Return to Putah Creek Investigations homepage

Description of the Major Field Activity

Varied activities, especially those that are inquiry-based, prepare students to learn and help them to retain what knowledge they uncover during the experience. These are activities that took place in an outdoor setting. Please refer to the Learning Objectives and Unit Map Diagram and Detailed Timeline to see how and when these activities fit into the themed unit.

In addition to further learning and practicing English language skills, students will use their math knowledge to figure out problems in nature and sharpen their observation skills.

Materials List

Measurement activities: measuring sticks, tape measures, calculators, pencils and paper
Poetry activities: field journals or paper and pencils
Perception activities: binoculars, magnifying lenses or loupes, paper and crayons/colored pencils

Activity Description

Students traveled through three learning stations widely spaced on the Beetle Point Trail at Lake Solano Regional Park, spending 30 minutes at each. They also took an additional 15 minutes to take the self-guided tour between stations using the park’s trail guide. This gave students the opportunity for both structured and unstructured time in the environment. The three stations were Measurement, Perception, and Poetry.

The Measurement station was conducted in Spanish, and involved measuring parts of a tree that couldn't be measured directly (trunk diameter, tree height, and crown width). The Perception station was also designed to be conducted in Spanish, and consisted of training students in the use of observation techniques (naked eye, binoculars, magnifying lenses), and providing the students with a silent period to “perceive” a tree using observation, touch, sound, and smell, and to record those perceptions in a journal.

 

The Poetry station was conducted in English, and consisted of an observation and poetry-writing activity that develops vocabulary and a familiarity with English structures and word forms.

 

How are you going to know that you met your objectives and that the students learned what you wanted them to learn?

Students will turn in completed field journals and present findings, observations, and finished poems to the class.

* Return to Putah Creek Investigations homepage * Return to Interactive Site Map *