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OUTDOOR CLASSROOM
What's Outside
Children will observe nature and draw pictures of what they see.
Lesson Objective
Children will observe nature outside the classroom window, identify things in nature, and draw what they see directly on the window.
ScienceArt
What You'll Need
- Classroom windows facing outside
- Erasable markers (various colors) – 3 to 4 per child
- Paper towels
What To Do
- Have children stand in front of the windows and observe things that are outside for several minutes.
- Ask children to describe the different things that they see (see Guiding Student Inquiry).
- Tell the children that they will be drawing what they see outside directly on the windows.
- Ask the children to name some things they see that will need to be included in their drawing.
- Distribute markers, and tell children that they may trace what they see directly on the window (see Lesson Tips).
- Encourage children to use as much detail and color as possible.
- Provide paper towels to erase “mistakes.”
- When they are finished, have the children observe their drawings.
- Ask if they see something new that they did not notice before.
- Have the children name the things in the drawing that come from nature and those that do not come from nature.
Resources
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.
Content Provided By
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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