Outdoor Inquiries

Outdoor Inquiries offers approaches to help students become skilled at asking their own questions, gathering their own data and analyzing it for themselves-to become real inquirers. We recommend it to all of our teachers. -Lynn Rankin Director, Institute for Inquiry, Exploratorium The book is a great treasure for all science educators. -Hubert Dyasi City College of New York Here'ssome advice for teachers looking for science instruction to supplement their science textbooks and kits: Take it outside! Conducting science investigations beyond the four walls of the classroom is one of the best ways for young people to develop scientific thinking and to practice gathering and analyzing their own data. Outdoor Inquiries is the clear, concise handbook that shows you how. Outdoor Inquiries takes you step by step through guiding intermediate and middle level students to new and deeper understandings of scientific content, thinking, and procedures. From smart, pragmatic advice-including how to select an appropriate site for investigation, what to bring with you, and how to ensure student safety-to powerful, detailed lesson plans, suggestions for cross-curricular integration, and useful ideas for assessment, Outdoor Inquiries offers everything you need to get started. It outlines five interrelated strategies to use with students as they investigate their local environment: journal keeping mapping collection making field-guide development behavior study. In addition, detailed classroom vignettes from a variety of settings demonstrate how each inquiry strategy helps your students meet several recommendations of the National Science Education Standards by engaging them in: close observation long-term data gathering the generation of thoughtful questions data analysis. Step outside the usual kit-based science instruction. Nurture the inquiries of your science learners by helping them apply critical thinking skills to the real world as they make meaningful connections to their natural, dynamic local environment. Use Outdoor Inquiries and discover that when it comes to teaching science, the natural world can be your most effective instructional tool.

Jack the cat gets much more than he bargained for when he decides to build the perfect nest to attract the perfect chicken, who will lay the perfect egg, which will make the perfect omelet.

"This book is about how to create invitations for young children to play with math ideas through art, literacy, and outdoor play. The focus of her book is really on math that occurs OUTSIDE of math time. How can we create space for children to play in our classrooms that builds on their own questions as well as the math they are studying in the curriculum? How can we create a joyful and playful space for math so that children feel like mathematical thinkers with valuable ideas from the very start? How can we create connections between math and children's lives so that they see math as creative and purposeful instead of just learning "school math"?"--

Fall has come, the wind is gusting, and Leaf Man is on the move. Is he drifting east, over the marsh and ducks and geese? Or is he heading west, above the orchards, prairie meadows, and spotted cows? No one's quite sure, but this much is certain: A Leaf Man's got to go where the wind blows. With illustrations made from actual fall leaves and die-cut pages on every spread that reveal gorgeous landscape vistas, here is a playful, whimsical, and evocative book that celebrates the natural world and the rich imaginative life of children. Includes an author's note and leaf-identifying labels.

One educator's story detailing a cross-Canada run to inspire students and teachers to get outside and experience the benefits and beauty of nature. You'd think starting a non-profit organization aimed at getting young people to spend less time in front of screens and more time outside would be difficult enough. But with a decrepit support vehicle housing two dogs that despised each other, a good friend who left after five months, a lot of peanut butter, and a hope to inspire thousands of students, Colin Harris decided to start this journey by running 7600 kilometres, the equivalent of 181 marathons, across Canada. And to ensure this was a truly Canadian venture, he started in the bleak and snowy month of January. Take Me Outside is Colin's story of spending nine months running from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Victoria, British Columbia, visiting over 80 schools along the way to engage with 20,000 students about the importance of spending time outside learning, playing, and exploring in the Canadian landscape. With one of the biggest and best backyards in the world, people across Canada are spending the vast majority of their time inside. Yet, our identity as Canadians has always been rooted in our relationship with the outdoors. This wildly entertaining book not only recounts what it's like to run across the world's second-largest country but also implores readers of all ages to reignite their connection with the natural world.