were once alive? How aboutbrowndead leaves?
As neededremindchildrenof their discoveries
abouthow treesgrow
biggerand produceseedsto makenew plants.young childrenhave
troublewith real understanding
of this concept;provideplentyof
repetition,listento their commentsand questions,and be patient
about misconceptions.
5 . A f t e r c o l l e c t i n tgh e s t r i n gc i r c l e sa s k w h a t o t h e r n o n - l i v i n g
lhingsthey can find in the area.
Walk to the brook,lookfor puddles,ctoudsin the sky.
Look at the small rocksbrokenoff from the largeboulders.
Look at sand;sprinklesomesandon a squareof paperfor eachchild.
Let childrenuse handlenses. where doessandcomefrom? sand is
broken rock particles.
Put dirt on the squaresof paperand examinewith haridlenses,any
rock particles? Do brokenup rockshelp to makedirt? collecthand
lenses.
Don't forgetthe sun and air. Air can be difficultas it is invisible.
Try catchingair in a plasticbag so its masscan be felt even if not
seen. Movingair can be felt; noticewind or if it a still day movethe
air with your hand.
7,
i
GradeOne
6. Beforereturningto schoof,sit down in a group. we
knowanimars
and plantschange. Do non-riving
thingschangetoo? Have non_riving
thingschangedsince schoorstarted? what cio tney wear
to
the first day? Today? ls it dark when they go to bed now? school
How
about last summerwhen they wantedto riay ort and pray?
Hefp childrento verbalizethat:
There is less sunlight
The air is colder
Do childrenthink changesin non-livingthingsaffectpfants
and
animals? How? Think aboutthe mountainJsh losing
its leaves,and
animalsgetting ready for winter.
A.r" non-livingthingsimportant? why? Listento
chirdren,s
ob s e r v a t inos .
w.hatnon-living
things can they name? use tonguedepressors
labeledRocks,sand, Air, sun, water. Havechildren
tark abouteach
non'livingpart of the environment
as they narnethem and write
down theircommentson the cripboard.Examptes:
SUN
shineson everything,
givesus light
more sunlightin summer
keepsus warm,sometimes
too hot
sometimes
hiddenby clouds
WATER
plants need water
in the ground,in the brook
puddleswhen it rains
cloudsin the sky
we get water from a faucet
AIR
all aroundalthoughwe can't see it
feel the wind
can be cold or warm
we breath air
ROCKS
SAND
liny rocks are in dirt
big rocksbreak into small rocks and sand
GradeOne
Childrenmay introduceblacktop,schoolbuilding,playground
equipmentand other manmadeitems. This is fine. Thesethingsare
non-livingnow but may have been made from eithernon-livingor
once'living things.
7. what did lhey enjoydoingor talkingabouton this Naturewark?
Let each child talk about his favoritething.
B. Returnto school
Back in the classroom:
Post the lists childrenmade about non-livingthingsoutdoors.
Have each childdraw a pictureof the schoolyard
as they saw it on
their walk. Havethem labelall the non-living
thingsin their
picture. Post children's
drawingsso everyonecan sharewhat their
friend remembered
abouttheir discoveries
in the schoolyard.
The class may chooseto do a muralof the schooryard
as well,
labelingall non-livingthings.
Hand out Living/Non-living
Worksheets
and have childreneitherin
pairs or small groupswrite their outdoordiscoveries
in the proper
category. Have each group sharetheir worksheetwith other groups
and comparetheir observations.lf the class put all their
observations
togetherwouldthey have a longerlist than any one
could make alone? ls it both usefuland fun to sharetheir
discoveries?
Environmental
Aidesshouldcommunicate
with the teacherhow the
NatureWalk went. Pay specialattentionto how well the children
wers able to focus and also how well individualchildrenwere
understanding
the differOnce
betweenliving and non-livingthings.
Exploringand discovering
in the naturalworld u.r.lly helBschildren
to better understandactivitiesand conceptsstudiedin class. And
becausetheir observations
and ideasare listened-toand havevalue,
childrendevelopconfidence
in themselves
as learners.
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