Outdoor Observations Using a Science Notebook
Go outside to observe living and non-living things around your school. Remind students that observations can be made using many senses like sight, hearing, smell, and touch (when safe) but no tasting. While outside ask students to:
The attached PDF file can be printed as a booklet. Printing using the booklet setting onto 8.5"x11" paper yields a booklet that is 4.25"x5.5", which may be small for younger students. If larger paper is available (11"x14" or 11"x17") printing settings can be adjusted so students have a larger writing area.
When using the booklet printing setting, the notebook contains 16 pages - a front cover with room for the student's name, a back cover reminding students to use 4 of their 5 senses, 7 pages of graph paper with lines for writing, and 7 pages for illustrations with lines for writing. The notebook uses 4 pages of paper when 2-sided printing is selected.
Note: All supplemental materials are protected by copyright and are owned by Ohio Environmental Education Fund and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. They may be used, with attribution, for educational purposes but are not to be used commercially. Please include Curious KIDSS www.curiouskidss.org when citing the supplemental materials.
- Use tools (rulers, binoculars, hand lens, etc.) when making observations, if appropriate.
- Write and draw their observations in their Science Notebooks. (Students may use the template provided as their notebook or add to one journal, like a composition book, throughout the year.)
- Use common names like ant, spider, tree or bird.
- If time allows, use field guides to try to determine a more specific name for the organisms. (Is the bird a crow, robin, or cardinal? Is the tree an oak, maple, or birch?)
- Note similarities and differences among different types of birds or different types of plants.
- As small or large groups, discuss what kinds of living things the students observed.
The attached PDF file can be printed as a booklet. Printing using the booklet setting onto 8.5"x11" paper yields a booklet that is 4.25"x5.5", which may be small for younger students. If larger paper is available (11"x14" or 11"x17") printing settings can be adjusted so students have a larger writing area.
When using the booklet printing setting, the notebook contains 16 pages - a front cover with room for the student's name, a back cover reminding students to use 4 of their 5 senses, 7 pages of graph paper with lines for writing, and 7 pages for illustrations with lines for writing. The notebook uses 4 pages of paper when 2-sided printing is selected.
Note: All supplemental materials are protected by copyright and are owned by Ohio Environmental Education Fund and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. They may be used, with attribution, for educational purposes but are not to be used commercially. Please include Curious KIDSS www.curiouskidss.org when citing the supplemental materials.
| kidss_science_notebook.pdf |
