Integrated Nature Study Lessons

       The integrated nature studies here for 4th-6th graders include journal writing prompts, art and craft assignments, educational youtube video (reviewed by teachers in advance), and reading materials collected together for independent, student research. 

       There are also materials included in many of the lessons for adapting the material for younger students in grades kindergarten through 3rd via our reader's requests. Homeschooled children with mixed ages may be included in the studies along with their brothers and sisters.

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The Animals & Plants Journal Lessons:

1. Study The Rabbit - The rabbit is a small rodent of the family Leporidæ - the same family to which the hare belongs.
2. Study The Caterpillar - The  eggs  of  butterflies  are  interesting  microscopic  objects,  as  they  are usually  covered  with  a  hard  shell,  and  are  of  various  shapes  and  colors. The  majority  of  insects  pass  through  a  regular  series  of  changes.
3. Study The Butterfly - The  butterfly  is  one  of  the '' Lepidoptera ''  or  scale-winged  insects.  Besides butterflies,  of  which  it  is  reckoned  that  there  are  10,000  different  kinds,  this order  includes  the  moths,  of  which  it  is  estimated  that  there  are  40,000  species.
4. Study The Spider' Web - Spiders  are  distinguished  from  all  other  animals  by  their  habit  of  spinning webs.
5. Study Wood - 
6. Study The Cabbage - The  cabbage  is  another  of  the  plants  cultivated  by people  for  eating and display.
7. Study The Bee: Lesson 1 - The  bee  is  a  rather  stoutly  built  insect,  belonging  to  the  Apiarian  family  of the  Aculeate  or  stinging  Hymenoptera.
8. Study The Bee: Lesson 2 - During  the  winter  and  the  spring  the  hive  consists  exclusively  of  the  perfect female,  the Queen  Bee,  and  of  a  number  of  imperfect  females  or  worker  bees.
9. Study The Mole - The  Common  Mole belongs  to  the  order  of  the  Insectivora,  an  order  of  animals  small  in  size,  and  m  stly  of  more  or  less  purely nocturnal  habits.
10. Study The Crab -
11. Study The Slug - The  air-breathing  molluscs  in  which  the  shell  is  internal  or entirely  absent  are  popularly  called  slugs.
12. Study The Pea-Pod - The  fruit  of  the  pea  is  a  simple  fruit,  that  is,  it  is  the  result  of  the  ripening of  a  single  pistil.
13. Study Leaves: Lesson 1 - Leaves  show  an  almost  infinite  variety  both  of  structure  and  of  shape. They  are  the  breathing  organs  of  the  plant,  and  by  their  aid  the  plant  makes organic  material  from  its inorganic  food. 
14. Study Leaves: Lesson 2 - With  regard  to  the  distribution  of  the  strands  which  traverse  the  green blades  we  distinguish  between  blades  with  a  single  main  strand  and  blades with  several.
15. Study Insects and Flowers - The  vast  majority  of  flowering  plants  are  arranged  by  botanists  into  two classes,  wind-fertilized, and insect-fertilized, that  is,  plants  whose pollen  is  brought  to  their  stigmas  by  the  wind,  and  plants  for which  insects  perform  this  duty.
16. Study How Seeds Grow - The  seed,  which  must  be  carefully  distinguished  from  the  fruit,  of  which  it forms  a  part,  is  the  fertilized  seed-bud  or  ovule.
17. Study Wood - In  dicotyledons,  or  exogenous  plants,  the  stem  consists  of  the  bark,  the cambium  layer,  the  wood,  and  the  pith.
18. Study Nuts -  A  nut  is  a  hard,  one-celled  and  single-seeded  indehiscent  fruit.  It  is usually  produced  from  an  ovary  of  two  or  more  cells,  with  one  or  more  ovules, in  each  of  which  all  but  the  single ovule  and  single  cell  have  disappeared.

Independent Study: Independent study lessons may be accomplished when the student is away from the classroom. These studies could involve a student's beloved pet or a likely nature study students may participate in when on vacation or during a school closure. Students also may need a lesson or two if they are sick in bed at home. For these lessons I have chosen a few animals that students are likely to be familiar with and therefore comfortable in observing them outside of the classroom.

1. Study The Cat - The Cat belongs to the order Felidæ, the group to which the lion, tiger, leopard, puma or panther, and lynx belong