Nature Walk; Nature Talk w/ 2nd Grade

Last Monday, September 25, Main Street 2nd graders ventured into the great outdoors to view the wonderful changes going on in nature. Four classes took a nature walk to Abigail Reed's house where her mother, Rachel Reed, had set up a beautiful fall table full of buckeyes, antlers, and apple cider. All items relating to the fall theme. The goal in taking this walk was to see in full color the changes going on in the leaves and better understand why it was happening. Mrs. Reed's yard was full of many types of trees and many were just beginning to undergo the fall cycle of less chlorophyll (green pigment) being made and underlying pigments (reds, oranges, yellows, purples) showing through. Students were allowed to pick (5) leaves and some buckeyes and a few sweet gum seeds. Upon returning to school, students shared their finds and closely viewed the changes in the many different leaves. During the week following the nature walk, the 2nd grade classes continued with extension activities including: watching Science videos on both BrainPop Jr. and YouTube about fall changes and the science behind the colorful leaves, a science experiment using alcohol and coffee filters to pull the pigments out of crushed leaves,  exploring Fall vocabulary such as chlorophyll, photosynthesis, carbon dioxide and explaining the order of events when leaves do change color, and some classes wrote personal narratives (small moment stories) about the nature walk or used magnifying glasses to look closely at the leaves and talk about details, connecting it to how a good writer uses many details to make writing touch all the senses. Mrs. Reed continues to send us pictures of what is happening in her yard and we are considering a second nature walk to view the trees in full fall color soon.

                Angie Sims – Main Street 2nd Grade Teacher