Nature Net’s Pre- and Post-Visit Field Trip Materials

Level: Elementary School

Introduction: The ecosystem concept helps to define the order of the natural world. An ecosystem refers to its biotic organisms (plants, animals, fungi, etc.) and interactions among those organisms, as well as the abiotic physical processes of the system (climate, topography, geology, etc.). Ecosystems are chock-full of lessons in biology, physical sciences, history and other disciplines. In fact, you could easily do an environmental science project that incorporates practically every subject in the elementary curriculum! So read on for fun activities to do with your class, and to trigger your imagination!

Pre-trip: Teaching interrelations means looking beyond a single entity or relationship to see all the things that influence it and that it influences. It encourages creativity, exploration and greater understanding of the living world and oneself.

In the schoolyard, pick a microecosystem: a tree, an area of shrubbery, an area of soil, etc. Together, make a list of all the animals and plants and non-living things they find in the area. Back in the classroom, challenge the kids or discuss together all the interrelationships or connections they can make among the things they found. Then, bring it all together and draw a picture with the weblike connections!

During the trip: On your field trip, carry out the activity in a similar microecosystem.

Post-trip: 1) Compare results from both activities. Is one more diverse? Why do you think? Does one have more evidence of human impact than the other? Or different kinds of human impact? How do these impacts affect the microecosystem? 2) Have students do a collage or a mural for the classroom depicting one (or more than one) microecosystem, the interrelationships in that system, and human effects on the system. 3) Have a discussion about what we can do to minimize the impacts we have on an ecosystem.

Pre-trip: 1) Have students pick an animal or plant they want to study (make sure it’s something they’ll be able to find on the field trip - you may want to provide a list so they’ll be sure to see it on the trip). Have them do preliminary research on the niche of that animal or plant: where does it live? How is it adapted to its environment? What does it need to survive? What are its habits at different times of the year? Where does it get its food, and what eats it? How does it contribute to the existence of the larger ecosystem of which it is a part? Why did they choose it? Etc… 2) Before your trip, have students think about what they’ll see in relation to their organism when they’re out in the field. Help them become sensitized to signs of the organism, as well as the organism itself. 3) Go over the "ideals of a naturalist": alertness, patience, and "treading lightly."

During the trip: Re-iterate the "ideals of a naturalist." Have students search for their organism in the field. What is it doing? What is on it, around it, near it? What kind of physical environment is it living in (moisture, temperature, light or shade, etc.)? Is there anything impacting it? How does it react to the student’s presence? If it is not present, ask students to look for signs of it, and brainstorm about why it might not be there. Have them draw pictures of and/or write about their observations. De-brief a bit in the field, and ask students to share some of their observations.

Post-trip: Discuss students’ observations in depth back in class. Have each student talk about his or her organism, and its niche in the ecosystem. List the organisms on the board, and ask students to brainstorm and make connections between them. Draw links between the organisms, and between the organisms and their surroundings. Label the links. Then, have the class create a story based on the system. For example, something impacts the system (a flood, a bulldozer, etc.)… how does it affect the different organisms in the system? Follow the links to determine what happens at each point!

[For early elementary] Human impact: Have the students tear a leaf in half. Then, give them a band-aid and tell them to fix, or heal the leaf by patching it up and protecting it. Within a few days, the leaf will be dead. Explain to them (without hammering on the point or sermonizing - this is one of those simple lessons that tends to drive the point home itself) that while humans can easily affect and damage nature, it’s not so easy to heal it after the damage is done.

Find a place where plants are dying. Try to figure out what happened, or what’s going on to create that situation. Is it human-influenced? Influenced by climate, or soil conditions, moisture, a pest, etc..? What signs or clues do you see that could help you figure it out? Talk about the influences/pressures on the system and what its effects are - seen and unseen.

: http://eelink.net/ -- The "superlative sites" section has great lesson plans, hands-on activities and projects.

: http://www.ceismc.gatech.edu/busyt/ -- resources and a wealth of quality information on environmental topics.

: http://www.naturenet.com – resources and lesson plans, plus special free services for teachers to help them integrate outdoor education into their classrooms!

Handout: Mystery Math!

Directions: Solve the math problems to get an important message!

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