Engage Students in Schoolyard Habitats

Once your schoolyard habitat is in place, utilizing the space with your students can seem intimidating. The following organizations offer a variety of tricks and tips on taking student learning outdoors. Click on the links below to learn more.

• ​"Ideas for a Basic Schoolyard Backpack" from the Friends of Reinstein Woods
  List of useful materials for teaching and learning outdoors
  
• "Outdoor Teaching Tips" from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
  Website with short list of tips for teaching outdoors.
• “Taking the Full Option Science System Outdoors” from the Full Option Science System
  Comprehensive guide with tips on outdoor teaching and learning 
• Problems with Buying Frogs and Tadpoles for Wild Release

Lesson Plans and Activities

The following websites link to specific lesson plans or examples of ways in which teachers have successfully utilized outdoor spaces. Consider these websites a source of inspiration; they represent just a small fraction of the ways in which schoolyard habitats and outdoor spaces can be used as learning environments.

Elementary School (Grades K-5)

• “Birds and Worms” from Project Learning Tree
• ​“Exploring the Native Plant World” from Pollinator Live
• ​“Here Come the Sunflowers!” from the Smithsonian Institution
• "Plot Studies with Students" from the Harvard University Forest
•  "Soil Decomposers" from the National Wildlife Federation
• “The Shape of Things” from Project Learning Tree
• "Web of Life" from the Smithsonian Institution
• "Worm Watching" from the Smithsonian Institution

​

Middle School (Grades 6-8)

• ​"A Weed By Any Other Name" from the University of Connecticut College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences
• "Adopt a Twig" from the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences
• "Is That Tree Safe?" from the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences
• "The Blossoming of Flower Power" from the Learning Network
  

High School (Grades 9-12)

• "Buds, Leaves, and Global Warming" from the Harvard University Forest
• "Dendrology Scavenger Hunt" from the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences
• "Selecting Trees for Urban Environments" from the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences

The Project WILD, Project WET, Project Learning Tree, and Growing Up WILD environmental education training programs are offered to educators throughout the state of Maryland.  Upon completion of these programs, educators receive comprehensive guides that contain a variety of lesson plans, many with activities that can be completed in conjunction with schoolyard habitats. Educators may be eligible for Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) credit. The following websites provide links to activities that include schoolyard habitat connections and the associated curriculum standards these activities meet. For more information, please contact Sarah Witcher​ (sarah.witcher1@maryland.gov).

• Reinstein Woods Project WILD Schoolyard Habitat Connections
• Project WILD/Aquatic WILD Schoolyard Habitat Lessons

Educators engaged in professional development workshops by Elaine Raesly and Kerry Wixted

Community Science Projects

Community science projects are research projects named for the way in which they engage individuals beyond the professional scientific community. Communit science projects provide a great way for students to participate in hands-on, real-life science; and many of these projects can be completed in schoolyard habitats. Below are various projects that teachers and students can take part in.

• BumblebeeWatch
  Participants track bumblebees all across North America to assist in research and conservation efforts
• eMammal
  Participants document mammals throughout the mid-Atlantic region to assist in research
• FrogWatch
  Participants submit reports on the calls of frogs and toads to assist in research and conservation efforts
• Great Sunflower Project
  Participants lead pollinator counts to assist in research and conservation efforts
• Maryland Biodiversity Project
  Participants submit records of species in their area to assist with an online catalogueof all living species found in Maryland
• Monarch Watch
  Participants tag and release butterflies, collect seeds, and plant milkweed to assist in research and conservation efforts
• Project BudBurst
  Participants track the timing of various plant phases to assist in research
• Project FeederWatch
  Participants track birds that visit feeders in the winter to assist with research
• Project Noah
  Participants submit records of species in their area, sharing observations, photos, etc.