Introduction

 

53730 - NATURE JOURNALING FOR THE CLASSROOM

 Course Description
                    Nature Journaling is the practice of recording questions, observations, and ideas about the natural world through writing and drawing in a journal. This class will provide a hands-on introduction to the process of Nature Journaling and its use in classrooms. We will be learning and applying a model for journaling that includes learning how to ask questions, recording our observations through writing and drawing, and developing explanations for those observations.

 Learner Outcomes
During this class we will be:

• Discussing the Nature Journaling process

• Practicing Nature Journaling in the field

• Looking at examples of classroom applications of Nature Journaling

• Discussing materials and resources that will allow you to integrate nature journaling in your classroom.

 Materials
                Basic materials would be a journal and a pen or pencil.  I will have blank journals (in different formats) as well as pencils (regular and colored) available for you, so unless you have a set of materials you prefer, you won’t need to bring anything.  We will be working outside much of the time, so dress comfortably.

 Friday Work - Online
                Look at the Nature Journaling model we’ll be discussing and using for this class.  A description of the model can be found here (there’s a link for a downloadable pdf on this page):  https://cnrcnaturejournaling.blogspot.com/p/nature-journaling.html
             This website, developed for a Chesapeake Bay Trust Professional Development grant, includes a lot of helpful information for Nature Journaling in classrooms.  There are descriptions of materials, photos from field workshops, and journaling examples from students of participating teachers:  https://cnrcnaturejournaling.blogspot.com/p/student-work.html

           The site also includes reports from each of the participating teachers about the use of Nature Journaling in their classrooms.  Take a look at some of the reports, most are only a few pages long and include lots of examples of student work.  You can find the reports here: https://cnrcnaturejournaling.blogspot.com/p/final-projectsreports.html
          Think about what journal format might work best for you students: blank pages, lined pages, graphing paper, or some combination.  Read these blog post for some ideas: https://cnrcnaturejournaling.blogspot.com/2021/04/designing-nature-journal.html
https://cnrcnaturejournaling.blogspot.com/2022/04/nature-journal-pages.html

Saturday Work - in the Field
·         Review and Practice Nature Journaling Model
·         Discuss materials in Nature Journaling Kit
·         Drawing/writing practice
·         Outdoor journaling
·         Share results
 

Extensions
·         Building a  classroom nature center
 Here's a great resource for Classroom Nature Journaling, with lots of detailed activities:https://www.plantvirginianatives.org/plantswvanatives/recommended-reading  Go to this page and under Online Resources, you’ll see a link for The MINTS book.