Lesson Planning

With lots of thoughts from STEAM in the Park swirling in my mind about field trip upon field trip, I'm trying to get some actual lesson plans outlined. Here are my current thoughts (with a Twitter thread posted below), and I'll flesh out how they fit into instruction in the coming days.

1. Pollinator Lawns and Gardens

2. Soil Compaction Effects on Plants (Cherry Blossoms)

3. Water Quality/Stream Study (Tidal Basin, Constitution Gardens, C&O Canal)

4. Forensics of Lincoln and Garfield Assassinations

Some thoughts I am having after #STEAMinthePark @NationalMallNPS - Cherry blossoms. Ranger Jen mentioned soil compaction as a problem caused by the volume of people visiting and walking on the grass/soil around the trees. pic.twitter.com/yYGbJPdHFS

— Ms. Kraus (@MsKrausWheaton) July 1, 2022

Learning in My Own Backyard

I just spent a few days learning more about the National Mall (including Ford's Theater) and how I could use the various aspects of that particular National Park Service site in my classroom. This was all part of Expeditions in Education and their STEAM in the Park program; I applied to be a participant back in January, and learned I was accepted to the National Mall program in March.

I never noticed this small stone monument in the shadow of the Washington Monument before.

I'll post more later, but I had a lot of fun and learned a lot more about sites I already thought I knew about. I also got to go up the Washington Monument for the first time ever, plus got to visit the Department of the Interior building. I also got to network with a great group of teachers and rangers, as well as program directors with the National Park Foundation and the Department of the Interior. 

There are a lot of Native American inspired motifs in the Interior Department building

I came home with a ton of ideas, and I hope that at least some of them can come to fruition in this coming school year. 

Pollinator gardens and lawns are just one of the ideas I came home thinking about