Grade 1 - Connecting to Place

Overview: Crawl like a cougar, listen like a deer, chase rainbows through the sky and create nature art all without leaving the vicinity of the school grounds! Students and teachers will explore the natural surroundings through a variety of games, activities and stories. By making time to connect with the natural surroundings, students will experience the benefits of spending time in nature, reflect on Indigenous teachings and learn helpful ways how they can reciprocate the gifts of nature. 

This lesson plan is based on the new Alberta Curriculum as of 2023. 

The Future Leaders program is pleased to provide the relevant course materials and instruction. 

We encourage  teachers to recreate these sessions.

Subject: Science

Organising Idea: Earth Systems (new)

Learning Outcome: Students analyse environments and investigate interactions and changes. 

Skills & Procedures: 

• Discuss benefits of spending time in nature. 

• Identify personal and group actions that demonstrate responsibility and care for nature. 

• Discuss and reflect on First Nations, Métis, and Inuit traditional teachings that demonstrate a sense of responsibility to care for nature.

Key terms: 

• Honourable Harvest

• Reciprocity

• Wildlife Corridor

• Ecosystem

LESSON PLAN

Session 1 - CONNECTING TO PLACE

Game [10mins]: Rainbow Tag

In an open outdoor space, students are ‘transformed’ into rain drops. They must run away from the sun (person who is it). When they get tagged, they must freeze in place with their arms in a half-arc until another child completes their arc or ‘rainbow’. When the student pairs form a rainbow, they are free to run as raindrops again. 

Sharing Circle [15mins]: A “What’s That?” Walk

Students are invited to go for a short wander, find a natural item that they’re curious about and invite us to think, “what’s that?”. We return to the circle and each student has the chance to share what they’re curious about. We give gratitude to the little curiosities through a song or ‘hip-hoorah’. 

Walk to New Location [5mins]: Along the way, encourage students to notice how they’re feeling and what they notice about themselves when they’re outside. 

Activity [20mins]: Deer Ears 

Deer and cougars are an example of the predator-prey relationship typical in the Bow Valley. Deer ears have adapted in size, orientation and ability to move independently to capture sounds to evaluate danger - like a stalking cougar! Demonstrate how to cup your hands tight together (as if they were to hold water) and tuck them behind your ears to amplify your hearing. Ask students of a time when they felt ‘sneaky’. After a brief discussion, one student is then blindfolded in the middle of the forest. They are the deer and will cup their hands behind their ears. The other students are the cougars and instructed to find a hiding spot in a given distance (e.g. 20-30m away from the deer) to begin their hunt. ‘Cougars’ stalk their way as quietly as possible towards the ‘Deer’. If the Deer hears a Cougar, they point in the direction of the sound and say “starve!”.  All Cougars must freeze in place. The Cougar who the Deer pointed at must go back to their starting position or sit and wait. If a Cougar silently reaches the Deer, they become the Deer.  The Deer only has a predetermined amount of “starves”. The teacher’s job is to help discern which Cougar the “starve” is directed towards. 

The discussion that follows is about living safely with wildlife and how humans can help wildlife by: staying on designated trails, encouraging travel during daylight hours, respecting trail closures, travelling in groups, storing waste in bear-proof bins and making noise to warn animals of their presence. 

Break [10mins]: Honourable Harvest 

Over a snack and drink break, introduce the principles of the Honourable Harvest (i.e. not taking the first nor the last, asking permission, reciprocating the gift, only taking what you need, sharing the gift etc.). Follow-up with a conversation asking students, “how do you show respect?” These concepts are based on the teachings outlined in Braiding Sweetgrass For Young Adults: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, And The Teachings Of Plants by Robin Wall-Kimmerer and adapted by Monique Gray-Smith. The Biosphere Institute has a copy that we are happy to lend out. Let us know if you’d like to borrow it!

Activity [20mins]: Free Play 

This is a chance for students to explore the natural world at their own pace and through their own interests. Authentic connection and concept understanding transpires through self-directed play and experiential learning.

Sharing Circle [10mins]: Recap of the session’s activities. Ask students to, “think of a person you are excited to see. Hold them in your mind’s eye. What are you going to tell them about your afternoon today?” Take turns sharing their favourite part of the session. 

Session 2 - CONNECTING TO PLACE

Game [20mins]: Wildlife Corridor

Bears, cougars, wolves, and elk are all residents of the Bow Valley. Humans live here, too! Compared to the valleys around it, the Bow Valley is low, flat, warm, and dry, creating high quality habitat and movement corridors for animals. This narrow valley also contains the Bow River, railways, highways, municipalities - and wolves! This game is a variation of ‘Red Rover’ and is played in an outlined rectangle about 30m wide and 50m long. Students begin on one side of the rectangle and ‘transform’ into a herd of Elk. Their job is to travel from one ‘grazing patch’ to the other on the far side of the rectangular playing area. The instructor transforms into a wolf and ‘hunts’ the Elk as they run from one side to the other. Students may not go out of bounds because the boundary is set by “the raging Bow River” on one side and on the other is “a massive hoodoo cliff”. If an Elk is caught by the Wolf, they die in place, decompose and are recreated as a noisy neighbourhood. They must try and tag the Elk (not the Wolf) as they run from one end to the other. The last Elk standing turns into the Wolf. Conversation that follows asks students about their experience travelling through the corridor. What were the challenges they faced? What made it easier or more difficult? As humans, we can help wildlife in the Bow Valley by providing them space, staying on designated trails and much more. See here for more tips on living smart with wildlife. 

Sharing Circle [10mins]: Gratitude for the Natural World

From the food we eat to the air we breathe and the mountains we love to climb, the natural world helps support our mental and physical health. Share a personal story of a nature experience that made you feel fully alive. Ignite a sense of awe and wonder in your students! Then, ask the students to share, “how does nature help you?”

Walk to New Location [5mins]: Along the way, encourage students to notice how they’re feeling and what they notice about themselves when they’re outside. 

Activity [20mins]: Nature Mandala 

Demonstrating the Honourable Harvest principles, we will go on a wander to collect natural items that are in abundance and that we can return to their prior state when we move them (i.e. twigs, stones, dead leaves). Demonstrate a simple circle pattern out of natural items to create a mandala. Using only natural materials, students will have the chance to become nature artists and compose a mandala with sticks, stones, needles, dirt, dried leaves etc. Each student or student pairings will wander in a supervised area with a basket and collect natural items to create their own mandala. The intention is to create art to show thanks and appreciation for this place. Watch ideas for nature mandalas here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5n9alRsgYoc

Break [10mins]: Reciprocal Question 

We opened with a question that asked, “how does nature help you?”. Now, we will take some time to ask, “how do you help nature?” Over a snack and drink break, share with students a personal experience with how you (the teacher) help nature. Think of a time, for example, where you turned off the tap while brushing your teeth, brought reusable bags to the grocery store, bought only what you needed at the store, recycled your drink containers, gave the Elk plenty of space etc. Students will each take a turn to add how they help nature.

Activity [20mins]: Free Play 

This is a chance for students to explore the natural world at their own pace and through their own interests. Authentic connection and concept understanding transpires through self-directed play and experiential learning.

Sharing circle [10mins]: Reciprocal Question

Students (and teachers!) will reflect on their time outside and think of a moment that made them smile. Each student will have the chance to share the moment that turned up the corners of their mouth. 

Helpful Online Resources

https://www.biosphereinstitute.org/living-with-wildlife-resources

https://outdoorlearningstore.com/product/braiding-sweetgrass-for-young-adults/

https://y2y.net/blog/wildlife-corridors-bow-valley/

additional resources