Starting from Science
These activities help to strengthen students' relationship with their natural environment through experiential activities while building their scientific knowledge.
Humans are Nature
Curricular Competencies
Science
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Demonstrate curiosity about the natural world
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Observe objects and events in familiar contexts
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Identify questions about familiar objects and events that can be investigated scientifically
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Identify some simple environmental implications of their and others’ actions
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Express and reflect on personal or shared experiences of place
English Language Arts
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Exchange ideas and perspectives to build shared understanding
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Use writing and design processes to plan, develop, and create texts for a variety of purposes and audiences
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Use language in creative and playful ways to develop style
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Communicate in sentences and paragraphs, applying conventions of Canadian spelling, grammar, and punctuation
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Transform ideas and information to create original texts
Art
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Explore identity, place, culture, and belonging through arts experiences
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Materials:
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clipboards
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worksheets
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pencils
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Take students outside to a spot that has some non-human beings.
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Explain that they will be spending time with one of those beings, looking at the similarities and differences between themselves and the natural being.
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Hand out clipboards, worksheets, and pencils. Let students wander and explore the area (3-5 minutes) before choosing the non-human they would like to spend time with. Sketch and label the natural object.
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Use the bullet points to list similarities and differences. Think of your habits, behaviours, adaptations, and environmental impact.
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Come back together as a class. Discuss: What being did you spend your time with? How did spending time with this being make you feel?How do our similarities and differences from these beings impact our relationship with them? Do you notice yourself (attributes, behaviours, etc.) in that being?
Extensions:
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"Guess Who" Game:
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have students write their "other" beings on a slip of paper and put it in a cup.
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Without looking, each student picks one slip out out of the cup and tapes it to their back (or asks a buddy to).
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Have students mingle around and describe the being on other students' backs without saying what it is.
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Interconnectedness of Beings
Curricular Competencies
Science
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Demonstrate curiosity about the natural world
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Observe objects and events in familiar contexts
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Identify questions about familiar objects and events that can be investigated scientifically
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Identify some simple environmental implications of their and others’ actions
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Express and reflect on personal or shared experiences of place
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Identify First Peoples perspectives and knowledge as sources of information
English Language Arts
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Exchange ideas and perspectives to build shared understanding
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Use writing and design processes to plan, develop, and create texts for a variety of purposes and audiences
Art
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Explore identity, place, culture, and belonging through arts experiences
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Interpret and communicate ideas using symbolism to express meaning through the arts
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Express, feelings, ideas, and experiences in creative ways
Materials:
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string
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clipboards
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blank paper
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pencils
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Bring the class outside to an open area. Have students stand in a circle.
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Without saying their names or motioning, have students pick two other people who are in the circle. Tell students their goal is to stay an equal distance between both your people at all times. If they move, you move (have volunteers demonstrate if necessary). It can be a straight line or triangle, as long as you're in between.
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Allow students to move between their people until they stop.
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Discuss the activity: what happened when one of your people moved? Who was influencing your actions? Who's actions did you influence? What happened when one person changed the speed in which they moved? What was challenging?
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Explain that this game demonstrated the First People's concept of interconnectedness, everything in the environment is connected.
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Gather students in a circle. Explain that we will be doing an exercise that shows the interconnectedness of beings in our ecosystem. Have one student start by 'being' a part of the environment (e.g. "I am a douglas fir") while holding the ball of string. Another students in the circle will chime in as another being, explaining how they are connected to the first (e.g. "I am an eagle perching on the branches of douglas fir"), and the first student will pass the string to the second while still holding on to a part of it. This will continue until all students are connected with string. The middle of the circle will look like a web.
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Review boundaries and hand out clipboards, blank paper, and pencils.
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Explain and demonstrate a map of interconnectedness (just like the string web activity). Start by writing down a natural being then drawing a circle around it. As more beings are added to the paper, use lines to connect the beings and write how they are connected on the line.
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Individually or with a partner, take a walk of the natural area. On your paper, record and map what interconnectedness you see, hear, or feel.
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Come back together and share your web of interconnectedness with the class.
Extensions:
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On a large piece of paper, make a large web of interconnectedness as a class, including all human and non-human beings in the ecosystem.
Seasonal Cycles
Curricular Competencies
Science
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Demonstrate curiosity about the natural world
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Observe objects and events in familiar contexts
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Identify questions about familiar objects and events that can be investigated scientifically
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Identify some simple environmental implications of their and others’ actions
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Express and reflect on personal or shared experiences of place
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Sort and classify data and information using drawings or provided tables
English Language Arts
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Exchange ideas and perspectives to build shared understanding
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Use writing and design processes to plan, develop, and create texts for a variety of purposes and audiences
Art
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Explore identity, place, culture, and belonging through arts experiences
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Interpret and communicate ideas using symbolism to express meaning through the arts
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Reflect on creative processes and make connections to other experiences
Materials:
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Earth's rotation/revolution video
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clipboards
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worksheets
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pencils/pencil crayons
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Show a video about earth's rotation and revolution (Crash Course Kids on Youtube).
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Move the class outside to an open area.
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Game: divide students into groups of 3, giving each student a role (sun, moon, earth). Explain that we will be making "gifs", moving pictures that have no sound, to show how the earth moves around the sun.
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Invite groups to share their gif to the class. Discuss how when the sun shines on earth throughout its rotation it creates day and night. The earth revolution around the sun makes the four seasons, varying based on your location on the earth (tilting towards the sun = summer, tilt away from the sun= winter).
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Hand out clipboards, worksheets, and pencils.
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Invite students to walk around the natural area and find one spot that they are drawn to. Stay in that spot and sketch what the space looks like in each season.
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Come back together and discuss the spaces they drew. Discuss: What changes? What stays the same? Are there different organisms in different? How do seasonal changes affect the environment in comparison to humans or animals?
Extensions:
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Make a class chart where all students add characteristics of each season.
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Write and draw about your favourite season, including details of significant events and activities. Why is it your favourite?