Publications

A guide to planning successful field studies

Description

This guide has been written to help educators, in all subject areas, plan and implement successful field studies. Although it has been written primarily for teachers new to the area of field... More ≫

Description

This guide has been written to help educators, in all subject areas, plan and implement successful field studies. Although it has been written primarily for teachers new to the area of field studies, experienced teachers will also find areas of interest and assistance. For the purposes of this guide, field studies have been defined as curriculum-related studies conducted anywhere outside the classroom. This includes field studies carried out in the school yard, in a nearby city park, or in the wilderness of Kananaskis Country. The guide is not a cookbook of precise recipes; instead, it offers guidance and suggestions to help in the planning of an effective, enjoyable, and educational field study. Change, compromise, and adaptation are necessities of the field study planning process. These necessities, however, along with your willingness to give this opportunity to your students, can lead to some of the most rewarding and memorable educational experiences for both you and your...

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Living and loving the life of a beaver

Description

The program, Living and Loving the Life of a Beaver, is a story and activity guide about a beaver community; a community which is explored through the adventures of two children named Jennifer and... More ≫

Description

The program, Living and Loving the Life of a Beaver, is a story and activity guide about a beaver community; a community which is explored through the adventures of two children named Jennifer and Tyler. The children's class go on a field study to visit a beaver pond. On the way, the two children get side-tracked and they meet a beaver named Jedediah. Jedediah shrinks them down in size and takes them back in time to a beaver community where they learn about the life of a beaver. Two introductory activities provide a “warm-up” for the story. In addition, each chapter of the story is followed by one or more activities which reinforce the concepts learned in the story.

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Our world : a special place

Description

The program Our World - A Special Place has been designed to allow students to use their senses in an exploration of the natural environment. In the classroom, students discover how useful their... More ≫

Description

The program Our World - A Special Place has been designed to allow students to use their senses in an exploration of the natural environment. In the classroom, students discover how useful their five senses are by listening to a story about the senses. Students then focus on a special place of their own and use their sensory recollection of the place to describe it either verbally or by drawing a picture. The in-class exploration is followed by a field study of Planet "E", where the students use their senses and observation skills to explore an outdoor setting. As observation skills are sharpened, the participants have an opportunity to gain a greater awareness of how interesting the world is.

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Friends of the forest

Description

The program, Friends of the Forest, is a story and activity guide about a forest community, a community which is explored through the adventures of two boys named Derek and Ben. The story begins... More ≫

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The program, Friends of the Forest, is a story and activity guide about a forest community, a community which is explored through the adventures of two boys named Derek and Ben. The story begins with the discovery of an old photograph of Derek’s grandfather taken when he was a lumberjack. From this, the boys decide that they would like to build a fort under a giant tree like the one in the photograph. After much searching, they find a large tree and build their fort underneath it so they won’t injure the tree itself. Over the course of a year the boys visit the tree and fort frequently. During each visit they meet many of the occupants of the forest community and find out about their lives and their connections with other members of the forest community. Each chapter of the story has page-sized illustrations that can be shown to the class, and each chapter is followed by one or more activities which reinforce the concepts explored in the story.

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World of wolves

Description

World of Wolves is a teacher’s activity guide for the Wolf Edukit, developed to assist educators in introducing students from grades seven through ten to wolves and wolf ecology. Although the... More ≫

Description

World of Wolves is a teacher’s activity guide for the Wolf Edukit, developed to assist educators in introducing students from grades seven through ten to wolves and wolf ecology. Although the program has been developed for these grades, it can be modified for use in other grades. A separate program called Wolves and Me has been developed for students in grades three to six. This student-directed program provides the opportunity for students to: • examine their own attitudes and opinions about wolves • identify the issues involving wolves • study wolf biology, behaviour, and ecology • investigate at least one of these issues • present their research findings in one of four formats • complete an action plan and act upon it.

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Focus on environmental emergencies

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This paper answers the following questions: What happens in an actual emergency? What are some of the common dangerous materials spilled In Alberta? How are environmental emergencies handled In... More ≫

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This paper answers the following questions: What happens in an actual emergency? What are some of the common dangerous materials spilled In Alberta? How are environmental emergencies handled In Alberta? How are spills cleaned up? What to do if you spot a potential problem.

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Focus on environment

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This article, part of Alberta Environment's "Focus on..." series, provides a brief introduction to the concept of "the environment" and the impact that humans can have on the enviroment around them.

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Focus on water quality

Description

This paper describes the basic physical, chemical and biological characteristics of water quality, human health concerns, how water quality can be changed, and provides actions that Albertans can... More ≫

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This paper describes the basic physical, chemical and biological characteristics of water quality, human health concerns, how water quality can be changed, and provides actions that Albertans can take to protect water quality.

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