...And Then We Went Outside


    We feel strongly that as educators it is our responsibility to model and promote sustainability and stewardship of our planet. We see how students who are engaged and invested in a culture of eco awareness are better students and better citizens. 

    Organizing Question: How can you extend your instruction beyond the four walls of your classrooms? You can do this by:

    • extending your science and engineering curriculum;
    • implementing the national movement for No Child Left Inside;
    • heightening the awareness of our connections to our planet; and,
    • promoting meaningful student involvement in preserving the health of our environment

    Opening the Door to the Outdoor Classroom (PPT)

    We integrated the Smith Center’s professional development tool, Opening the Door to the Outdoor Classroom PPT; Claire Gardner’s PPT Teaching Techniques for Outdoor Education; and Cedar Grove’s Summer School presentation, No Child Left Inside. Again, this is a tool we have amended and shared to encourage staff to take their students outside to extend curriculum.


    Taking our Students Outside PPT

    This presentation shows how easy it is to integrate classroom curriculum content with outdoor activites that enrich and extend instruction and to make connections using our outdoor resources.


    The Green Kids Application Process

    This involves your entire community. Here are some samples:
    Commitment Letters; Part II of the Application 


    The Green School Framework

    A table integrating the MAEOE Green School Recertification Application; the Audubon Green Kids Core Lessons; and the MCPS Science and Engineering curriculum by grade level.


    Fund Raising Logo Competition Application

    A community builder to encourage participation and ownership of our renewed environmental efforts. At our school, proceeds from this fundraiser benefited the science lab and other inquiry-based activities.


    Grade level binder cover and sample Green Kids Core Lessons, distributed to grade level teachers.

    We created and distributed binders for each teacher. Here are a few sample lessons copied and placed in those binders.

    2009 Agenda; 2010 Agenda

    Documentation of our pre-service staff development days.


    Notes from Brainstorming Walk-About

    We wanted staff to invest in our project and invited them to contribute to the various processes involved in using the outdoors as a classroom.


    After School Clubs and other integrated extra curricular activities

    • Environmental Club
    • PTA-sponsored in-school and out of school field trips:
      • Maryland Science Center Visit
      • Historical Agricultural Center
      • The Pumpkin Patch
      • The Audubon Naturalist Society
       
    • Naturalist lessons from Green Kids
    • Partnership with the Smith Center
    • Recycling and Up-Cyling Program

    The Science Lab Map

    A blueprint created in Kidspiration to identify the various spaces available for inquiry-based activities. Also useful for our building service folks.


    Before/After Pictures of the Science Lab

    We are so proud of our accomplishments. We recorded visual evidence of the incredible effort.


    Sample Posters created for the Science Lab

    Beaufort Wind Scale poster will be used with our newly acquired anemometer to make and graph daily wind observations; Composting Poster is a graphic representation of what is going on in the worm composting bins.


    Science Lab Supplies Shopping List

    A grade-by-grade list of required supplies for the Green Kids core lessons. This list also includes donation requests for additional self-contained experiments/demonstrations.


    The Science Lab Rules/Safety Poster

    A visual reminder of the main rules/safety points listed on the parental consent form.


    The Cedar Grove Permission Slip

    A parental consent form which incorporates safety rules and the idea of going outside for science lab activities regardless of the weather.