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Outdoor School Curriculum

EMPOWERING MINDS THROUGH DYNAMIC CURRICULUM

Our curriculum is meant to be highly experiential, prioritizing the students’ engagement with the natural world. We are committed to students being impacted and inspired by their experience first, focusing on curriculum that captures the imagination and surprises students. We use the following to achieve this

 

  • Survival based scenarios

  • Team and independent exercises

  • “Discovery before Learning”

 

We have identified pieces of our activity based modules that align themselves with standardized curriculum domains. We have a consulting educator who reviews our curriculum for fitness with OSU Extention’s reporting requirements.

MIDDLE SCHOOL NGSS DOMAINS ADDRESSED: 

  • Life Science

  • Physical Science

  • Earth and Space Science

  • Earth and Space Science

  • Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science

Stories / Books

  • Hatchet by Gary Paulson

  • To Build a Fire - by Jack London

  • Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell

  • Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Aue

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OUR CORE MODULES

We would typically select from these for stations during outdoor school. Modules marked with * could accommodate the entire group at the same time as a group activity. Modules marked with ** might feasibly accommodate the entire group.

curriculum survival shelter

Environment through Survival Shelter

AS A WAY TO LEARN ABOUT WEATHER, FORCE AND ENGINEERING

  • What does one need to know about weather to build a good shelter? Prevailing local wind and temperature conditions, how does one anticipate precipitation patterns?

  • What physics are involved in creating an adequate shelter? Force, Vectors, Knots with Mechanical Advantage, Distribution of Loads

NGSS STANDARDS ADDRESSED:

  • MS-ESS2-5

  • MS-PS2-2

  • MS-ETS1-1

  • MS-ETS1-2

  • MS-ETS1-3

  • MS-ETS1-4

Habitat through Natural/Primitive Shelter

EXPLORATION OF ANIMAL HABITAT, ENGINEERING, PHYSICS, HEAT/THERMODYNAMICS AND IMPROVISATION OF NATURAL MATERIALS.

  • What is shelter and how do different animals use shelter?

  • How are natural shelters built to be waterproof, strong and retain heat?

  • What materials in the the local area were traditionally used to build shelters and how were they used?

NGSS STANDARDS ADDRESSED:

  • MS-PS3-3

  • MS-ETS1-1

  • MS-ETS1-2

  • MS-ETS1-3

  • MS-ETS1-4

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curriculum friction fire

Friction/Indigenous Fire

AS A WAY TO LEARN ABOUT ENGINEERING, PHYSICS, HEAT/THERMODYNAMICS AND IMPROVISATION OF NATURAL MATERIALS.

  • What materials are suitable for friction fire? Why?

  • What are the critical principles and methods for building an effective fire set?

  • How did native people use fire? What other technologies did they have for producing and using fire?

NGSS STANDARDS ADDRESSED:

  • MS-PS3-3

  • MS-ETS1-1

  • MS-ETS1-2

  • MS-ETS1-3

  • MS-ETS1-4

Woody Plant Anatomy through Woodcraft

AS A WAY TO LEARN PROPER TOOL USE AND SAFETY AS WELL AS WOODY PLANT ANATOMY

  • Anatomy of a knife. What are the safe uses of knives in the outdoors ? 

  • What is the structure/anatomy of wood/trees? How does this become apparent or is revealed in processing wood with edge tools?

  • How were/are forests impacted by forestry? What were/are common local forestry practices? What part did/does forestry play in the local economy/culture?

NGSS STANDARDS ADDRESSED:

  • MS-LS1-3

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Curriculum foraging.HEIC

Flora through Foraging

AS A WAY TO LEARN ABOUT BOTANY AND REGIONAL ECOSYSTEMS AND THE LIFESTYLE OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

  • How do we identify various plants? When and what parts of plants are edible or medicinal? What did primitive people do to prepare plants for medicine or food?

  • What makes plants dangerous/poisonous?

NGSS STANDARDS ADDRESSED:

  • MS-LS1-3

  • MS-LS1-4

  • MS-LS4-4

Utility Plants

AS A WAY TO LEARN ABOUT PLANT ANATOMY, SEASONAL IMPACTS ON PLANT PHYSIOLOGY AND HISTORY OF REGIONAL NATIVE CULTURE.

  • What plants and what parts of those plants have fibres or structures that can be used for cordage, clothing, tools, netting etc.?

  • When and how are plant components harvested to provide usable material? How is this material further processed to make it useful?

NGSS STANDARDS ADDRESSED:

  • MS-PS1-3

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Geography through Navigation

AS A WAY TO LEARN ABOUT GEOGRAPHY AND ITS IMPACT ON ECOSYSTEM ESTABLISHMENT AND THE EARTH AND MOON’S INTERACTION WITH EACH OTHER AND THE STARS.

  • What is latitude and longitude? How does the Earth’s rotation and orbit create seasons and regular patterns that can be used to determine direction? The moon’s?

  • How does direction show up in biology and geology and why?

  • natural navigation, local conditions

NGSS STANDARDS ADDRESSED:

  • MS-ESS1-1

Nature Art

AS A WAY TO PRACTICE IMPROVISATIONAL AND CREATIVE DESIGN.  INTERPRETATION

  • How can the surroundings provide elements of artistic and structural design?

  • How might indigenous people have incorporated art into their lives?

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Fauna thru Tracking

AS WAY TO LEARN ABOUT LOCAL FAUNA, BEHAVIOR OF ANIMALS AND USING DEDUCTIVE REASONING

  • Where are tracks easiest to find? What do tracks tell us about behavior?

  • What are the key components of a track that help us identify the animal that created it?

Cordage and Knots

AS A WAY TO LEARN ABOUT NATIVE/PRIMITIVE TECHNOLOGY, MECHANICAL ADVANTAGE, LEVERAGE AND FRICTION.

  • How did native people hold things together? What native materials could they use for rope/twine? What techniques did they use?

  • What is a knot? What functions can knots serve? How (and which) knots can create leverage and mechanical advantage. How (and which) knots are adjustable or static? Why?

NGSS STANDARDS ADDRESSED:

  • MS-PS2-2

  • MS-ETS1-1

  • MS-ETS1-2

  • MS-ETS1-3

  • MS-ETS1-4

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curriculum ballistics

Physics thru 'Ballistics'

AS A WAY TO LEARN TOOL DESIGN, PHYSICS OF PROJECTILES AND HISTORY / CULTURE OF NATIVE PEOPLE

  • Archery and Slingshot

  • What are Force, Mass, Velocity?  How are they related?

  • How did indigenous people use bows/arrows and hunting weapons?

Fishing 

AS A WAY TO LEARN ABOUT AQUATIC HABITAT AND BIOLOGY THE ANATOMY OF FISH, FISH HABITAT.

  • Dissection and lesson on cleaning fish. Compare anatomy with Mammals

  • Where to find fish? Why do they go the places they go?

NGSS STANDARDS ADDRESSED:

  • MS-LS1-3

  • MS-LS2-2

  • MS-LS2-3

  • MS-LS2-1

  • MS-LS2-4

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Trailbuilding

AS A WAY TO LEARN ABOUT GEOLOGY/SOILS, DESIGN/CONSTRUCTION AND HISTORY

  • What is the native soil type and how does it respond to forces of erosion?

  • What are the principles of trail design and construction? How do these principles address local weather and soil conditions?

  • What trails, historically, existed in the local area? How were they used?

NGSS STANDARDS ADDRESSED:

  • MS-ESS2-2

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Chemistry thru Fire

AS A WAY TO LEARN ABOUT CHEMISTRY, PHYSICS AND MICRO ENVIRONMENTS

  • What is the fire triangle? What is a phase change? What is surface area and why does it matter?

  • Where in the environment do combustible materials exist? What is a microenvironment and what type of microenvironment fosters combustibles?

NGSS STANDARDS ADDRESSED:

  • MS-PS1-4

  • MS-PS1-1

  • MS-PS1-2

  • MS-PS1-5

Observation

AS A WAY TO DEVELOP AWARENESS AND OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING.   DEVELOPS BOTH EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL 'LISTENING'.

  • Use your 5 senses to note nuanced species, processes and conditions around you

  • Notice internal experience.  What thoughts & feelings become apparent when silent in nature?

curriculum tracking2
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First Aid for the Outdoors

AS A WAY TO LEARN ABOUT HEALTH, MEDICINE AND DECISION MAKING IN EMERGENCIES.

  • What is the relationship between rescuer, bystander and victim?  What is in a first aid kit?

  • What can you pay attention to when assisting with an injury and in what order are they important?

  • Demonstrate bandaging, splinting and carrying with improvised materials?

Traps

AS A WAY TO LEARN ABOUT WEATHER, FORCE AND ENGINEERING

  • What does one need to know about weather to build a good shelter? Prevailing local wind and temperature conditions, how does one anticipate precipitation patterns?

  • What physics are involved in creating an adequate shelter? Force, Vectors, Knots with Mechanical Advantage, Distribution of Loads

NGSS STANDARDS ADDRESSED:

  • MS-ESS2-5

  • MS-PS2-2

  • MS-ETS1-1

  • MS-ETS1-2

  • MS-ETS1-3

  • MS-ETS1-4

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Wildlife

Examine and reflect on utility and identities of Wildlife anatomy 

  • What diversity of functions do various skins and fur types serve?

  • What do bones tell us about their owners' behaviours and habits?

  • Why do animals live where they live?  How has environment shaped them over time?

NGSS STANDARDS ADDRESSED:

  • MS-ESS2-2

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Location

 

Coyle Outdoors

PO Box 2389

Corvallis, Oregon 97333

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COYLE OUTSIDE

EXPERIENTIAL OUTDOOR PROGRAMS

Contact

 

coyleoutside@gmail.com

 

1 (541) 760-0774

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