Class on a Saturday?!?!… Absolutely! On Jan. 23rd, (yes, a Saturday) an enthusiastic group of educators met in the computer lab at Reed High School and explored Project Learning Tree (PLT) lessons and how to creatively weave content literacy strategies into their days. Using science and the environment as the overarching theme through which to teach literacy, was the brainchild of Sierra Nevada Journey’s guest facilitator, Desiree Gray. Even though it was a Saturday, the workshop proved that there is no better time to network with other educators, gather new resources, laugh, and have fun while you continue to search for amazing lessons to get your students excited about learning!
Desiree is a regional literacy trainer with the Regional Professional Development program and she crafted an entertaining and engaging day exploring eleven different lessons from the PLT PreK-8 Environmental Education Activity Guide. One highlight was the Habitat Pen Pals lesson where students learn about the diversity of habitats around the world, and then write letters from the perspective or organisms living in those habitats. Another favorite was The Forest of S.T. Shrew, where students read a story about taking a shrew’s perspective of life in the woods. By learning this different perspective students can gain an appreciation for the variety of habitats within a forest. The workshop provided wonderful opportunities to practice literacy improvement strategies using activities such as Say Something and Somebody Wanted. Say Something consists of students turning to a partner and saying something related to a reading – they can make a prediction, make a connection, offer an opinion, or ask a question. Somebody Wanted requires students to consider a reading by identifying a character, motivation, conflict and resolution.
Altogether it was a full day; in addition to experimenting with such a wide variety of PLT lessons workshop attendees also had an opportunity to explore the technology connections associated with the PLT lessons. This included looking through the All About Nature website (CLICK HERE to visit!) and PLT’s Earth To Sky resource. Typical of Sierra Nevada Journeys’ workshops, take-away resources were quite prevalent – websites, hand-outs, the PLT PreK-8 Environmental Education Activity Guide, the Northern Nevada Writing Project Reading Across the Content Area Guide, and the Northern Nevada Writing Project Compare and Contrast Guide. Everyone left with arms and brains full of winning resources and fresh strategies to take back to their classrooms!
Sierra Nevada Journeys would like to give a big “thanks” to Desiree for a great day of learning!
