Activity Title
Nature Journaling
Author(s)
Sarah Morrisseau
Gulf of Maine Research Institute
Vital Signs Program
Questions
What do I see, hear and smell, and what do I want to learn about it?
Overview
Participants spend time using their senses to make and record observations of the natural world. From those observations, students begin to think about the questions that they have about the world around them.
Activity Type
Skill-building activity
Materials
Materials Needed:
· Materials for journals
· Materials to write and draw
· Digital cameras (optional)
Time Needed
60 minutes
Can be adapted for longer time frames with additional discussion/ extensions
Activity Procedure
1. Use art supplies or digital photography with some plain paper to make homemade journals. See sketches and journals shared by Vital Signs educators, students, and scientists: http://vitalsignsme.org/field-journals
2. Before you head outside, have your participants fill out a heading on the top of the journal page with the following information. If you do not have a GPS, use www.itouchmap.com/latlong.htm to find your latitude and longitude coordinates (units = decimal degrees).
§ Location Name:
§ Latitude: _ _ _ . ______Longitude: - _ _ _ . ______
3. Have participants make 2 columns in their journal:
I notice… / I wonder…4. Head outside and find a spot at your field site. Sit or stand there quietly for 10 minutes.
5. Use 4 of your senses (sight, hearing, touch, and smell) to make observations of what’s around you.
6. Write and/or draw what you see, hear, touch, and smell in the space below:
§ Use rich, descriptive words
§ Spend time looking north, south, east, and west
7. [With camera] Take a wide-angle photograph of your view to the north, south, east, or west.
8. [With camera] Use the macro function on your camera to take a close-up photo of something interesting you see.
9. If you run out of things to write or draw or photograph, start counting things:
§ How many different sounds do you hear?
§ How many different colors do you see?
§ How many different textures do you touch?
§ How many different stinks do you smell?
Reflection or Formative Assessment Ideas
Regroup and go around the circle. Each person should share one “I notice…” statement. Appreciate all the different things that different people notice.
Extension Ideas
Have students use their “I wonder…” questions to create the question cards for the “Investigable Question Relay.”
References
Sharkawy, Azza. 2010. “A Quest to Improve: Helping students learn how to pose investigable questions” Science and Children 48(4): 32-35.
http://vitalsignsme.org/field-journals