At-home education resources from Learning for a Sustainable Future
Welcome to Week 10!
Welcome to June! The first week of June is Canadian Environment Week, so for this edition of Learning Inside Out, we're focusing on some of our native species and natural splendor.

We hope you're safely able to step outside this week and enjoy the warmer weather—many birds, bugs and animals will be too!
About Learning Inside Out

Below you will find a selection of activities, broken down by various grade levels. These guides will be released weekly and archived on our Learning Inside Out page , so you can always access the full catalogue.

All activities have been modified from resources on our R4R database , simplified and adapted for at-home learning as needed. The activity descriptions below should contain all the information and links that you need!

If you'd like to view the full original resource on R4R, including curriculum connections for every province/territory, click the activity title.

We want this guide to work for you, so your feedback is invaluable to us.
Use the feedback button at the bottom of this guide, or email us at [email protected] .

Step Outside™ Nature Activities
Week 10: Canadian Environment Week
Canadian Environment Week was established in 1971 as a way of recognizing Canada's environmental achievements and to encourage Canadians to contribute to the conservation and protection of their environment. It is celebrated annually during the first week of June to coincide with World Environment Day.
Remember to respect the physical distancing practices in place in your area while exploring outdoor activities!
Grades K-2
Who says you can't learn math outside? This inventive activity uses outdoor play to develop spatial sense as kids compare and contrast the shapes of natural objects.


For an extra outdoor activity, try Dandelion: A Yellow Sign of Spring.
What do you think of the Shape of Things activity?
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Grades 3-5
In this lesson, students will become familiar with the different Earth Systems and the interconnections among them that make life on earth possible.

  1. Read the story.
  2. Complete the chart and discussion questions.
  3. Head outside and observe the ways Earth's systems interact. Record the interactions on the Make and Record Observations sheet (you can use multiple copies of the sheet). Then summarize your observations using We're All Connected chart.
What do you think of the All About Earth activity?
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Learn more about these acrobatic birds from from our Early June Step Outside guide :

Chimney Swifts, often described as “cigars with wings”, can also be seen performing courtship displays. "V-ing," most pronounced after pair formation, involves two swifts flying together. The rear bird snaps its wings upwards to form a "V," the leader joins, and the pair gracefully glides downward. As their name implies, Chimney Swifts nest in chimneys or the walls of abandoned buildings. Historically and currently where suitable habitat still exists, they nest(ed) in large hollow trees. Logging removed most natural sites, and Chimney Swifts adapted to ‘human’ chimneys. Contrary to common belief, Chimney Swifts do not nest in colonies. Unmated birds, however, commonly roost together in large flocks, and sometimes in a chimney with a single nested pair. Like many other aerial insectivores in North America, Chimney Swifts are experiencing strong population declines, and are listed by COSEWIC as threatened in Canada, Ontario (scroll down), Manitoba, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, and protected in Quebec.

Activities:
What do you think of the Chimney Swifts Lesson activity?
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Honey bee operations are in sharp decline throughout North America and Europe. Many large beekeeping operators are reporting that up to 40 or 50 percent of their swarms have mysteriously disappeared. Let's explore the implications of this decline, the possible causes, and the reactions by farmers and governments.

Activities:
  1. Watch the video
  2. Complete the analysis and discussion
  3. Step outside and go on a pollinator hunt! Check out this list of Canadian pollinators and their preferred plants, and use this Pollinator Garden Scavenger Hunt on your search!
What do you think of the What's Happening to Honey Bees activity?
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Virtual connection is more important than ever—share your learning with us using #LearningInsideOut and don't forget to tag LSF!
Let us know how this helped your learning & teaching from home experience and what you'd like to see more of by filling out our brief feedback form!
Please share widely with any parents or teachers in your life!
Learning for a Sustainable Future (LSF) is a Canadian charity with over 25 years of experience working within the education system. Our Resources for Rethinking (R4R) database is an award-winning collection of resources that are peer-reviewed by certified teachers and connected to curriculum in all provinces and territories. R4R is recommended on many Ministry of Education websites.
Learning for a Sustainable Future
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