|
|
|
 |
|
Education Resources
Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum
Reading our Landscapes
Leave No Child Inside
Members of the Chicago Wilderness West Suburban Teacher Training Hub developed and presented a series of workshops focused on incorporating science with literature. The classes were centered on the theme, "Reading Our Landscapes." Each of the two days of the class took place at the collaborating partner's site, united by a theme common to both sites and a children's literature text that was either fiction or nonfiction. The workshop series was funded by a grant from the Chicago Wilderness Trust.
A main goal of the grant was to develop a usable template that all Chicago Wilderness members who work with teachers could use and adapt for similar workshops at their sites. The classes covered a variety of topics including prairies, watersheds, landscape changes over time, native/non-native species, winter and spring. We used a variety of books, both fiction and non-fiction and developed an annotated bibliography for other CW institutions to select books that fit their sites.
We hope you will find the following templates and resources useful in your work. Each workshop is described with a list of activities included for your use. The agendas include both detailed facilitator agendas and participant agendas. Please feel free to pick and choose what works for you. For additional information, contact the person listed in the description. If you are new to giving workshops for teachers, please contact any of the people listed for partnering possibilities.
One teacher wrote in her evaluation: "I have taught this book before (Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan) but strictly from a reading/vocab perspective. Next year I would like to do an integrated sci/reading/geography unit." Another wrote: (I learned) ....how to integrate both literature, science and field trips to better teach about the winter season."
The workshops were:
Changing Landscapes: The topic for this class is was the changing patterns of land use in the Chicago suburban area and the habitats that have been replaced by development. The sites were Spring Valley Nature Center (Mary Rice) and Brookfield Zoo (Lanis Petrik). The main book was Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan. Resources available are: Changing Landscapes Agendas, Day One Evaluation, Do You Know Your Natives Icebreaker, Invasive Plant Species,
Map Activity, Non Native Overview, Overheads for Diversity of Chicago Wilderness, References for May Watts, Sarah References and Venn Diagram.
Our Changing Prairie: Participants explored the extraordinary diversity of the prairies of northern Illinois at Fermilab (Sue Sheehan) and Brookfield Zoo (Lanis Petrik). The books used were: If you're not from the prairie…by David Bouchard and The Prairie builders by Sneed Collard III. Resources available are: Our Changing Prairies Agenda, My Special Prairie Place, Pre and Post Assessment, Syllabus.
Reading the Winter Landscape: Winter isn't just cold, wet and white! Participants explored winter's incredible variations and colors and why winter is important to the plants and animals living in Illinois. Topics included mammal adaptations, identifying animal signs, scat and tracks, designing a dichotomous key and becoming familiar with winter related resources. Sites were Spring Valley Nature Center (Mary Rice) and Brookfield Zoo (Lanis Petrik). Also presenting was Carl Strang of the Forest Preserve of DuPage County. Books used were Learning about Winter with Children's Literature and When Winter Comes by Nancy Van Laan. Resources available are: Reading the Winter Landscape Agendas, Chickadee Article, Chickadee Game, Icebreaker, Migrate, Hibernate, Tolerate Activity, Syllabus, Tracking Segment.
The Salt Creek Watershed: This workshop focuses on learning to read a local landscape with a focus on Salt Creek which runs through Fullersburg Woods (Carl Strang) and later in its course surrounds Brookfield Zoo.(Lanis Petrik). The Creek and its watershed were created by glacial and climatic forces and the area has been home to Mastadons/mammoths, Native Americans, settlers, farmers and suburbanites. Main book: Icebergs & Glaciers by Seymour Simon. Resources include: Salt Creek Watershed Agendas, Glacier Role Play Activity, Pre and Post Assessment, and Syllabus.
Spring Readers: Lanis Petrik at Brookfield Zoo & Mary Rice at Spring Valley Nature Center focused on nature in spring through dormant tree identification, animal reproductive cycles, and seasonal characteristics for local habitat. Main book: Learning about Spring with Children's Literature by Margaret A. Bryant, Marjorie Keiper and Anne Petit. Resources available are: Spring Readers Agendas, If the Dinos Came Back, Syllabus, and Your Season Stories.
Looking at the Landscape: Who Belongs: Lanis
Petrik at the Brookfield Zoo focused on native and non-native
plants and animals in city and suburban areas and their impact
on the environment. Main book: Science Warriors: The Battle Against
Invasive Species by Sneed B. Collard III. Resources include: Who
Belongs Agendas, Homework,
Map
Activity, Native/NonNative
ice breaker and Syllabus.
Many of the classes also used the Atlas of Biodiversity and the CW Family Activity Guide. Other books were included in the workshops as suggestions for potential use in the classrooms. Teachers were also asked to bring in good books that were on topic and the annotated bibliography includes them as well as books used in the workshops.
Other links for our web page:
updated June 10, 2010 |
|
