Nature Cities

Positives

• Students learn about heat islands in a relatable way.

• Students share their thoughts on the benefits of nature in cities and expand their understanding of the subject.

• Students think about ways they can improve their classroom, school, and community at large and have the opportunity to put their ideas into action.

Additional Prerequisites

• Teacher will need to obtain a copy of the book The Extraordinary Gardener by Sam Boughton. 

• For the outdoor experiment, you will need an infrared thermometer set to check surface temperatures.

• Teachers can have students sketch their designs on the templates provided in the Student Document and then have students transfer their designs to larger pieces of paper. Students can use additional art materials such as markers and colored pencils to complete their nature city drawings.

Differentiation

• This lesson was designed for grades K-2. Please check the differentiation written within the lesson and the accompanying documents to modify it to the needs of your students.

• In order to accommodate different schedules, this lesson can also be split into five shorter sessions. Please see the Alternative Pacing Suggestion in the Teacher Slideshow.

• When responding to the interactive read aloud of The Extraordinary Gardener by Sam Boughton, student responses can be shared verbally or written down. 

• Differentiated worksheets can be found in the Student Document. On the right-hand side, you will see a pencil ✎ symbol. One pencil means the worksheet is for students who write less and need more room for drawing pictures, and two pencils means there is space to write more.

• Teacher can substitute The Extraordinary Gardener with Harlem Grown: How One Big Idea Transformed A Neighborhood by Tony Hillery. This book tells the real-life story of how a school community worked together to transform an urban wasteland into a community garden.
  

This thorough lesson will give students a basic grasp of the value of preserving green spaces in urban areas to mitigate the effects of urban heat islands and climate change. In this lesson, students will research cities throughout the world that contain natural areas and discuss the advantages of greening our built environment. After reviewing all the lesson resources, the lesson passed our science review.

Primary Standards

• Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
  • ETS1: Engineering Design
    • K-2-ETS1-1 Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.
    • K-2-ETS1-2 Develop a simple sketch, drawing, or physical model to illustrate how the shape of an object helps it function as needed to solve a given problem.
  • PS3: Energy
    • K-PS3-2 Use tools and materials to design and build a structure that will reduce the warming effect of sunlight on an area.

Supporting Standards

• Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)
  • Reading: Literature (K-12)
    • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.1 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
    • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.10 Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.
    • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.1 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
    • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
  • Writing (K-12)
    • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.K.8 With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
    • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.1.8 With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
    • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.8 Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
• Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
  • ETS1: Engineering Design
    • K-2-ETS1-1. Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.
    • K-2-ETS1-2. Develop a simple sketch, drawing, or physical model to illustrate how the shape of an object helps it function as needed to solve a given problem.
  • PS3: Energy
    • K-PS3-2. Use tools and materials to design and build a structure that will reduce the warming effect of sunlight on an area.