TARGET AUDIENCE: GR 4-9 TEACHERS OF ALL DISCIPLINES, PRE SERVICE TEACHERS, ADMINISTRATION AND LEARNING COACHES ARE ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND.
Join this 3-part learning series, set in the great outdoors, where we’ll expand our interdisciplinary literacy and numeracy repertoire, with an interwoven wellness focus, using the land as our inspiration. We will learn from each other while also engaging with land experts to deepen our outdoor learning resources facilitated by outdoor expert, Andrea Barnes. Come and enjoy the mental health benefits of movement and spending time outdoors while we explore connections to the various subject disciplines.
We will explore land-based learning, what it means to us, and how we can incorporate it into our daily teaching and year plans.
The sessions will highlight three approaches to learning from the land:
- Part 1: October 26 ( 4:30 -6:00 pm) “Changing Landscapes” (eg. climate change, flood, urban wildlife, human impacts) while outside at the Fish Creek Environmental Learning Centre
- Part 2: January 21 (Full Day) “Connecting to Landscapes” (eg. snowpack studies, wildlife tracking, environmental inquiry, reciprocity) through a full day guided snowshoeing trip in Kananaskis Country.
- Part 3: April 26 (4:30 -6:00 pm) “Exploring Landscapes” (eg. population studies, tracking, monitoring, analyzing) while outdoors at the Fish Creek Environmental Learning Centre
These topics have direct links with middle school science curricula, and will weave literacy and numeracy outcomes into each of these land-based learning objectives through:
- Learning techniques that include land-inspired stories, engaging projects, inquiry ideas, and interactive games.
- Profiling and distributing quality resources and planned activities for your classroom.
- Modeling 'connecting to land' by spending time together in a winter wonderland in Kananaskis Country.
These elements will help your students be more observant, reflective, and curious about the land and take one small step towards building reciprocity into your teaching repertoire.
