"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."
John Muir
I grew up, my father's daughter. Even now, I can remember the feeling of riding on the back of my dad's three-wheeler, hurtling down the forest dirt trails. My arms were tightly wrapped around his waist with his flannel shirt scratching my face. I can remember the woodsy wet smell of him. He'd point out all the secret places...where a doe had bed with her fawn...the scruff marks a buck left on a tree trunk, scraping the velvet off of his antlers...or the tracks left by bears as they crossed the trail to the blueberry bushes in the undergrowth. My dad taught me how to observe. As a child, and later truculent teenager, I didn't always appreciate the lessons. As a teacher, I can't help but recognize the value of his wilderness teachings.
Teaching students to observe their worlds is one of the most important skills we can help our students develop. Brain research tells us that new synapses are formed when learners make connections to previous learning. Observing is the first step in making new connections, because before we can make a connection, we must be aware of what it is we KNOW. There are many, many ways we teach our students to observe their worlds.
Flashback to my fourth grade classroom for a moment: It is the day we begin reading The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. This book is special because Selznick's art takes the place of text, and the first 20 or more pages are only illustration. I have copies of these pages posted in sequential order around my classroom. Students first take a gallery walk, talking about the pictures with a "walkie-talkie" partner. Then with clipboard, pencil, and Visual Literacy Organizer in hand, students choose one illustration on which to focus their attention. Using the organizer I created, students record their thinking about the illustration. Finally, we complete a whole-class gallery walk, moving in sequence from picture to picture, sharing our thoughts about the story each illustration is telling.
This same technique has worked with old photographs in social studies! I have pulled old Civil War and Ellis Island photos off of the internet for my students to study for various social studies units. Each time I do this, I am never disappointed in my students' responses. Give it a try yourself! It can work with the simplest of illustrations like those in an Eric Carle or Lois Ehlert picture book or a photograph of a draft card for middle school social studies.
You can find my Visual Literacy Organizer at my TPT store below for free! Give it a try. It addresses several CCSS!
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