Fourth Graders Study Ecology, Nature, and Society on Outdoor Education Trip

Over the summer, the fourth grade teaching team met with a curriculum specialist to redesign some of the fourth grade curriculum. Out of that work came four essential questions for the year’s curriculum: 1) What makes a sustainable system? 2) How does change happen in a system? 3) How are human and natural systems interrelated? And 4) How do our choices affect us, our community, and the world, now and in the future? To begin answering these questions, the fourth grade outdoor education trip was moved to NatureBridge in the Marin Headlands in the fall semester. “This trip was a really good tangible way to begin answering these essential questions,” explains teacher Kate Callan. “Students were able to explore where we live, understanding how the elements of nature work together and what our role as humans is in supporting the nature around us.” Students participated in team-building activities—for example, constructing a visual representation of an ecosystem using found items like sticks, shells, rocks, and plants—and went on small-group hikes. Students also studied Rodeo Lagoon, taking water samples and looking at how different species' adaptations help them survive. And, of course, an outdoor camp experience would not be complete without an evening camp fire! Students told oral stories and sang songs, and on the second night they created dramatic skits where they came up with legends to explain various features of animals (Why do walruses breathe into water? Why does a male narwhal have a big, long tooth?).

 

Adds Ms. Callan, “We studied how the Marin Headlands area has been used throughout its history—by indigenous people and by the military, for example—and how it is being used today. It provided a valuable reflection for students about how societies decide how to best use land. For their age in development, students really got to see why asking these questions matters.” MORE PHOTOS