Picture Books 10 for 10 (2020) Top Ten Picture Books to Support Outdoor Learning

I’m excited to be, once again, participating in this summer’s 10 for 10 Picture Book celebration! #pb10for10   This annual celebration of picture books is hosted by Cathy from Reflect and Refine: Building a Learning Community and Mandy from Enjoy and Embrace Learning.  Hard to believe this is my eighth year of participating in this event! (you can read my 2019 here,  2018 here,  2017 post here,  2016 post here,  2015 post here, 2014 post here and 2013 here. )  Each year on August 10th, the blogging community chooses 10 picture books on a range of themes – from diversity, to community building, to writing, to conservation.  It is an amazing opportunity to explore new picture books related to a wide range of themes.  (It can also be a little hard on your bank account, if you are anything like me!)

 2020…. A year for the record books.  As we prepare and venture into the unknown of classrooms during Covid,  many are pressing the reset button and looking for new ways to support their students learning while trying to keep everyone safe.  While there is no doubt school start up will be challenging and look very different from any other year, it may also open up some exciting opportunities for exploring new ways to teach.  Outdoor learning is one of these new opportunities.  Outdoor learning is more than just taking students outside to play at the end of the day.  It is an outdoor learning space that provides an opportunity to integrate nature into your teaching and promotes play, creativity, and problem-solving skills.

Traditionally, I have always organized my #pb10for10 around Reading Power – two books for each strategy (connect, question, visualize, infer, transform).  But this year, I am breaking with tradition and focusing on a theme more fitting for the times – 10 books that celebrate nature and may inspire outdoor learning and exploring.

(Note – I found so many wonderful books for this theme, I will continue with a second post later this week!)

1.Run Wild – David Covell

This book makes me want to take off my shoes and run around outside and explore!  A wonderful reminder that there are so many adventures to be found when you put down your screen.  Lovely rhythmic text and detailed illustrations!

2.The Not So Great Outdoors – Madeline Kloepper

The little girl in this story hates nature.  She wants her WiFi and her electricity, and she doesn’t see what the big point of this “outdoor stuff” is.  Camping with her family is not exactly her idea of fun.  But she soon discovers that the (not-so) great outdoors can be just as exciting as screens and skyscrapers.  Love this playful picture book celebrating the pleasures of unplugging and embracing nature.

 3. Daniel Finds a Poem – Micha Archer

What is poetry? Is it glistening morning dew?  Crisp leaves crunching?  A cool pond, sun-warmed sand, or moonlight on the grass?  Maybe poetry is all of these things – you just have to take the time to really look and listen.  I use this book when launching my poetry unit but it’s the PERFECT book to inspire exploring and writing.

4. The Listening Walk – Paul Showers

What can you hear when you’re out for a walk? The tap of your shoes, the whirr of the sprinklers, the chug of the bus? This classic picture book encourages you to slow down and listen to the noises all around you.  I have always loved using this book for visualizing and teaching onomatopoeia but would be an great inspiration for taking a “listening walk” with your students.

5. Autumn Math Walk – Deanna Pecaski McLennan

Outdoor learning means finding ways to integrate nature into all areas of your curriculum.  This is a wonderful series that can spark mathematical conversations with children, and be used as a guide for discovering the rich math that exists in nature.   See also Winter Math Walk, Beach Math Walk and Playground Math.

6. Everybody Needs a Rock – Byrd Baylor

This is one of my all-time favorite books to share with students.  Byrd Baylor invites readers to find their “perfect rock” and gives 10 “rock rules” to follow while searching.  So many lessons and activities stem from this book –  a perfect introduction to rocks and minerals unit in science; students can find their own rock to learn about; learning a First Nations ways of knowing perspective; students to find a special rock and write a description and about their journey to find it.  LOVE!   (Check out my OLLI – Online Learning Lesson Idea on this book HERE)

7. You’re Missing It!  – Brady Smith

Sometimes, it’s parents who need reminding to turn off their phones and enjoy the sights and sounds around them.  Perfect reminder to practice mindfulness, being present and enjoying the moment.  A great to companion (text-to-text) to Sidewalk Flowers.  

8. Backyard Fairies – Phoebe Wahl

Where are those fairies?  I am certain they are here – there are clues everywhere – but I just can’t see them!   Follow a little girl as she sets out into the woods in her backyard searching for the backyard fairies.  Although readers can see them, as hard as she looks, the fairies are always just out of view for the narrator.  Delightful illustrations.  I would use this book to promote Imagination Pocket writing.  Children could also go on a fairy walk outside or draw their own fairy forest.

9.  Finding Wild – Megan Wagner Llyod

Breathtaking illustrations and enchanting language, this book takes readers on a sensory journey though nature.  Would be a great anchor book for visualizing and sensory details.  Would also be inspiring for kids to find their wild!

 10. The Hike – Alison Farrell

Share the joy and excitement of three friends as they head out to enjoy the great outdoors together.  I love the beautiful, lyrical storytelling and the details of nature that fill every corner of this book.  Besides the overall message of encouragement to get out and enjoy the world outside, I would definitely use this for launching scientific notebooks and labelled diagrams.

While  not  a picture  book,  this  looks  like  an  excellent  resource  (but  I have  not  read it,  myself).  

Moving the Classroom Outdoors:  Schoolyard-Enhanced Learning in Action – Herbert W. Broda

A great resource of new ideas and advanced ways to meaningfully use the space on  school grounds to support student learning.  Includes research and practical examples from schools across North America. Great photos!

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you found a book to caught your eye!

(Note – I found so many books for this theme, I will continue with a second post later this week!)

 

 

 

 

Adrienne’s OLLI (Online Learning Lesson Idea) #4 – Everybody Needs a Rock

Hello everyone!  Hope you all had a restful weekend and were able to celebrate all the great moms out there!   I know some districts and provinces are in the process of gradually returning to modified versions of “in person teaching” but many are still trying to determine what that looks like.  No matter what your teaching situation is at the moment, I am sending you positive thoughts and energy!

Many of you have been using my OLLI – “Online Learning Lesson Ideas“.  (You can see my first OLLI HERE and second HERE.  Last week, I shared a “How To” lesson connected to Mother’s Day.  You can see that lesson HERE.

This week, I’m excited to share “Everybody Needs A Rock” by Byrd Baylor,  one of my favorite books, (yes, I say that a lot!) with your students.  This book and lesson invites students on a wonderful “outdoor” activity, as well as an act of community kindness!

I love rocks.  I love their feel, their color pallet, their smell, their spirit.   Rocks are magical – each has its own history; its own journey; its own story.    Like snowflakes, no two rocks are the same.  But unlike snowflakes, rocks can be held, saved, and collected.  I collect them wherever I am at a beach.  I have pebbles from Spanish Banks, Haida Gwaii, Horby Island,  Mayne Island, the Sunshine Coast, Quadra Island, Saltspring Island, Hernando Island, and many other West Coast beaches.

Some people have certain rocks that they are always on the lookout for.  My mum loved striped pebbles.  She called them “Licorice All-Stones”.

Others are on the lookout for speckled pebbles.  Size and shape matter less to collectors than those splattered speckles.

My childhood friend’s mother collected “wish rocks” – grey rocks with a single white line circling the center.  She said they were good luck.  The thicker the white stripe, the better chances of your wish coming true.

Another friend of mine loves searching for heart-shaped rocks.  These are harder to find, but when you find one, it is like discovering a hidden treasure.

Me – I am a collector of smooth, shiny, flat stones that fit perfectly in the palm of my hand.  There is something comforting about these rocks to me.  Something sacred.

Because of my love of rocks, this week’s anchor book Everybody Needs a Rock by Byrd Baylor is special to me. (Can you say connections?) It was first published in 1974, and while the black and white drawings may not grab you initially, I guarantee the engaging, fresh voice of the narrator certainly will.   The story outlines ten simple, but important rules to finding the perfect rock and inspires the reader to follow the rules and go out to find their own special rock.

Everybody Needs A Rock Rules:

1. 1. 1.  Find your rock anywhere.

      2. Shhhhhh… choose a rock quietly.

      3. Look at your rock eye to eye.

      4. Don’t choose a rock that’s too big.

      5. Don’t choose a rock that’s too small.

      6. Choose a rock that fits into your hand.

      7. Look for the perfect color.

      8. Choose a rock that has an interesting shape.

      9. Sniff your rock. (they all smell different!)

      10. Don’t ask for help.  You can do this all by yourself.

The other thing I like about this book is that, while it can certainly be read literally about the joys of hunting for rocks, following ten tips, and finding one that you want to save, there is also the underlying idea that everyone needs something solid to hold onto during challenging times. A rather timely book, wouldn’t you say?    It is also a gentle reminder to time to notice and connect to nature and to the things that really matter.

Watch the Youtube Read Aloud here:

After the students watch and listen to the story, invite your students to use these rules to go rock hunting this week.  They can do this in their yard, at a local park, or perhaps on an outing with their parents.  Encourage them to follow the 10 rules to find their special rock (they can download the rules so they don’t forget!)

After they find their perfect rock, they can draw and color a detailed picture and write about their rock finding experience – where they found it, why they picked it, etc.

Here is the Ten Rules Template (students can use this when searching for their rocks and also add their own rule!)

Here is the Primary Template

Here is the Intermediate Template

Lesson Extension – The “Giving Back” Rock

(Thank you, Cheryl, for this wonderful idea!!)

During our morning runs since the city shut down in March, my friend Cheryl and I have noticed painted rocks with lovely messages placed under trees along the trails.  Each time we run, in fact, we notice more and more of these cheerful, encouraging rocks.

To extend this lesson, why not encourage students to find a second special rock to paint and leave somewhere in their neighborhood to brighten up someone’s day.  This “Giving Back” rock can be something the students paint at home, perhaps with their family.  They could drop off the rock on a neighbour’s porch or yard, or find a spot in a local park to leave it.  Younger students will likely need some help with the painting and planting of this special rock but I could see this being an activity the entire family could get involved in.  Invite your students to take photos of their sharing rock where they leave it in the neighbourhood.

Here is the “Giving Back Rock” template for Primary

Here is the “Giving Back Rock” template for Intermediate

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great week, everyone!  You are doing a great job!

Happy Rock Hunting!

Check out more writing lessons in my new book, Powerful Writing Structures 

See you soon for more OLLI posts!