Transcript Literacy in the Landscape

Literacy in the Landscape
• The following pages outline some of the different ways that the natural
world can inspire literacy. It also includes examples of work by visiting
school groups and teachers on training days at Chelsea Physic Garden.
• “Literacy” refers to the ability to read and write, to understand and use
language proficiently.
• The “Landscape” can be defined as one’s environment; human-built,
perfectly natural and whatever lies between.
• The first page shows an overview of this subject, the others aim to
expand upon it.
Michael Holland - Chelsea Physic Garden, U.K.
Nature diary*
Historical and
(ethno)botanical stories
Story*
Legend
Non-fiction
Fiction
Myth
Reportage style *
Literacy in
the Landscape
links
Structured
Poetry*
Uses of
different word
types*
Here are some of the different strands of literacy.
Many of them have links to other curriculum areas
such as History, Geography, Art, Music, Design and
Technology, Science and Numeracy. Those marked
* are elaborated upon in the following pages.
Free
Picture a word*
Other
Developing
observational
skills
Nature diaries
Using
different
styles of
language
Use of local
green spaces
Provides data
for further
studies
History link
Developing an
appreciation of the
natural world and
its diversity
Links to numeracy
Awareness of
Different
presentation
styles
Art & ICT
seasons and
other processes
Science
Geography
Citizenship
Nature diaries can be a simple written record of events; or perhaps more complex with illustrations,
audio and even video entries to document natural phenomena.
Important information includes: location, date, time, weather, the event itself and any other comments.
Examples of diary ideas: Bird table observation, Metamorphosis, seed germination and subsequent
growth, seasonal changes, astronomical and meteorological events.
Haiku - A 3 line Japanese poem;
Acrostic - where either
the first letters or last
letters of each line spell
out a word.
Tall plants,
Reaching to the sky,
Ever changing,
Each one different Shading us below.
Numbers of syllables in each line are
5,7,5 = a total of 17 syllables.
Literacy is:Expressing “it” into words,
In some sort of way.
Spreading up and out,
Casting shade onto the ground Leaves rustling in wind.
Poetry inspired by
nature
Freeform -these are
poems without any
particular constraints.
Rhymes - examples are
not needed if your garden is
well weeded.
Here are some types of poems which
can be useful when expressing aspects
of the natural world. More examples
can be found elsewhere in this display.
Before he went to school he
could read
the bark of trees,
leaf veins,
sea shell convolutions,
footprints,
and the touch of fingers;
now he goes to school,
and he can only read
words.
Jennifer Farley
Nouns: Different regional
names for the same plant;
meanings of Latin names;
parts of a plant, place names
and their origins; habitat
names; names of colours.
Verbs: growing, flowering,
gardening, photosynthesising,
germinating, adapting, climbing,
evolving, raining, sprouting.
Alliteration - the complex
creeper carefully climbs across
crevices and cracks; small
Saussurea seedlings slowly
sprout sideways, seeking
solstice sunshine.
Different
word types
Similes: As tall as a tree; As
rough as bark; as light as a feather,
as fragile as a seedling.
Adjectives: A long, green,
spiny, shiny, thick, weathered,
fragrant, medicinal, mottled,
asymmetrical, narrow, old leaf.
Of course, these are just
some examples.
Synonyms: Wet-damp-danksodden-soggy-waterlogged-humidsoaking…
Spiky-barbed-bristly-thorny-spinybrambly…
THE DAILY
SUNSHINE
Issue 1, Tuesday 1st October 2002
FLY SLIPS TO STICKY DEATH IN NASTY NECTAR MIX UP
“ One minute she was
there, the next she had
gone”, explained a distraught
Ben Blowfly -friend of the
deceased - yesterday at the
scene of the sad event on a
London kitchen windowsill.
“These pitcher plants are a
menace to us all; we hope to
stamp out these pernicious
pests”, exclaimed Officer Grub
of Ants Hill Accident
Prevention Station.
Experts believe that these
insectivorous plants are
By Sarracenia Spider
responsible for as many as
400,000,000 missing
invertebrates worldwide
annually.
It is thought that the plants
(of which there are many
types, mostly growing in
damp places) lure our fellow
insects by offering
stupefying, narcotic nectar,
causing them to lose their
footing on the already
slippery sides of these
specially adapted leaves.
Turn to page 2, col. 3
Picture of the Pitcher of doom
Based upon historical events,
e.g plant hunters, voyages
Based upon objects
collected around the
garden
Written about
special places
and journeys in
the garden
Reading
from books
Differentiate between
story, legend and myth
Stories
Incorporate as many
words from your nature
word bank into your
stories as possible
Adapt existing stories
Stories are a wonderful way of bringing
any subject to life. They tap into our
imaginations and entwine the different
strands of Literacy, whether we are
readers or the writers
Paper cones
Books
Trails
Pictures
Ways of
presenting
Literacy work
Word
line/word
bank
Audio
Computer/
web pages
Film
Other
Verbally
O
F
O
Picture a word
This is a useful visual way of
writing words and terms
associated with nature.
D
W
E
B