E.E. Resource Guide
A selection of environmental education materials, resources and opportunities that you should check out
Awakening Inquiry: Observing and Recording Nature
by Karen Dvornich, Diane Petersen, Ken Clarkson
After years of
taking students into the fi eld on research projects, two common problems surfaced time and time again. Students lacked “natu- ralist” skills that included how to observe; record observations in ways meaningful to them; measure and estimate size and distance; use maps and orient themselves; and use their observations in an analytical way. The other problem was what is called “sensory overload.” Students taken into the fi eld were in such a different environment, they would forget what they learned in the classroom. Awakening Inquiry was written as a
core “how-to” book to overcome these chal- lenges. It weaves three parallel approaches to nature awareness into a step-by-step guide for the classroom and schoolyard in preparation for a fi eld research project. These approaches are derived from the NatureMapping Program, with its strength in science and technology; Habits of Mind, which focus on patterns of behavior that lead to lifelong inquiry and problem-solv- ing; and the Coyote’s Guide to Connecting with Nature, which emphasizes develop- ment of a traditional kinship with nature. Awakening Inquiry focuses on engag-
ing a child’s passions, so that the student, almost without being aware of it, begins practicing the “Core Routine of Nature Connection” defi ned in Coyote’s Guide. These Core Routines are learning habits that help the brain to learn and remember what fi eld biologists call “search images”. Fun is a key component, so Core Routines are incorporated into Awakening Inquiry units both as key activites and as tips embedded in the lessons to reinforce techniques. Awakening Inquiry is comprised of
seven “how-to” units: Journal, Time/Date, Estimating Size and Numbers, Animal and Plant Senses, Mapping, and Data Analysis. It includes grade-level expectations and
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assessments. Lessons in the units are inter- spersed with Core Routines and begin with a game that prepares the students for the lessons. All referenced materials are on the accompanying CD. Awakening Inquiry is designed for
homeschoolers to meet their science, math, reading and writing requirements; pre- service teachers to build their skills before teaching them; informal educators to in- corporate into their existing programs; and formal educators to integrate across grade levels. The accompaning CD has all of the photos and graphics needed to complete the lessons. Where else would you fi nd pic- tures of owls, ant mounds or skunk tracks?
Distributed by NatureMapping Foundation, Box 26962, Federal Way WA 98093. ISBN Number 978-1- 4507-4692-2.
Olympic
Coast Oil Spill Simulation
This curriculum was developed by Pacifi c Education Institute in partner-
ship with the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, funded through Pacifi c NorthWest B-WET. The website includes the Olympic Coast Oil Spill Simulation: An Introduction to Geospatial Analysis through Google Earth with the .kmz link, in addition to the teaching curriculum. https://pacifi
ceducationinstitute.box.com/
Greening STEM Planning Toolkits
This fi ve-volume set of planning toolkits is being offered free to educators in honor of this year’s EE week theme, Greening STEM: The Environment as Inspiration for 21st Century Learning. The toolkits feature STEM activities and resources for all grade levels on Gardens & Schoolyards, Energy Effi ciency, Geog- raphy Connections, Water Resources, and Climate & Weather. The kits highlight opportunities for project-based learning, service-learning, and citizen science.
http://eeweek.org/greening_stem/toolkits
www.clearingmagazine.org/online Oregon Forest Resources Institute
Forest Literacy Program
The Oregon A K-12 Conceptual Guide to Teaching and Learning about Oregon Forests
K-12 Oregon Forestry Literacy Program supports teaching about forests
Teachers and school adminis-
trators now can access Oregon Forest Resources Institute’s The Oregon Forest Literacy Program, a K-12 Conceptual Guide to Teaching and Learning about Or- egon Forests. The new program provides a framework for educating Oregon’s K-12 students about forests.
Developed by a diverse and col- laborative statewide group, the effort resulted in a plan with three components: a conceptual framework; a K-12 scope and sequence; and connections to service-learn- ing projects developed by teachers. The conceptual framework identifi es
important forest concepts, the scope and sequence is a blueprint for when to teach the concepts, and the service-learning projects provide an instructional strategy for how to teach the concepts. The Oregon Forest Literacy Program, in essence, pro- vides guidance on the “what,” “when” and “how” of forestry education.
The guide was made possible in part
through a “Learn and Serve for Sustain- ability” grant from the Oregon Depart- ment of Education, jointly awarded to the Tillamook School District and OFRI. The Oregon Forest Literacy Program is avail- able at
Oregonforests.org, along with tools that correlate the forest-literacy concepts to Oregon’s science and social science standards, as well as to OFRI’s other edu- cational materials.
Norie Dimeo-Ediger
Director of K-12 Education Program-
dimeo-ediger@ofri.org
Global Climate Change Education Resources
NASA’s Challenger Center’s Global
Climate Change Education project offers fi ve units for classroom teachers, grades 6-9, with a climate-focused event as seen through the lens of four of Earth’s intercon- nected spheres: Lithosphere, Hydrosphere, Biosphere and Atmosphere. Other resources in the lesson plan database include Encoun- ter Earth, Elementary Science, and more.
http://www.challenger.org/gcce/
CLEARING 2011
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