Let Nature Be Your Teacher: Integrating Nature-Based Learning in the Elementary Classroom advocates for a transformative shift in elementary education through incorporating nature-based learning into the curriculum. In an era dominated by indoor education and heightened screen time, Louise Ammentorp and Helen M. Corveleyn respond to the urgent need to reconnect children with nature. This book aims to gray the boundary between indoor and outdoor learning, bringing students outdoors as well as bringing nature inside.
Supported by a growing body of research in a flourishing movement for nature-based learning, this book highlights ways to incorporate authentic experiences across content areas. Each chapter offers vetted lesson and activity ideas that can be adapted to any classroom. Let Nature Be Your Teacher aims to inspire educators, parents, and administrators and equip them with the tools and knowledge to prioritize nature-based learning, fostering a generation that values and protects our natural world.
Louise Ammentorp is a professor in the elementary and early childhood education department at The College of New Jersey. Her research interests focus on the integration of nature and the arts in the curriculum, outdoor education, and social-emotional learning (SEL). She finds joy in the beauty of the outdoors and in creating art with natural materials.
Helen M. Coreveleyn is a lifelong environmentalist whose passion for teaching STEM and outdoor education fuels her hope for a brighter future on this planet. Helen is a twenty-four-year veteran of the elementary and middle school science classroom with a deep concentration in conservation biology.
Only comprehensive resource that connects the theory, research and practice of nature-based teaching and learning for diverse, resource-poor urban, suburban, and rural elementary school settings—nature-based learning made possible for all teachers and children.
Practical curriculum and assessment tools and strategies for future and current teachers to develop age-appropriate instructional strategies for nature-based learning, based on theory, research, and field-tested practices.
Easily usable ideas, activities, units, lessons, and assessments for nature-based teaching and learning, with integrated connections to Next Generation Science Standards, social-emotional learning, stages of cognitive development, literacy, art, and citizenship.
Let Nature Be Your Teacher: Integrating Nature-Based Learning in the Elementary Classroom is a transformative guide for educators, offering innovative strategies to bring the classroom outdoors and nature into the curriculum. This book is a journey towards nurturing young minds’ connection with our planet and fostering environmental stewardship. — Courtney Baxter, The Nature Conservancy
