theedcollabgathering #10

Nature Walk: The Intersection of Science and English Class

Sarah Mulhern Gross #TheEdCollabGathering #10

“Only through art can we get outside ourselves and know another’s view of the universe which is not the same as ours."- Proust

Why Science and English?

Really? Science and English?

• “In the end we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught.” -Baba Dioum

"Consider that engineering, from software development to biomedical applications, requires all of the following underlying skills: an ability to recognize and interpret patterns; the synthetic thinking that allows one to identify relationships and systemic connections; the discipline to solve a problem that matters to you and the world.

Learning out of doors, with nature as a guide, provides ample opportunity for all of these skills."
-"Send children outside: Nature is the best training ground for STEM careers" by Marijke Hecht (Pittsburg Post-Gazette)

Step outside!

Open up your classroom 

“Don’t go looking for a special place. Instead, find a place and make it special.”

Sample F Un Day Sheet

• Reading prior to meeting
• Biology tasks
• English tasks
• Combined final product

“Reading usually precedes writing 

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Science Literacy and Science Communication

‘I want my writing to bring people not just to think of “trees” as they mostly do now, but of each individual tree, and each kind of tree.’- Roger Deakin

Let's try an activity:
Kepler spent a great deal of time studying the patterns of snowflakes. Patterns surround us in nature, and not just in snowflakes. While observing your mandala or the photos inside, look for patterns in nature make a list in your notebook of the patterns that you see.



Your turn!

Care to Share?

"I only had a limited amount of saplings in my square, but the number seemed to dwindle since my last visit, maybe from the inclement weather earlier. As I was on my way, vacating my mandala, I noticed a carefully woven spiderweb glistening from the beautiful array of dew drops on the translucent silk."- L & A

"The ground lies hidden beneath the carpet of fallen copper-colored leaves, decorated with sprinklings of scarlet and gold, and is stirred only by the light, swirling breeze. To the left of the mandala stretches the well-worn path, and farther still is the reservoir, reflecting the autumn plumage of the trees on the opposite shore. The scene beautiful, but ephemeral: it will soon vanish with winter winds."- S, M, & G

In the selection you read for HW (January 21st- The Experiment), Haskell writes, “The wind gusts hard and the burning sensation in my skin surges. Then, a deeper pain starts...my body is failing after just a minute in this winter chill…”

Challenge: compose a similar narrative paragraph describing how you felt in the cold. Include both biological and metaphorical details.


Try it out in your notebook!

Care to share?

"The natural crunch that accompanied every foot step I took today was noticeable throughout the forest. However once I came to my Mandela the sound became more pronounced than before. As I sat down at the trunk of the tree, I wiped away an inch or so of snow and uncovered a layer of pine needles. Also, by the tree there was a fresh, yet almost wet aroma from the mixture of the soil, pine needles and snow. When I finally sat down and started reading I could hear the snowflakes hitting my paper. They would then quickly become blotches of liquid that made the paper transparent. I observed that a white birch across from me was completely bare, as the tree had made its preparations for winter long ago. The leaves would have been shed in the Fall, so that the tree could retain as much water as possible by sealing up the holes that held the leaves."- DCB

Voices from the Land

Poetry and Nature

Eco-art, poetry, and technology

With respect to Biology...

• "I knew changes in nature always occurred; however I was able to see + document changes in my mandala over time..."
• "I have realized how biology can show how the ecosystems of our world work...how both abiotic and biotic factors have an effect..."
• "Sometimes, I should be quiet and just observe my surroundings."

With respect to English...

• "When you cannot rely on graphs or charts or illustrations, use your skills as a writer to convey visual ideas to your readers. "
• "I learned that you can write about a topic by breaking the boundaries of what is commonly expected to entice the audience."
• "Writing can be fun."

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Book Recommendations

• The Forest Unseen by David George Haskell
• National Geographic Book of Nature Poetry: More than 200 Poems With Photographs That Float, Zoom, and Bloom! by J. Patrick Lewis
• Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner
• Feathers by Thor Hanson
• The Poetry Friday Anthology for Science (Teacher's Edition): Poems for the School Year Integrating Science, Reading, and Language Arts by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong
• Walden by Henry David Thoreau
• Other ideas?

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