Teaching Science through
Integrating Children’s Literature
& Outdoor Investigations
Christine Royce & Steve Rich
@caroyce
@bflyguy
What do we do?
• Collaborate on two distinct
strategies for teaching science that
may seem in opposition to each
other
• Taking Students Outdoors
• Using Trade Books to Teach
Science
How do we do it?
• Determine which strategy sets the
stage best for engaging students
initially.
• Utilize that strategy to generate
interest and then utilize the other
to build content around that
interest.
Benefits of Pairing NSTA Press Resources
• Combining resources allows teachers to
more completely meet the standards
• Different approaches of authors may
meet varying needs of learners
• Starts with identifying
science standards that can
be taught effectively
outdoors or with materials
from the outdoors
• Recognizes nearly every
school yard has some
useful component(s) for
teaching & learning science
• Benefits student learning by
making it relevant to the real
world
• Focuses on engaging
students through text based
structures as a way to
interest them in science.
• Requires some selection of
trade books based on
content, as well as,
readability level.
• Can be used as the
springboard for engaging
students or a resource to
finding out new information
Outdoor Science
Strategies/Foundations
Using Trade Books
Strategies/Foundations
Regardless of how tech
oriented students are…
Books are
still important!
Topic #1: Food Webs and Food Chains
School Yard Food
Chain
-Outdoor Science
Figuring Out Food
Chains
-Column in Teaching
Through Trade Books
Set the stage with a trade book: Secrets of the Garden and begin to develop understanding by having students listen to the story about food
chains in our backyard.
Expand their knowledge: Have students apply their understanding of food chains by venturing outdoors and having them locate, describe,
and construct a diagram of a local food chain that they can observe.
Return to Reading: construct a food web by participating in Weaving a Food Web from the TSTTB Colum that allows students to identify
what a food chain is and then practice constructing one within the classroom.
Topic #2: Exploring the Outdoors with Your Senses
Can you see me now?
& Do you hear what I hear?
• What do animal sounds have in common with camouflage?
• How do animals use their senses to survive?
• Is an animal sound a warning or a call to come?
• Is a color meant to attract others animals or hide from them?
• Listen to this….
Moth Madness
• Key Vocabulary Terms:
Coloration and camouflage
• Story of the Peppered Moth
• Data table
• How will we look for moths?
• Discussion
An App that fits with this lesson…
• Animal Sound App
Topic #3: Describing Your Experiences
Poetry in the Great Outdoors from
Outdoor Science
Exploring your Environment from
Teaching Science Through Trade Books
Exploring Your
Environment
-Teaching Science
Through Trade Books
Poetry in the Great
Outdoors
-Outdoor Science
Note Booking Like a
Naturalist
-Column in Teaching
Through Trade Books
Have them take some of their
observations and sketches and then
write poetry such as an acrostic
• Beetles are everywhere
• Under rocks and in the air
• Going here and going there
• Sometimes I just stop and stare
Looking for bugs on a school yard walk…
• B_________________________
• U_________________________
• G_________________________
• S_________________________
Poetrees
UnBEElievables
Writing Standards K: Use a combination of
drawing, dictating, and writing to compose
informative/explanatory texts in which they
name what they are writing about and
supply some information about the topic.
Writing Standards – Text Types and
Purposes Grade 2: Write
informative/explanatory texts in which they
introduce a topic, use facts and definitions
to develop points, and provide a
concluding statement or section.
Creating a Collection of Children’s Literature for a unit of
study
One of my Collections…
• Ten Seeds
• Seeds, Stems, & Stamens
• Our Tree Named Steve
• Plants on the Trail of Lewis &
Clark
New from NSTA Kids….
Thank you for joining us today!
Christine Royce
@caroyce
Steve Rich
@bflyguy
caroyce@aol.com
bflywriter@comcast.net
http://webspace.ship.edu/caroyc/conventions.htm