Try to find the names of the plants in a plant identification book or online resource.
2. Write and illustrate a short story about an activity you observed in nature. Try to show the action and movement that you observed. Do research to find out if there is a scientific name for the activity. Follow-up: Research if other animals or plants do the same activity. For example when a squirrel collects and stores nuts, it is called hoarding. Wood mice are also known for hoarding.
3. Draw a cartoon about the interaction between animals or other life-forms that you observed while watching nature. Follow-up: Research the relationships between those different species.
4. Draw a careful detailed picture of any flower that you see. Show the lines, shapes, colors and textures that you notice. Study and then draw a diagram of the reproductive parts of a flower. Study how flowers develop seeds or nuts.
5. On the same page, draw 3 different leaves that you have found. Show how they are different in size, shape, texture, pattern and color. Follow-up: Research leaf types and how their size and shape help a plant to grow and develop.
6. Draw a tree, showing the shape of its branches and leaves and the texture of its bark. Show the colors too. If there is anything else living in or on the tree, draw that too. Follow-up: Research animal habitats and which animals use trees as habitats.
7. Find a magnifying glass and study an insect up-close. Draw it to a big enough scale that it almost touches the edges of the page. Show in detail its shapes, textures, patterns and colors. Follow-up: Research the anatomy and activities of insects.
8. Draw a bird, including the shape, color and textures of its body, head, beak, legs and wings. Follow-up: Find the name of the bird that you drew. Look in a species guide or ask an older person to help you. Learn the most com- mon types of birds around your home and school.
9. Draw a mammal that lives in, on or near your school or home. Study it as close as you can without disturbing it. Draw its lines, shapes, colors and textures. Show its habitat too. Follow-up: Research the common mammals in your neighborhood. Learn where they live and what they eat.
10. Find out if there is an environmental issue or problem in your town, city, county, state or province. Create a poster- sized advertisement promoting a solution to the problem. Follow-up: Have students share their posters and discuss in small groups the issues they were addressing.
Benefits
Illustrated nature journaling activities are designed to provide guided art activities and lessons that help children of all levels and capabilities to connect to nature. They also address current deficiencies in visual art and environmental learning within elementary education. Here are the most common curriculum standards
achieved through using nature journals and undertaking the drawing activities provided in this article. Students will demonstrate a higher understanding of art through the
application of artistic tech- niques, art structures and art elements synthesized with their own perceptions of the natural world. Students will gain, from their own inquisition and discovery, an under- standing of the functions, interactions and structures of the natural world through observation, application of knowledge and artistic compila- tion. Students will make valuable observations and conclu- sions as to the importance and functions of nature and art. Please check your national or regional art education asso- ciation for specific competencies, benchmarks, and content requirements that correlate with drawing nature. Have students use the blank pages to the left of the
drawing pages for writing ideas, questions, notes and/or their observations of nature. They could also add diagrams about their drawings, answer teacher questions, list things they want to research and/or write plans for knowledge quests based on their nature observations. The drawing lessons provided in this article are also
designed to open the door to student-centered inquiries. Allow students to continue their research and initiate their own projects and reports on nature topics as a means of encouraging student-directed discovery of environmental science topics. By doing so, you will be taking advantage of the excitement created by discovery-based, illustrated journaling. Students will be highly motivated when they are researching the mysteries of nature that they themselves have discovered. As the great Renaissance artist, Leonardo da Vinci once
said, “Although nature commences with reason and ends in experience it is necessary for us to do the opposite: that is to commence with experience and from this to proceed to investigate the reason.” The creation of art during outside observation will heighten the nature experience and improve the understanding of nature for your students. Outside activ- ities, such as drawing, demand a focus that will heighten their senses, curiosity and learning about nature. Nature journaling and other art activities will also encourage higher-level thinking in your students by requiring valuing, analyzing, synthesizing and expressing their understanding of nature through the process of art creation. So, just as the great da Vinci did with his apprentices five hundred years ago, venture outside with your students and encourage them to experience nature through art, and as Leonardo da Vinci, “investigate the reason.”
Dawn Malosh is the Founding Director of Outside Art Lessons, a program that integrates art standards with discovery based environmental education across Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Over the years, she has served as an art department head, an art specialist at multiple environmental, nature and conservation learning centers, an educational guide at the world-renowned Biosphere 2 and a presenter at various national conferences. For more information, visit
www.outsideartlessons.com.
GREEN TEACHER 89 Page 31
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52