Mrs. McGrath’s Classroom Edit display name

About my class

One of the favorite learning activities of students at our school forest is investigating creepy crawlies in our pond. Various types of pond nets will be used to catch the aquatic critters so we can learn identification techniques, talk about water quality indicators and discover freshwater ecosystems. Having mobile supplies to teach in various outdoor environments is important when you have a 43-acre woods for a classroom. The bi-fold tables will help us set up little classrooms around the forest while the scavenger hunt cards will be a great activity to get students being more observant of their surroundings and being creative with their ideas in nature. Integrating sustainable environmental education into the school curriculum has been proven to increase student critical thinking skills linking to higher achievement in both classroom and standardized test scores. Utilizing this natural setting as an inquiry-based​ teaching tool, students will learn to ask questions, research problems, perform experiments and solve investigations in the environment. By allowing students to experience nature through an active, hands-on approach to learning, they will become more knowledgeable and responsible citizens when making decisions about the environment in the future.