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Nature Scavenger Hunt

Lesson Plan:

​Activity:

Nature Scavenger Hunt

Lesson plan developed by Ms. Erika Geelhoed, BA Ed

Age Group:

School-Age

* Lesson plan objective and assessment can be adapted to use this activity with preschoolers.

Objectives:  

Children will

• explore classify items as living or nonliving.

Washington Common Core Standard

EALR 4

• EALR 4: Life Science
• Big Idea: Biological Evolution (LS3)
• Core Content: Classifying Plants and Animals

o   Students will know that: Some things are alive and others are not

Nature Scavenger Hunt

Click on the photos to enlarge.

Materials: 

• Scavenger Hunt Checklist
• pencil
• paper

Procedure: 

• Discuss with children what they think the difference between living and nonliving things is.
  
• When they are done sharing their thoughts, let them know what it means to be alive.
  
• Living things:
  
  • Need food, water, and air
  • Move on their own
  • Grow and change
  • Reproduce
• Pass out nature hunt checklist.
  
• Children can then go outside to start their scavenger hunt.
  
• As they are searching, ask them if they think the items is living or not and why.
  
• Regroup with children back inside and check in. What items were they able to find? Did they find more living or nonliving? How do they know which is which?

Assessment: 

• Assess children’s ability to classify objects as living or nonliving.

Print Nature Scavenger Hunt Checklist

Online Early Childhood Education

Click on the course icon for enrollment information.

Exploration

Children need to learn how to make plans for collaborative exploration and how to cooperate with others in exploratory projects that have no predetermined outcomes; for example, what is an acorn? why do some plants have thorns while others do not? how old are these hills? This involves developing skills such as listening, observing, imagining and hypothesizing. 

​Children’s learning is supported if adults use appropriate language to describe hypothetical thinking and ideas that derive from what has been observed, compared and based on data or facts that can be confirmed or revisited.