Field Study Fun

A field study plot is an area set aside for making observations over time. By observing a particular plot of ground scientists can learn about how the plants in the plot grow, what animals use the plants that grow there and other valuable information about the area. In a small field study plot the most common animals you will observe will be invertebrates (animals without backbones) such as insects, spiders, slugs etc.

Choose a plot or several plots in your schoolyard or outdoor classroom. You can rope off your plot(s) if you choose. Explain to the children that they are going to look closely and carefully at a plot of ground over the next few months. Take them to the field study plot. Have them make observations about what they see. Record their observations. Encourage them to look for animals, small plants etc at the ground level. Encourage them to use their senses. What do they see? What do they hear? What do they smell? Is there anything that the children are hoping to learn about the plot of ground over the next few months?

Take the children to the study plot on a regular basis and record their observations. Try taking pictures every week and making a poster board showing how the plot has changed. How has the plot changed? What animals do you see? Have plants in the study plot grow or changed? How are the animals using the plants in the study plot? What have you learned from your study plot? What would you like to find out next time?

Make field journals for children to draw or make observations at your study plot. You can use spiral bound notebooks and create covers for them or you can make your own journals with paper. One way to make journals is: cut 8x11 sheets of paper in half, make a stack of paper as thick as you would like them, hole-punch two holes at the top, thread a rubber band through and then around a small stick that is the width of your paper. The stick will be at the top and front of your journal and hold it together. You can have the children collect the sticks themselves on a walk around the schoolyard or your local park. Allow children to decorate the front of their journals. Try bringing in leaves or other natural items for them to glue to the front.

For this and other fun activities use Growing Up WILD’s “Field Study Fun”.

Book List

Arnosky, J. 1997. Bug Hunter. Random House Children's Books.

Arnosky, J. 1979. Crinkleroot's Book of Animal Tracks and Wildlife Signs. Penguin Group (USA).

Arnosky, J. 1997. Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing Animal Habitats. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.

Arnosky, J. 2002. Field Trips: Bug Hunting, Animal Tracking, Bird-watching, Shore Walking. HarperCollins Publishers.

Arnosky, J. 1999. Crinkleroot's Nature Almanac. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.

Arnosky, J. 1995. I See Animals Hiding. Scholastic.

Barraclough, S. 2007. Respecting Our World. Black Rabbit Books.

Baylor, B. and P. Parnall. 1997. The Other Way to Listen. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.

Burnie, D. 2005. Plant. DK Publishing, Inc.

Burns, D.L. and J.F. McGee. 1996.  Berries, Nuts,and Seeds (Take-Along Guide). T&N Children's Publishing.

Burns, D. and L. Garrow. 1998. Leaves, Trees and Bark (Take-Along Guide). NorthWord Books for Young Readers.

Capogna, V.V. 1999. Did You Ever Wonder about Things You Find in Your Backyard? Marshall Cavendish Inc.

Charman, A. 2003. I Wonder Why Trees Have Leaves and Other Questions about Plants. Houghton Mifflin Company.

Dixon, M. 1998. Plants around Us. Smart Apple Media.

Fowler, A. 2001. From Seed to Plant. Scholastic Library Publishing.

Fredericks, A.D. 2001. Under One Rock: Bugs, Slugs and Other Ughs. Dawn Publications.

Fredericks, A.D.  2006. On One Flower: Butterflies, Ticks and a Few More Icks. Dawn Publications.

Giogas, V. 2007. In My Backyard. Sylvan Dell Publishing.

Hoban, T. 1984. Is It Rough? Is It Smooth? Is It Shiny? HarperCollins Publishers.

Kalman, B. 1993. The Colors of Nature. Crabtree Publishing Company.

Morrison, G. 2004. Nature in the Neighborhood. Walter Lorraine Books/Houghton Mifflin Books.

Pallotta, J. and R. Masiello. 1990. The Icky Bug Alphabet. Charlesbridge Publishing, Inc.

Pascoe, E. and D. Kuhn. 2003. The Ecosystem of a Fallen Tree. Rosen Publishing Group.

Pascoe, E. and D. Kuhn. 2003. Ecosystem of an Apple Tree. Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.

Pascoe, E. and D. Kuhn. 2003. The Ecosystem of a Grassy Field. Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.

Pfeffer, W. 1997. A Log’s Life. Simon Schuster Children’s Publishing.

Rau, D.M. 2006. Star in My Orange: Looking for Nature's Shapes. Lerner Publishing Group.

Richardson, A.D. 2001. Soil. Capstone Press.

Rotner, S. 1992. Nature Spy. Atheneum.

Schaefer, L.M. 2001. What is an Insect?. Coughlan Publishing.

Stockdale, S. 1999. Nature’s Paintbrush: The Patterns and Colors Around You. Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing.

Wallace, N.E. 2006. Look! Look! Look! Marshall Cavendish Children's Books.

Wilsdon, C. 1998. Insects (Audubon Society First Field Guide Series). Scholastic, Inc.

Wood, A. J. 2003. Beetles and Bugs: A Nature Trail Book. Silver Dolphin Books.

Yolen, J. and J. Stemple. Color Me a Rhyme: Nature Poems for Young People. Boyds Mills Press.