Presenters: Joe Walewski, Director of Naturalist Training & Sue Mohn, Naturalist and Elementary Educator

Primary Audience: K-12 Educators

We know this year proves to be another bumpy ride, so jump on board and create your own adventure! We welcome everyone to embark on our Teach Outdoors! MN weekly webinar series starting Wednesday, September 8th from 4-5pm

We want to check in with you and see how it is going. How might we best support your efforts to take your students outside and connect your curriculum with the natural world around you? Bring your requests for support in teaching outdoors, and any topics you'd like to learn more about through future workshops.

We’ll be highlighting ways to set up your outdoor classroom along with activities to leverage learning in all content areas.

As an extra bonus for attending LIVE, Jeffers Foundation will send you a hard copy of their new publication, Good Sense, an outdoor educator’s guide to sensory activities!

Resources:

• Presentation Slideshow

• Jamboard

• Digital copy of the Good Sense Book (Jeffers Foundation)

• Book Recommendation: 101 Improv Games for Children and Adults

• Book Recommendation: The Second City Guide to Improv in the Classroom: Using Improvisation to Teach Skills and Boost Learning

Improv Games:

1. Point at a thing and call it what it is. The partner says, "yes that's a (whatever it is)". Then switch. This is simple and emphasizes looking around us to see all the diversity in our world no matter where we are.

2. Point at a thing and call it what a different thing in your space is. Example, I might point at a rock and say it's a tree. My partner would then say "yes, that's a tree" even though it is clearly a rock. Then my partner needs to locate a tree and point at it and call it what something else in our space is. Example, point at a tree - the thing last mentioned - and say, "this is a cloud". My partner would then say, "yes that's a cloud", while pointing at the tree. This game requires that we pay attention to other things in our space while also paying attention to the last thing mentioned. It's also a step into creativity.

3. Point at a thing and call it what you can imagine. Example, while pointing at a rock, I might say, "this is a sleeping dragon". My partner would then say, "yes, that's a dragon" while acting in an appropriate way they would around a sleeping dragon. That might be to pet the rock, to tiptoe away, to scream and run,... whatever. Pure creativity!

Presenters: Sue Mohn, Naturalist and Elementary Educator & Molly Stoddard, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Prairie Wetlands Learning Center

Primary Audience: Nonformal Educators

Teach Outdoors! MN is hosting a series of workshops on the new Science Standards to give environmental educators the information and support they need to successfully integrate the new standards into their programs.

This session will focus on diving deeper into the new science standards and exploring examples of them being implemented into lessons.

Presenters: Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory

Janelle Long, Executive Director and Margie Menzies, Education Program Director

Primary Audience: PreK-12 Educators

Bird is the Word with Hawk Ridge! One of nature’s most remarkable spectacles can be witnessed each fall and spring with Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory. Migrating birds, originating from summer breeding areas as far north as the Arctic and with wintering destinations as far south as points in South America, concentrate in impressive numbers at the western tip of Lake Superior during the fall and spring. Learning about birds is a great way to connect to the natural world. Hawk Ridge has showcased this for over 50 years through a variety of education programs offered for students of every age! Join Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory Executive Director, Janelle Long, and Education Director, Margie Menzies, to learn about the history, bird conservation research, education programs, and inspiring stories of the beauty and birds of Hawk Ridge.

Brief Bios of Speakers:

Janelle Long has served as the Executive Director at Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory since 2007. She received her M.Ed. in Environmental Education at the University of Minnesota Duluth and a B.S. in Wildlife Management and Biology at the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point. She enjoys bridging the bird conservation research, education, and stewardship components through her career with Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory. Janelle resides in Duluth, MN with her husband and 3 children.

Margie joined the Hawk Ridge staff as a Naturalist in 2011 and currently is the Education Program Director for Hawk Ridge. Providing naturalist programming for the general public furnishes many colorful and meaningful experiences every day on the job. She loves birds, learning, and sharing the natural world with people of all ages. She has a BA in Biology from Bethel University, and a MA in Education from University of St. Thomas. In addition to her Hawk Ridge adventures she also is the Naturalist at Sugarloaf Cove Nature Center up the North Shore in Schroeder, MN during the summer, and is an adjunct member of the University of Minnesota, Duluth Education Department working primarily with student teacher supervision.

Featured School: Prairie Science Class: Partnership between Prairie Wetlands Learning Center & Fergus Falls Public Schools

Educators: Tia Thysell, Mona Davis, Molly Stoddard

Primary Audience: PreK-12 Educators

RESOURCES:

PowerPoint Presentation