science education resource

Nature Scavenger Hunt

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School subscriptions can access more than 175 downloadable unit bundles in our store for free (a value of $1,500).

District subscriptions provide huge group discounts for their schools. Email for a quote: sheri@exploringnature.org.

A nature scavenger hunt helps young students learn to follow directions, focus on and complete tasks and work together to accomplish goals. The illustrated collection sheet allows them to identify their collection goals without reading skills. Doing this activity outside on the schoolyard allows students to experience some outdoor learning.

Applying teaching pedagogy, this simple activity addresses following directions and aural reasoning (they visualize a situation, integrate appropriate details, and synthesize what has been described) in preschool to kindergarten aged children.

Materials:
• printed scavenger hunt page for each child (or pair, if they are working in pairs)
• paper cup for each child to collect items
• glue for back in the classroom to secure items to collection guide

Directions:
1) Copy scavenger hunt page (laminate if you have the resources).
2) Talk to your students about the living (plants, animals, fungi) and nonliving (air, water, rocks) things they see outside every day.
3) Then, using a paper cup and their nature scavenger hunt collection guide, ask them to collect one of each of these things.
4) Back in the classroom, direct them to glue their samples into the matching circle. Talk about which are living and which are not.

Nature Scavenger Hunt

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School subscriptions can access more than 175 downloadable unit bundles in our store for free (a value of $1,500).

District subscriptions provide huge group discounts for their schools. Email for a quote: sheri@exploringnature.org.

Citing Research References

When you research information you must cite the reference. Citing for websites is different from citing from books, magazines and periodicals. The style of citing shown here is from the MLA Style Citations (Modern Language Association).

When citing a WEBSITE the general format is as follows.
Author Last Name, First Name(s). "Title: Subtitle of Part of Web Page, if appropriate." Title: Subtitle: Section of Page if appropriate. Sponsoring/Publishing Agency, If Given. Additional significant descriptive information. Date of Electronic Publication or other Date, such as Last Updated. Day Month Year of access < URL >.

Here is an example of citing this page:

Amsel, Sheri. "Nature Scavenger Hunt" Exploring Nature Educational Resource ©2005-2024. March 25, 2024
< http://www.exploringnature.org/db/view/Nature-Scavenger-Hunt >

Exploringnature.org has more than 2,000 illustrated animals. Read about them, color them, label them, learn to draw them.