With so much recent media coverage about climate change, young children are bound to have heard stories of gloom and doom about the future.
But what happens when we give children too much “bad news” about the environment?
Research shows that they may become fearful and anxious.* Even if our best intentions are to instill environmentally helpful behaviors, such as recycling or turning off the lights, we may be inadvertently giving kids the dauntinng message: “The ice caps are melting and it’s your job to fix the problem.”
So what’s a teacher to do?
“Without an abiding sense of comfort in and love for the natural world, no amount of chastising about turning off the lights is going to make a bit of difference,” states David Sobel.**
What will make a difference? The answer is simple: connect children and the curriculum to the near-by natural world.
How? A first step can be simple, too: Take your class go outside and have each child find a natural object. Then ask them to complete these 3 statements:
- I notice . . .
- I wonder . . .
- It reminds me of . . .
Here’s a sample response from a 4th-grader standing under a fig tree:
- I notice that the fig leaves are different colors–some are green and others yellow.
- I wonder why one side f the leaf is sticky.
- It reminds me of a hand because of it’s shape.
The Next Generation Science Standards encourage children to think like a scientist, and that’s exactly what they’re doing in this activity.
- I notice: Scientists make observations.
- I wonder: Scientists ask questions–a lot of questions!
- It reminds me of: Scientists make connections.
Can’t get outside. No problem!
- Bring a variety of natural objects into the classroom and let children choose what they would like to look at.
- Use one of Dawn Publications’ beautiful picture books.
*Finger, 1993
**David T. Sobel is an internationally-known researcher, practitioner, and promoter of developmentally appropriate environmental education for children. He’s an advocate of Place-Based Education.
