Withers Outdoor Learning Classroom

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Withers teachers integrate the outdoor classroom in all areas of the curriculum. Teachers and students are constantly using nature to teach core subjects. Examples of  lessons that took place this year are: Reduce/Reuse/Recycle- the students picked up some of the trash they found in the garden (gloves were used) and sorted what they found to begin a discussion about items that could be recycled, composted, or had to go to a landfill. Erosion/Soil Formation – We used the erosion line that falls under the school’s roof line to review some of the concepts the students have worked on previously about erosion, sediment, deposition, etc.  We then modeled the formation of soil by “weathering” two rocks together and “decomposing” dead organic matter (leaves) found in the garden.  Resources – The students explored and listed all of the materials that had to be used to build the entire outdoor classroom.  This gave them some context for new concepts they were beginning to study on renewable and nonrenewable natural resources. Plants – These kindergarteners went exploring for different types of seeds and collected them in their journal.  This gave them more experience with the form and function of seeds produced by different plants. Plant Adaptations – These students pulled out some weeds to examine their root structures.  They discussed how different root shapes (fibrous or tap) can help a plant to survive in its environment.  Natural Resources – These students began to look at the different materials that were used to build their outdoor classroom to give them some context for their new unit on natural resources. Educators from REAL School Gardens have been instrumental in assisting teachers with garden integration and we feel that students are more successful academically as a result of these lessons and integration activities.