Taking the Classroom Outdoors? Yes!
Integrating Social Studies, Science & Math


More Hiking: See the Woodlands Project Link | Fall Creek Hike on Google Maps

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  Each Fall and Spring, I took my 4th graders into the Great Outdoors for a day of hiking. This was an opportunity to integrate social studies, science and math. We traveled from Missouri to the other side of the Mississippi River to Illinois, and hiked in the wilds of Fall Creek Gorge. 

Besides having fun with science and math in nature, we carried maps and data sheets on clipboards, and recorded visual, sound, and touch observations, as well as measurements and sketches (no tasting!). This is an example of learning content in context, that is, the students were living the role of explorers and scientists. 

Historical imaginations were set free as students compared their own experiences with what it might have been like with Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery (1804-1806).


Rain or shine, we proceeded with the planned hiking adventure.


Various Photos of 4th Graders Learning in Nature


Fall Hike
Page 1 |Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4


Spring Hike
Page 1 |Page 2 | Page 3

Mika: "When I came to school Mr. Smith told everybody which group they were in. It was cool to have moms and dads with us. Then we drove to Fall Creek on the bus."

Hike Drawing and Soil Sample Science

Page 1

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