Natural Science Lessons for KS1We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. This costs the purchaser nothing extra. In this way I can continue to provide free resources. Thank you for your support. |
The natural world naturally (excuse the pun) gives plenty of opportunities for cross curricular learning. Home-educating families make use of this wonderful resource, which children at school have only limited access to. It is no mean resource either and it has no age cut-off. Even parents will learn much! Better still - no worrying about age-appropriate work, as you will all naturally learn at your own level.
Whether your child would usually be in school or you usually home-educate we can all benefit from unpacking the benefits of learning through nature. Go for a walk
Your starting point can arise during a simple walk. You do not have to go far. Start to learn to use your eyes. As you use your eyes and point things out to your child, s/he will start to use his/her eyes too.
Let's look at an example. This morning we walked around our block (part of our P.E.!). There had been a heavy frost overnight and the twigs on the trees were laced with delicate ice. Occasionally, blobs of ice fell on us as they melted. At first we were struck by the whiteness. We asked 'What is frost'? 'Why has it come?' We noted that it had been very cold lately. We started to see that in places where the sun had not shone (facing north) the frost was not melting, but in the sun it was. We stood and examined a tree, looking closely at the pattern the frost made. The smaller twigs almost looked like icicles. It was beautiful. Awe and wonder are important components of learning about nature. Back home we found out about frost - I learnt something too. I won't tell you - you must find out for yourself. We learnt about different kinds of frost. This was Science but the children didn't need to know that. We decided to keep a temperature diary for a few days and note when the frost came and when it didn't. This entailed looking at a thermometer, seeing how it worked, learning to read the scale and deciding how to take fair measurements (same time of day, same place etc...) This was Maths, and more Science, but still they didn't need to know! I found a poem I recalled about 'Jack Frost' and I read it to the children:
Jack Frost
by Cecily E. Pike Look out! look out! Jack Frost is about! He's after our fingers and toes; And, all through the night, The gay little sprite Is working where nobody knows. He'll climb each tree, So nimble is he, His silvery powder he'll shake; To windows he'll creep, And while we're asleep, Such wonderful pictures he'll make. Across the grass He'll merrily pass, And change all its greenness to white; Then home he will go, And laugh, “Ho! ho! ho! What fun I have had in the night!”
We liked the words 'silvery powder' and started to think of some more descriptive words of our own. We didn't write them down, but just enjoyed playing with language. We were learning so much that I didn't want to lose the interest by making it into 'school work'. One child fancied writing a poem and wrote it down. A willing writer is much better than a conscript! However, I did manage to make copy writing time more exciting by letting them copy a verse of 'Jack Frost'. They were both eager to do this! This was English work to supplement our English curriculum.
Art work followed as we tried to re-create the frosty look. The internet is full of ideas - but don't forget to use your own imagination too!
And so our simple walk turned into an educational opportunity that covered P.E., Science, Maths, English and Art - without even trying.
The only necessary ingredient for this kind of learning is the desire to make the most of natural opportunities, as they present themselves. Believe me, they DO abound, all through the year, so you will never be short of material. Do bear in mind that not everything will grab the attention of your child/ren and you equally. Sometimes I get enthusiastic about something and they don't. That's fine. There is so much in the world to explore and there is no rule that says everybody must know everything. What matters most is to encourage observation, awe, wonder adn with them appreciation. With these things a child will be well equipped to be guardians of our world into the future.
Not every family needs ideas to get started, or resources to help, but if you would like them and find them useful, we have some home-learning packs that are free or can be purchased for a small price from TES.
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Welcome Hello, I am Lilibette (B.Ed Hons Early Years, Studies in the Environment Specialism Course), here to encourage the next generation to love the natural world, and thereby learn the necessary skills and knowledge to look after it in the years ahead. Read more... Categories
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