Project WILD

Our last two classes, with the focus on project wild, were my favorite of the whole semester. I learned so much and got so many GREAT ideas for the classroom. I love the project wild curriculum and can't wait to implement it in my future classroom! We started out our first class with the twenty questions game. I really liked this idea. I think it would be a great get to know you activity that is more creative and helps get the whole class involved.

After the twenty questions game we did an activity where we went looking for signs of wildlife in Jordan Hall. We were told to take pictures and report back to class. It was crazy to actually look for signs of nature and find all of the bugs and living things that I pass by every day. I know kids would love this activity and it would really push them to think about their surroundings more. We also talked about how we could integrate the lesson with different subjects. You could have them do a creative writing assignment, graph the bugs that they found, make observational sketches, or a map of where you found the signs of living things.

The next part of the class was my favorite and I had a blast! We played the thicket game. In this game there was one person who was the fox and the rest of us were bunnies. The object was to use whatever you could in the classroom to hide from the fox so they could not identify you, but the catch was you had to be able to see the fox. It was hilarious to see our class full of umbrellas and student made forts. I would absolutely use this in my classroom someday! Students would remember it and understand hiding from prey easily.

We also played Muskox Muanuvers where students were assigned to be either a wolf, bull, cow, or baby. Each had different rules and different goals. I thought this would be such a great game to play outside with the kids. It involves strategy and shows children how animals survive in the wild.

I also learned a lot of great things in our last class. We started out with the deer activity where students were either habitat or a deer. We lined up on opposite ends of the room and the deer had to find their corresponding habitat to survive. During the game wolves and humans were added to create prey. I really loved the lesson that this taught and thought it would be great for kids to graph the data and really study what happens in nature with natural predators and when there are too many deer or other factors.

We spent the rest of the class discussing project wild and different resources that we could use in our classrooms. I really liked the idea of a toad hotel, using half of a pot and leaving it in the ground for toads to find. I remember playing with toads as a kid and loved it! I also like the sprout your hands/socks idea. Having plants grow in the classroom that students have had part in always adds to a level of curiosity and extended learning.

I learned so much from project wild and I am so glad I got to participate. Thanks so much Dr. Pangan for an awesome semseter!!