Erin

My biggest goal as an educator right now is to get my students outside for bird watching. Through bird watching, I know that my students will enhance their observational skills and develop a stewardship for nature. I can't wait to try each and every activity discussed in this course with my students. As the Kratt brothers say, "see ya on the creature trail!" 1st Graders Bird Watching!

As a teacher, my current favorite ways to get outside with my students are either going out to our class garden or going bird watching. Birds provide an opportunity for students to observe and ask questions about their behaviors. Animals and wildlife in general makes me the most curious! I often want to know why animals act the way they do. Through discovery, I have often found that there is a reason! American Robins-Worthington, OH

When thinking about my love for nature, I immediately think back to my childhood as to where my love stemmed. From the time I was a baby to starting kindergarten, my nanny would take my twin sister and I to the metro park 5 minutes from our house almost every day. It was there that I fell in love with the leaves, animals, the sounds of trees swaying, and just the smell of "outdoors". I have fond memories of running in the meadows and walking the nature trails. Aside from constantly going to the park, my family were regular visitors to the Columbus Zoo. It was there that I learned early on the importance of conservation and protecting all living things big and small. Often as a child, I would have rather been outside riding my bike and roaming the woods than playing dress-up or dolls inside. These memories bring me nothing but pure happiness. As a teacher, my goal is to guide students in fostering this same love for nature, animals, and the outdoors. During this school year, I simply hope to be outside with the students more and let them LEARN while doing so. I want them to ask questions, evoke their senses, and conduct investigations. Blendon Woods Metro Park (Columbus, Ohio)

Although this challenge may not seem common to most, I often struggle as a teacher to guide first-graders in demonstrating proper behavior and listening skills when leading inquiry-based activities. As young students, they are eager to use materials and share their thoughts out-loud with others. They are still learning the importance of being patient and stopping to reflect on their learning. After some of my own reflection, I have developed different strategies to tackle student behavior during these activities. First, I set clear expectations for the students. Next, I make sure to model proper scientist behavior and I explain the importance of doing so. Lastly, I reiterate with the students the importance of what we are investigating and why. First Graders Learning All About Hawks!

Since I teach first grade, I have often found that the best strategy when encouraging curiosity or questioning is to model or show by demonstration. For example, I might say, "I wonder why the bird is behaving that way". By doing this, I am modeling my thinking and doing it out loud. I also inspire deeper observational and experimental questions by explaining to students that there is no right or wrong answer. As shared in previous discussion, I also explicitly teach the students the difference between an open-ended question and one that is closed or can be determined through basic research. Project Wild Activity, Ant Thumbprints

The most impactful thing when completing the sound map was how much I didn't realize all the sounds I was hearing. You initially think that only one or two sounds will be noticeable. When completing this activity with students, I would guide the students in completing a mental checklist (What do I hear? What do I smell? What do I taste? What do I see? What do I feel?). Lastly, I would also remind them to be patient!

As an educator, one practice I need to implement more in my classroom, is sparking questions or "inquiry" itself in my classroom. It would be helpful to have an "I Wonder..." wall in my classroom where students could ask questions about what they wonder in nature itself. With this being said, I also feel it's important for students to take control of their own learning. If students have questions about a bird they see, I hope to encourage them to conduct an investigation that would lead them to their answer. *First Grade Snowy Owl Diagram

Just this month, my class begun making observations and bird watching to input data into our Project Feeder Watch account. For the introductory lesson to the project, we had Bird Watcher's Digest's editor, Jessica Vaughan, discuss with the students the importance of citizen science and how we input data into our account. Although, I am no expert at the project, I would tell other educators to explain to students the importance of citizen science and make sure to emphasize how their learning is greater then themselves. Miss Buzza's Class Conducting Observations For Project Feeder Watch

After reviewing D. Llewellyn's text on inquiry, I would define it as... "Inquiry is questioning that empowers an individual to conduct investigations, make observations, collect data, and use prior experiences to make conclusions about the world around them. " Note:

• Blue Star-Prior to Reading
• Green Star-After/During Reading