OUTDOOR CLASSROOM

Nature Bracelets

Children will collect and investigate materials found in nature.

Lesson Objective

Children will make predictions and collect and investigate materials found in nature while taking a walk outside.

ScienceArt

What You'll Need

Large, natural outdoor space for a walk
Wide masking tape – 1 roll
Magnifying glasses – 1 per child

What To Do

Note: This lesson requires a walk outside.

Tell the children that they will be taking a walk outside to collect things found in nature (see Lesson Tips).
Ask the children to make predictions about what they might find during this time of year (see Guiding Student Inquiry).
Wrap masking tape around your own wrist with the sticky side out, show it to the children, and wrap their wrists.
Tell them that as they find items, they can stick them to the tape on their wrists.
Remind children that since this is a nature walk, they should only collect things found in nature. Ask if they should collect a leaf, some seeds, or grass? Then, ask “What about a candy wrapper?”
Take the children outside.
Encourage the children to collect a variety of objects such as leaves, grass, twigs, seeds, pieces of bark, small pebbles, flowers, etc.
Continue to encourage the children to collect a variety of items during their walk.
Upon returning to the classroom, distribute magnifying glasses.
Have the children use the magnifying glasses to investigate and discuss the items they found (see Guiding Student Inquiry).
Display the bracelets in the science area.

Guiding Student Inquiry

Make a prediction about the kinds of things you think you might find on your walk.
Explain the reason you think you will find those things.
Describe what you have found.
Tell me if you think you would find the same types of items if we take this walk in the winter (summer, fall, or spring).

Explore, Extend & Integrate

This activity can be repeated seasonally. Teachers can take pictures of the nature bracelets from season to season for comparison.
This activity can be aligned with your current curriculum. For instance, if you are studying patterns, have the children create an ABAB pattern on their bracelet; leaf, twig, leaf, twig. Or children can be limited to collecting only items that are green, that are brown, or that begin with a certain letter, or only items that are seeds.

Check for Children’s Understanding

Could children make predictions about what they might find?
Could children make connections between what they might find and the season of the year?
Could children describe their findings?
Could children understand that different types of items are found in different seasons?

Resources

Did You Know?

The natural world is full of many fascinating processes. Children’s interest in the outdoors is seemingly endless, and they are naturally very curious. Using all of their senses, children will thoroughly explore the sights, sounds, and smells of nature. As they explore on their own, they generate questions about their discoveries.

Exploring outdoors is a wonderful opportunity for children to actively engage in learning about nature. Nature provides many opportunities for discovery as things such as leaves, acorns, twigs, and buds fall to the ground. Even blades of grass can make some interesting investigating. Children’s awareness of the Earth and nature around them will be increased as outdoor exploration is incorporated throughout the year.

Vocabulary: Child-Friendly Definitions

nature – the physical world and things in their natural state.
outdoors – the outside; in the open air.
predict – to say ahead of time that something will happen.
collect – to gather together.
investigate – to look closely at.
materials – a group of things.

Lesson Tips

You may want to inform families that the children will be exploring outdoors so the children will be dressed appropriately and have sunscreen and/or insect repellent applied before coming to school, if appropriate for the weather.
Remind children to choose materials found on the ground and not to pick up insects or leaves, flowers, twigs, or other items that are attached to living plants.
You can also give the children tweezers for picking up small items.

Books

Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature by Nicola Davies
Ask Me by Bernard Waber
What Color Is Nature? by Stephen R. Swinburne
What in the World? Numbers in Nature by Nancy Raines Day

Home School Resources

Home educators: use these printable lesson PDFs to teach this lesson to your home schoolers. They're available in English and Spanish.

Home/School Connections

Las Conexiones a la Casa

While we believe that the books and resources recommended may be of value to you, keep in mind that these are suggestions only and you must do your own due diligence to determine whether the materials are appropriate and suitable for your use. PNC has no sponsorship or endorsement agreement with the authors or publishers of the materials listed.

Content Provided By

Visit Carnegie Science Center website

Common Core State Standards Initiative – These lessons are aligned with the Common Core State Standards ("CCSS"). The CCSS provide a consistent, clear understanding of the concepts and skills children are expected to learn and guide teachers to provide their students with opportunities to gain these important skills and foundational knowledge^[1]. Visit the CCSS

There are currently no Common Core Standards for pre-k, but these lessons are aligned as closely as possible to capture the requirements and meet the goals of Common Core Standards. However, these lessons were neither reviewed or approved by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices or the Council of Chief State School Officers, which together are the owners and developers of the Common Core State Standards.

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