Literacy and Outdoor Learning with Faye Brownlie

Teach Outdoors

Have you ever wondered how to infuse literacy with your outdoor adventures? Nature is a literacy-rich environment, a place where we can experiment with language in many ways. Our land provides us with an inherently play-based environment where we can explore literacy in an informal way. We can expand our vocabulary, develop conversational skills, recount stories and events, and the list goes on and on. And this isn’t just for our youngest learners, we can all develop our language through play and our outdoor environment is a very powerful tool that we can use to help us on that learning journey.
Our guest tonight is Faye Brownlie, a literacy superstar! She has worked all over Canada as well as internationally to support and coach K-12 teachers in their journey towards creating an inclusive literacy framework for their classrooms. Faye has several publications, including It’s All About Thinking, Grand Conversations, Learning in Safe Schools, and Student Diversity. She flawlessly models open-ended teaching strategies and believes in the power of collaboration.

Website: fayebrownlie.ca

Twitter: @fayebrownlie
What we discuss today:

*Looking at the world through a literacy lens!

*Story Walks – taking an image from a familiar picture book and displaying them around your nature walk path. A fun way to explore retelling stories while getting some fresh air!

*Guided Imagery lesson example – the benefits of being outdoors while writing in role

*How nature can help us build a word bank and a world bank through our experiences

*Setting Collection lesson ideas. Gathering nature items to help inspire your setting for writing a narrative

Inspirational People and Resources who were mentioned:

*Whonnock Elementary in Maple Ridge, BC. Heather Chapman and Renee Pennell run a program called Cedar Stream

*Georgia Herd’s book, Awakening the Heart. A wonderful book to help you explore poetry and play with language and imagery.

*Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book, Gathering Moss. “With words at your disposal, you can see more clearly. Finding the words is another step in learning to see.”

Novelty Nature Note:

* Reindeer moss is not actually a type of moss, it’s a lichen – but it gets its name because reindeer are one of the only animals that eat it. It has a special chemical that helps the animal keep its blood warm during the colder months.

*Racoons are digging up Faye’s planter boxes on the second story balcony. Oh dear!