WHAT YOU NEED
Drawing paper and materials
WHAT TO DO
When I look up, I see . . .
When I look down, I see . . .
When I look left, I see . . .
When I look right, I see . . .
Tell children that they are going to go outside and look in those directions and notice what they can see of the natural world.
Have children work with partners so that each child is responsible for two directions. One child describes what she or he sees as the other makes notes or sketches. Then the partners change roles.
Ask children to read their group of sentences as a little poem. Also try various combinations of lines to create a choral reading. For example, have four students read about what they saw when they looked up, then four read about what they saw when they looked down, and so forth.
To help children see how the things we see every day can seem extraordinary if we take the time to look at them and wonder, share poems written for children about natural phenomena, such as the sky, birds, or flowers. Encourage children to write poems with their own thoughts about nature.
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