Fall is a great time to start investigating wildlife in winter preparation. Some animals spend the fall caching food in places so they have enough to last the season. Some animals spend the fall moving to a place where they can meet their needs. Some animals put on fat and sleep through the winter. And there are some animals that stick it out and search each day to fulfill their basic needs.

Press play to hear descriptions for a wildlife winter needs outdoor scavenger hunt for kindergarteners and a hot potato exposure experiment for 3rd graders, both aligned with Next Generation Science Standards.

During the episode I share the standard that inspired the activity, how they relate to wildlife in winter preparation activities for kindergarten and 3rd grade, and a description of how to implement the activity with your learners. And make sure to listen all the way through the episode; you may find yourself inspired to adapt one of these activities or use an activity for a different grade level.

Next Generation Science Standards addressed in this episode:

• K-LS1-1: Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans) need to survive.
• 3-LS2-1: Construct an argument that some animals form groups that help members survive.

Resources mentioned 💚

• Episode 90: 6 Picture Books to Introduce Animals Getting Ready for Winter for Elementary-Aged Learners
• Episode 6: 5 Outdoor Education Safety Tips for Teaching Outside
• Naturally Teaching Activity Index

Show Notes: https://naturallyteaching.com/episode91

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November is a time for animals to get ready for winter! The migrators are the first to go and then slowly the other animals follow. Let's investigate how animals prepare to survive the season of scarcity!

Books are a great way to introduce animals getting ready for winter. In this episode, I give you a brief summary of books to introduce animals getting ready for winter and my thoughts on how they can help you with your learners.

Books in this episode 📚

1. Animals in Winter by Henrietta Bancroft and Richard G. Van Gelder, illustrated by Helen K. Davie
2. Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner, illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal
3. Time to Sleep by Denise Fleming
4. Animals in Fall: Preparing for Winter by Martha E. H. Rustad, illustrated by Amanda Enright
5. Not a Buzz to Be Found by Linda Glaser, illustrated by Jaime Zollars
6. Hiders Seekers Finders Keepers: How Animals Adapt in Winter by Jessica Kulekjian, illustrated by Salini Perera

Want to view all of these books in one place? Check them out here!

(Disclaimer: as an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you)

Resources mentioned 💚

• “Teaching with Books: How to Integrate Science and Literacy for Elementary Classrooms.”

Show Notes: https://naturallyteaching.com/episode90

🗂 Find activities easily with the Naturally Teaching Activity Index

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Seeds are everywhere and so are the opportunities to investigate seed dispersal! Let's take advantage of what's happening right outside your classroom windows and do some seed dispersal activities that will help you fulfill your curricular goals this fall.

Press play to hear descriptions for a seed dispersal engineering opportunity for 2nd graders and a gravity experiment for 5th graders, both aligned with Next Generation Science Standards.

During the episode I share the standard that inspired the activity, how the activity relates to seed dispersal, and a description of how to implement the activity with your learners. And make sure to listen all the way through the episode; you may find yourself inspired to adapt one of these activities or use an activity for a different grade level.

Next Generation Science Standards addressed in this episode:

• 2-LS2-2: Develop a simple model that mimics the function of an animal in dispersing seeds or pollinating plants.
• 5-PS2-1: Support an argument that the gravitational force exerted by Earth on objects is directed down.

Resources mentioned 💚

• Episode 6: 5 Outdoor Education Safety Tips for Teaching Outside
• Episode 88: Seed Games 1st and 4th Graders This Fall
• Episode 86: 6 Seed Books for Teaching Elementary-Aged Learners
• Flip, Float, Fly: Seeds on the Move by Joann Early Macken, illustrated by Pam Paparone
• Seeds Move! By Robin Page
• Seed Dispersal Types: 6 Innovative Ways Seeds Travel To New Places
• Miss Maple’s Seeds Book Companion for 2nd Grade
• Naturally Teaching Activity Index

Show Notes: https://naturallyteaching.com/episode89

🗂 Find activities easily with the Naturally Teaching Activity Index

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September is a great time to investigate seeds while it's still warm out. The combination of an abundance of native plants seeds and warm weather make for a great opportunity to play games about seeds.

Press play to hear descriptions for a mystery board game about seeds for 1st graders and a fossil matching game for 4th graders, both aligned with Next Generation Science Standards.

During the episode I share the standard that inspired the activity, how the activity relates to seeds, and a description of how to implement the activity with your learners. And make sure to listen all the way through the episode; you may find yourself inspired to adapt one of these activities or use an activity for a different grade level.

Next Generation Science Standards addressed in this episode:

• 1-LS1-1: Use materials to design a solution to a human problem by mimicking how plants and/or animals use their external parts to help them survive, grow, and meet their needs.
• 4-ESS1-1: Identify evidence from patterns in rock formations and fossils in rock layers to support an explanation for changes in a landscape over time.

Resources mentioned 💚

• Episode 87: Seed Activities for Kindergarten and 3rd Grade This Fall
• The Game Crafter
• Seed Dispersal Types: 6 Innovative Ways Seeds Travel to New Places
• Naturally Teaching Activity Index

Show Notes: https://naturallyteaching.com/episode88

🗂 Find activities easily with the Naturally Teaching Activity Index

🛒 TpT Shop: Naturally Teaching

💚 Get more tips and tricks on the website: NaturallyTeaching.com

📸 Follow along on Instagram: @naturally.teaching

💻 Check us out on Facebook: @naturally.teaching

September is the beginning of fall, but it's also when native plants are showing off their seeds! During the summer, plants worked hard to attract pollinators to their flowers, and now we're seeing the fruits of their labor! Let's take advantage of seeds this fall and get them working for your curriculum.

Press play to hear descriptions for being detectives while reading pictures books about plant needs for kindergarteners and growing herb seeds to investigate plant life cycles for 3rd graders, both aligned with Next Generation Science Standards.

During the episode I share the standard that inspired the activity, how they relate to seed activities for kindergarten and 3rd grade, and a description of how to implement the activity with your learners. And make sure to listen all the way through the episode; you may find yourself inspired to adapt one of these activities or use an activity for a different grade level.

Next Generation Science Standards addressed in this episode:

• K-ESS3-1: Use a model to represent the relationship between the needs of different plants and animals (including humans) and the places they live.
• 3-LS1-1: Develop models to describe that organisms have unique and diverse life cycles but all have in common birth, growth, reproduction, and death.

Resources mentioned 💚

• Episode 86: 6 Seed Books for Teaching Elementary-Aged Learners
• Episode 6: 5 Outdoor Education Safety Tips for Teaching in Nature
• The Dandelion Seed by Joseph Anthony, illustrated by Cris Arbo
• Naturally Teaching Activity Index

Show Notes: https://naturallyteaching.com/episode87

🗂 Find activities easily with the Naturally Teaching Activity Index

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September is the beginning of fall, but it's also a time for seeds! After spending spring and summer trying to attract pollinators, plants have successfully pollinated and made seeds.

Books are a great way to introduce seeds, plant life cycles, how seeds move, and how animals help disperse seeds. In this episode, I give you a brief summary of seed books and my thoughts on how they can help you with your learners.

Books in this episode 📚

1. A Seed is Sleepy by Dianna Hutts Aston, illustrated by Sylvia Long
2. Seeds by Carme Lemniscates
3. Flip, Float, Fly: Seeds on the Move by Joann Early Macken, illustrated by Pam Paparone
4. Seeds Move! By Robin Page
5. The Blue Jay that Grew a Forest by Lynn Street, illustrated by Anne Hunter
6. Little Dandelion Seeds the World by Julia Richardson, illustrated by Kristen Howdeshell and Kevin Howdeshell

Want to view all of these books in one place? Check them out here!

(Disclaimer: as an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you)

Resources mentioned 💚

• “Teaching with Books: How to Integrate Science and Literacy for Elementary Classrooms.”
• Episode 64: 7 Pollinator and Flower Books for Elementary-Aged Students

Show Notes: https://naturallyteaching.com/episode86

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An outdoor education job seems to be hard to come by in this day-and-age. But would you believe me if I told you that there are people making their own jobs in the outdoor education field?

In today's episode, Mariah Waters explains how she saw an opportunity and seized it. She talks about presenting, accepting, and developing the outdoor education specialist position at a private independent school in Texas for the 25'-26' school year.

You'll definitely want to hit play to hear about how she proposed the idea, how she survived writing a year's curriculum for K-5 grade classes while teaching everyday, and advice she would give to others looking to do something similar. This is a must-listen interview!

Show Notes: https://naturallyteaching.com/episode85

Connect with Mariah Waters: www.linkedin.com/in/mariah-waters

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With school upon us, the stress levels are high for you and your learners. So let's help calm the nerves with some activities that can help you practice your outdoor learning routines and expectations.

In this episode, I describe 5 beginning of the year activities that can help set you and your learners up for success this school year. I describe the activities, how they fit into practicing your outdoor learning routines and expectations, and what benefit they can give you and your learners in the first week back to school. Listen in to hear about the following activities:

1. Practicing your routines and procedures for outdoor learning
2. Working together to ready your outdoor space
3. Reading a book
4. Decorating your science notebooks
5. Setting goals for the year

Resources mentioned 💚

• Episode 2: Outdoor Learning Environment: 3 Things to Plan for Back to School
• Episode 14: Outdoor Classroom Routines and Procedures: 5 Easy Activities for Your First Week Outside
• Episode 82: 6 Classroom Decoration Ideas: How Research Can Help Us Design Student-Centered Learning Spaces
• Episode 83: 7 Picture Books for Going Back to School
• Episode 5: Science Skills for Students: 10 Picture Books for Encouraging Kid Scientists

Show Notes: https://naturallyteaching.com/episode84

🗂 Find activities easily with the Naturally Teaching Activity Index

🛒 TpT Shop: Naturally Teaching

💚 Get more tips and tricks on the website: NaturallyTeaching.com

📸 Follow along on Instagram: @naturally.teaching

💻 Check us out on Facebook: @naturally.teaching