Ideas for lessons To the field, to the court, to the forest

It is difficult to imagine teaching biology, nature and geography without classes outside the school building. There is no more valuable way of teaching than by directly contacting the essence of the subject. It is during practical classes that students acquire the skills of cooperation, problem solving, logical thinking, using information, analyzing it, collecting and sorting it. They also have the opportunity for self-education. They learn to use knowledge in practice. Ideas for lessons. To the field, to the court, to the forest.

Before we go outside

The preparation of activities outside of school requires organizational skills, planning and collaboration. It is important that when we go to classes, we get to know the area in which they will take place. It is good to prepare aids - observation devices, work cards or simple keys for marking trees and shrubs. Keys should be structured so that they contain no more than a few species, and the description of the features is understandable to the student. It can be prepared in the form of a flowchart. If we go to the park, we know what trees and shrubs grow there. Let's prepare a key composed only of these species. During the first nature lesson, we discuss safety rules during field activities. Please note that you must not touch, let alone eat, unknown plants, touch unknown animals, or torment any of them. Before each exit, we remind you of these rules.

Right outside the door - that is, the school surroundings

In order to come into contact with living organisms, landscape, air and weather, we do not have to go far beyond our town. We do not have that much time to organize the appropriate number of trips, and of course we have to take into account financial considerations. In front of each school there is at least a lawn and a few trees and shrubs. It is enough to cover any topic that requires contact with the environment.

Lesson topic: We get to know the ingredients of nature

Ask students to look around and then write down on their worksheets any elements of the environment that they noticed around them. Pay attention to the most accurate quotation. Then, among these objects, they encircled in a green loop those that are created by nature, and in blue those that are the product of human activity. Discuss and define the concept of nature. Asking them to select those that are animated from the noted objects and to enter those elements that are natural, but inanimate, in the appropriate place in the table, in the second part.

Together we come to the conclusion that nature consists of animate and inanimate elements. If the students did not write down, we also enter air, clouds, sun, soil, rocks.

Finally, we play a game. The students draw the tutor who has the ball and throws it to the students seated in a row, listing the names of the surrounding objects. The student to whom the ball has been thrown is asked to answer "animate nature", "inanimate nature" or "man's product".

  Lesson topic: Define geographic directions in the field

In the school yard, set directions in several ways. Observe the placement of satellite dishes, the raid on tree trunks and the wall of the fence.  Use a compass.

End the classes with a short game "Find a treasure".

Divide students into groups of three. Work in a closed area around the school. Students are visible all the time. Each group works in a different place in the yard. Groups are given cards with instructions on how to get to the next clue. The treasure is a very good grade from the lesson for the group that first finds the hidden gadget.

tips:

1. Stand with your back to the school entrance. Designate the north direction in any way you like. Walk 5 steps in this direction. Look up. (There is a sheet with another clue hidden in the tree).
2. Designate the east. Walk 11 steps in this direction. Look under your feet (another clue is hidden under the doormat at the entrance to the gym).
3. Designate noon. Walk 5 steps in this direction. Stand and look left. (The next clue is hidden in the fence of the playground).
4. Designate the west. Walk 7 steps in this direction. Kneel down and look to the right. (The next clue is hidden under the Playground House). End of the game.

A bit further - classes in the city park

Lesson topic: Instruments and aids of a naturalist

• Magnifiers,
• Binoculars,
• Jars for obtaining small organisms,
• Tape measure,
• Compass,
• Small microscope,
• Outside thermometer,
• Simple keys to recognize trees,
• Camera,
• Sheets of pencils,
• Work cards.

Just ask students to sit and close their eyes properly. Then they use all their senses to register as much information as possible. Students hear the rustling of leaves, the sound of the wind, the screeching of the magpie, the whistling of the scythe, the chirping of other birds and of course passing cars. They can feel a breeze on their skin, smell grass, leaves, and smell cold or warm.

Please, without opening their eyes let them talk about their observations and experiences. We discuss the senses we use and the stimuli to which they react. After this exercise, ask them to write down their observations on the worksheets.

Must Read: Children get bored when it rains. Do we really want to change the weather?

In the next exercise, the students have to describe only what can be observed with the sense of sight and search for as many details of the surroundings as possible, for example plants on the lawn, species of trees, shrubs, birds, insects, snails. Pay attention to the features of objects that can observe visually (shape, color, size, location). In conclusion, come to the conclusion that the cooperation of all senses is necessary for full observation. Ask the students to complete the observations from the previous exercise.

Now asking students in groups of 3 to extend their observations using the previously prepared tools. Each group selects an instrument and tries to use it. The group records the use of the device and the observations made with it in the work sheet. Each group independently considers whether all the utensils can be used in the field, or whether the use of one is unjustified.

Please observe the tree according to the verbal instructions. Students have to observe as many details as possible, having at their disposal the previously used instruments and prepare the documentation. Children observe that the tree has a rough / smooth bark, it is a deciduous / coniferous tree. They describe the shape of the leaves. Needle length. They draw leaves. They describe the shape of the crown. They pay attention to whether the tree is branchy or soaring. With the help of a magnifying glass they observe small organisms on the bark of a tree, and with the help of binoculars - birds in its branches. They try to smell the leaves or the bark. They measure the circumference of the tree with a tape measure. And write down their observations in the worksheet.

Finally, summarize the classes. Together, consider how to carry out a correct observation in the field, how to prepare its documentation, list ways to learn about nature, senses, and consider together whether other instruments could be used. These classes can of course also be conducted on the school grounds.

Interdisciplinary outside the city

It is good to go where there are marked nature paths and use the help of foresters who are willing to engage in didactic tasks. In many cities there are so-called forest parks with marked paths and information boards. Before you go out, you should draw up lesson regulations and familiarize students and parents with them.

Longer field classes combine the assumptions of the core curriculum for each subject. If I go to an open-air museum, castle or palace, apart from strictly natural science classes, there are also history and language classes. Students come into contact with cultural heritage. They learn about architectural styles.

Once, organized field activities together with a PE teacher. First there was the nature part, then the sports part. Going out into the field is also always associated with the implementation of educational goals: adhering to the rules, adapting behavior to the place where we are, teamwork, respect for the environment, developing patriotism, respect for nature and tradition.

Lesson topic: Landscape of yesterday and today

This theme is best realized in an open-air museum, ethnographic park, a place where old and modern landscape elements are visible.

The classes in the ethnographic park are away lessons, so they will take the whole day. Then it is worth offering cooperation to, for example, a historian teacher, and teachers of other subjects, so that students can benefit from the classes as much as possible. The natural part will be devoted to landscape, the teacher can practice description, parts of speech, and arranging simple and complex sentences. In the ethnographic park or open-air museum, apart from old buildings, you can observe crops and gardens. In the mathematical part, you can perform measurements and calculations on a scale. Draw a plan of the yard, garden. If an English teacher comes with us, he can practice his vocabulary, not to mention the visual arts, with which we can play painting by nature.

Learning is a process that requires not only the learner's activity, but most of all the learner's activity, which is the best in practical classes. The field activity is similar to a field trip, allowing the student to relax and reduce stress, resulting in better learning outcomes. The student's motivation to learn new skills also increases. Children are bolder. They are more willing to ask questions and ask for explanations. Field classes can be interdisciplinary and these are the most beneficial in my opinion, as they allow the student to feel that all objects connect with each other and only when they are correlated allows for a comprehensive perception of the environment. It allows you to feel the cohesiveness of the world.