LESSON
#3: Writing and Drawing in the Field
Keeping a Nature Journal
Focusing Question:
What do forests mean to us?
Vermont Standards addressed:
| 1.12 aa | Students relate personal experiences to concepts, patterns, and ideas in a personal Nature Journal |
| 1.12 c | Students establish a commonplace, concrete occasion (observing nature) as a context for the reflection |
Length of Lesson:
Two 40 minute class periods to introduce nature journal writing and drawing.
Ongoing journaling September-October.
Resources/Materials:
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Keeping a Nature Journal, a Naturalist's Sketchbook by Clare Walker Leslie |
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Into the Field by Leslie, Tallmadge, and Wessels |
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Clipboards, lined and unlined paper, pencils |
Procedure:
| Day One: | |
| 1. |
Read and discuss Robert Frost's "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening." Students will have identified a special, wooded place within a 5 minute walk from their houses and drawn a mental map from their homes to the spot as previous night's homework. Discuss features that make these spots special to the students. |
| 2. | Take the students outside and discuss writing in the wild and providing specific names for features, river, tree and plant names. Begin with some free writing activities as described by John Tallmadge in his essay 'Writing as a Window into Nature: in Into the Field pp. 8-9, encouraging students to use detail in their writing. Move on the Giving Voice to the Voiceless activity on pp. 18-19 and have students volunteer to share their writing. |
| 3. | Return to the classroom and go over Keeping a Nature Journal Requirements sheet for entries 1-6 of their own journals and show examples from Clare Walker Leslie's Sketchbook. |
| Day two: | Contour Line Drawing of a leaf |
| 1. | See Keeping a Nature Journal pp. 141-143 Exercises 1-5 using leaves that are randomly chosen. |
| 2. | After 4-5 exercises collect leaves and hand out again, having each student identify the leaf they carefully drew. |
| 3. | For homework students must include line drawings of three different leaves in their next journal entry. |
Assessment:
| Students will: | Complete a Reflection Page after writing Entry 6 and rereading all six entries. |
| Teacher will: | Nature Journal Checklist as an assessment tool |