Notebook Requirements for Environmental Science
All students are required to keep an updated field journal.
Journals are critical for fieldwork. Naturalists have been using field journals for
centuries; Charles Darwin, for example, kept a detailed field journal on his epic
worldwide voyage aboard the HMS Beagle.
You will have two notebooks for this class (one inside and one outside).
Your outdoor field journal must be a composition notebook with permanently attached
pages.
- The reason is because the hard cover makes it much easier to write in the field,
and keeps pages from being lost (spiral notebooks really just don’t cut it).
- Do not tear pages from your journal or place assignments from other classes into
your journal.
- Since the information in this notebook may be entered in the field, neatness is
not a priority; accuracy is.
Your notebook for class may be any type of notebook; a spiral notebook is provided as
an example.
Your notebook and journal are required for every class!
Notebook Basic Requirements
-
-
Name and class period on the
front of the notebook (should be
clearly written)
Table of contents
Update daily with new entries
Current Event Articles
-
Lab Summaries
Graphic Organizers
Key terms: terms should be
written in your own words,
include supporting questions and
a summary at the bottom
You are expected to use the time provided in class to work on your notebook. If you
misuse time or are absent, you will be expected to make up the work on your own using
the webpage. You are not to borrow a classmate’s notebook without requesting their
permission, and you are not to copy notes from a classmate unless it is specifically key
terms or notes on a graphic organizer.
Outside Field Journal Entries
You should have one entry (minimum) for every trip we take out into the field. Each
journal entry will contain the following information:
1. A detailed color drawings or a photograph you took of each species. Digital
cameras can be borrowed from the school library. You will not be graded your
drawing ability, but your ability to represent what you saw. If you take a picture, it
must be your picture; you cannot print one from your friend.
2. Above the illustration or photograph, write the organism’s common name and
scientific name. Be sure the scientific name is underlined or in italics and that the
first name (genus) is capitalized.
3. Write the field heading in the upper right hand corner of the page. This is: when
(time and date), where (exact location), temperature outside (in Fahrenheit) and
the location (field, woods, pond, mowed lawn, address, etc.) you observed the
living organism.
4. Make field marks. Next to the illustration or photograph identify two
characteristics of the organism that make it unique. Use arrows to point to the
field marks. (“legs,” “wings”, etc. are not field marks). Example: alternate leaves
or eye stripe
5. Under the illustration or photograph, write or type a paragraph (minimum five
sentences) in your own words that describes its characteristics, habitat, food
requirements, and interesting facts. Any information that you research on your
own must be cited on a work cited page that will be at the end of your field
journal. We will discuss what references are appropriate to use for conducting
research. You do not need to cite information received in class.
Notebook and Journal Grading
Your notebook and journal will be graded at least two times during each nine-week
period. These dates will be listed ahead of time. You may use your notebook on any
quizzes and your journal on field observations, so it is a good idea to remember to bring
them to class! Rubrics will be handed out prior to notebook collection specific to the
entries.
Quarter
Topic
Natural History of Loudoun (throughout year)
Scientific Method/How to be a Naturalist
Hydrosphere
1st
-
Watershed Ecology
Invasive Species
Water
Pollution
Storm water Management
Water Treatment
Outdoors
Target Date for
Completion
Plants
Butterflies
Stream Monitoring
Macro-invertebrates
Fish
November 1, 2014
Biosphere
2nd
-
Ecology
Populations
Biodiversity
Limiting Factors
Invasive Species
Forestry
-
Conservation
Deforestation
Energy Conservation
-
3rd
Bioethics
Conservation/Alternative Energies
Energy Production and Consumption
Atmosphere
-
Air
Structure
Weather Dynamics
Pollution
Trees/Plants
January 23, 2015
Winter Tree
Identification
Winter Tree
Identification
Mammals/Tracks
March 27, 2015
Insects
Birds
Wildflowers
June 16, 2015
Geology/Hydrosphere
4th
-
-
Land/Geomorphology
Soil
Use and Reclamation
Plants