The summer has flown by and already it’s time to gear ourselves up for another year of learning adventures! The beginning of the school year is always an exciting time of new possibilities, fresh faces, and a sometimes overwhelming cascade of tasks. (We remember – we were classroom teachers, too.)
While you may be familiar with many of our (FREE!) products, you might not know about a few things we offer specifically to make your lives as educators easier. Namely, our library of lesson plans and learning modules.
Lesson Plans
Lesson plans cover a range of earth and life science topics as well as reading strategies to use with any of our products. You can narrow your search by grade level and topic. We walk you through the plan step-by-step, and many include modifications or extensions to help adapt the lesson plan to your needs. All Natural Inquirer lesson plans are free to download, just like the rest of our products.
- Time estimates and materials lists included
- Step-by-step instructions
- Free to download
- Searchable by grade and topic
Learning Modules
Learning modules are pre-packaged unit plans about a range of topics: freshwater, invasive species, Smokey Bear and wildfire prevention, and more. These extensive plans include reading materials, videos, activities, and instructions for educators. Use a portion of the learning module or the whole package! We’ve designed these modules to be easy to pick up and use with all the links and materials right there at your fingertips. And FREE of course!
- Reading materials, videos, and activities included
- Usable as a whole unit plan or in sections
- Step-by-step instructions
- All materials are FREE
Standards Alignment
All Natural Inquirer products are aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards, Common Core, and National Social Studies Standards. Select the “Educator Guide” tab under any product to learn more.
Volunteer your class as a student editorial review board!
Before a new publication goes to print, we always solicit the help of a group of students to make sure we’re addressing the interests and needs of our target audience – them! A review board reads a final draft of the new publication and offers feedback – what was interesting, what was confusing, what they learned, how we can make it better. In fact, we have a few new publications in the works, and we’re looking for review classes now!
Requirements of a student editorial review board:
- About 45 minutes in class to read the article and fill out the evaluation sheet
- USDA Forest Service photo release forms signed by a parent or guardian for participating students
- A few photos of the students at work and a class photo to be included in the final publication
- Honest feedback to help make our publications the best they can be!
If you’re interested in volunteering your class, sign up here.
