Introduction
Art or illustration activities in a science curriculum are more effective and easier for students to handle if they are presented in a structured format with specific objectives. Avoid a focus on making pretty pictures but stress the scientific application of the drawings. Critique student work relative to the science, not art content.

Why use Field Journals in the science curriculum?
• Kids enjoy it
• Gets kids to look closely
• “Accidental” recording of information
• Develop field sketching skills
• Use right side of the brain
• Appropriate for LD and LEP students
• Facilitates authentic assessment

Pedagogy
Use structured activities instead of just saying “go draw” but take advantage of serendipitous events. Don’t worry about “art”’ that will come with practice. Just record information. We are not interested in the product; the process is the thing. If the drawing helped you to see something new, then it is a success. Tell the students that they have the “license to kill” with these sketches. If they end up with a pretty picture, great. If they don’t, great. “Pretty” is not our objective. We are using sketching as a tool to help us record our observations.
Set an example yourself. Keep your own field journal and sketch while the students do. They will see sketching as a part of being a naturalist like you instead of an assignment.

How to critique student work
Reinforce careful observation and recording details. Do say: “I like the way you use both writing and sketching to record information”, “Jose has accurately recorded the angle that the deer was holding its ears, good observation”, or “look at how Susan has carefully observed and recorded the structure of this plant. You can see here where she has indicated the hairs on the stem. Details like that are important to botanists when identifying plants.” Avoid complementing the students on a pretty picture. You stated at the start of the class that “Art” was not the objective. Be consistent with this message. You can give positive reinforcement acknowledgment without referring to artistic qualities of the sketch. Do not say: “that looks good” or “that is a great drawing”.

Style and Technique
Encourage students to work larger. We draw small pictures because we are shy about our work but it is much easier to record information with larger drawings. Encourage incorporating written notes along with the drawing. Some details and color notes are easier to write than to draw in. Also, written notes tend to take the sketch out of the realm of “Art”. Instead of making one drawing and trying to make it look good, make several sketches of the same subject. Do not feel obliged to finish each sketch. Rough sketches contain important information. make several sketches of the same object- not one drawing. Start a drawing with light, fast “ghost lines”. These will help orient you and allow you to check proportions before getting deeper into the picture. The quick lines also help students get over the fear of putting a mark down on the blank paper. Sketch the whole form loosely and lightly. Accent the shapes that you like as they begin to emerge. You can use a regular graphite pencil and just draw lightly or use a “Col-Erase” non photo blue pencil to make your initial ghost drawing. When you start drawing, ignore the details and go for the shape and proportions. Once you have these down then turn your attention to detail. Encourage students to use their eraser as little as possible. If they erase a picture, they are destroying information that they have collected. If part of the sketch is inaccurate, they can add written notes or a detail of the appropriate part.

Equipment
No special equipment is needed. Art pencils and paper often make you feel that you are supposed to create “Art”. Buy or make bound journals for students to build a log of observations over time. These should be sturdy enough to bring into the field.  If resources allow, a small set of colored pencils extends the possibilities of what students can record.

The basics:

#2 pencil
hand held pencil sharpener
typing paper and clipboard or journal

Optional:
4 colored pencils (red brown, green, yellow, blue)
Non Photo blue “Col-Erase” pencil for ghost drawing
magnifying lens
sit upon (piece of plastic or ensolite for wet weather)

Outdoor Sketching Activities

Wildlife Gesture Sketching
When you find wildlife in the field, take advantage of the moment with quick sketches. Encourage the students to make lots of quick sketches instead of one finished drawing. If the animal moves, simply start another drawing on the same page. Look for characteristic poses. Move the pencil quickly, loosely, and lightly and do not erase what you have drawn. Instead simply go over the lines, accenting the ones you like. You do not need to finish these drawings. They are a quick impression of what you saw.

Nature’s Treasure Map
Explain to the students that to a naturalist, the world is full of treasure. Take a hike creating treasure maps of all the discoveries along the way. Add quick sketches of hawks flying over and their trajectories, important physiographic landmarks, tracks, galls, opening flowers and whatever else you find. Connect these discoveries with a dotted line showing your route. The end result will resemble a pirate’s map (feel free to invent evocative place names for some of the places you go).

Observation Olympics/Data Log
Find a common object (such as an abundant species of flower) or that which all the students can observe at the same time (such as a small tree). Let students record as many observations about the object as they can. You may want to give the activity a sense of urgency by telling the students to imagine that they are recording information on a species that may go extinct and anything that they do not write down will never be recorded about the species. Also, anything they see but do not write down will be forgotten. They may use both writing and drawing to record their observations. After five or ten minutes as them to stop and assemble. See what kinds of observations the students made. Ask, did anyone else make a similar observation? What else did you observe? Are there any observations that you made that are so unique that you think that you are the only person who observed them? This activity can be done competitively to see which team can record the most unique observations (Observation Olympics) or cooperatively to see how much information the whole group can collect (Data Log).

Secret Plant Search
Spread out in an area and draw a plant in as much detail as you can. Draw the plant the actual size that you see it or indicate the size. Include color and detail notes. Are there any bent leaves, insect bites or discolored spots? Don’t worry about art just try to record lots of information. Regroup and pick a partner who doesn’t know where your plant is. See if your partner can find the plant that you drew. Your partner may need to be shown the general area to look in especially if your plant is small.

Zoom in, Zoom out
Draw three boxes or frames on your paper. In one draw an object exactly life size. Use the next to magnify an object, drawing it two times (or more) its actual size (or making an enlargement of some part of an object). In the last box, draw an object smaller than life size, perhaps showing its shape or relation to other elements in the landscape. This activity can be done focusing on one object such as a tree, drawing a life size branch or leaf, a close up of a bud and a reduced sketch of the whole tree, or with different elements found in an area. This can be used with the Sense of Place activity.

Collecting
Students already make collections of things- model planes, marbles etc. This activity taps into this aspect of their interests. It is open ended and can be done in areas (National Parks etc. ) where you can not physically collect things. Instruct the students to pick a subject and sketch a collection of related objects/ observations. The subject can be as simple or advanced as you deem appropriate. Before students break out to collect, give examples of things to collect and ask each student to tell the group what they plan to collect. Examples can include: insects seen in a particular patch or species of flowers, things that are red, patterns sand makes when it blows, things with a strong smell, insect galls, cloud shapes, or insects under rocks. Review the student’s collections when they have finished. Note how the subject you pick leads you to different discoveries.

Comparisons
Finds two similar objects (branches, mushrooms, flowers, grasses etc.) and have students draw them side by side (if they are small, draw them life size or larger) noting differences between them.

Questions
As you do any of the journal exercises, become aware of how much you do not know about what you are drawing. Ask your self questions to which you do not know the answer. Write your questions alongside your sketch. A scientist should be able to ask more questions than she or he can answer. To make the activity more structured for students, instruct them to write three questions about what they are drawing.

Chronology
If you will have access to a place over several months, choose something in that place that will be subject to seasonal change. Draw that object in detail. Record how to find your object again (a branch on a tree may look very different in a few months) date your drawing, and record weather. Leave room for four more drawings and notes on the same two page spread. Visit the object over a series of months. What changes do you notice form one visit to another? Are there also changes in the rate at which change occurs?

Collecting
Students already make collections of things- model planes, marbles etc. This activity taps into this aspect of their interests. It is open-ended and can be done in areas (National Parks etc.) where you can not physically collect things. Instruct the students to pick a subject and sketch a collection of related objects/ observations. The subject can be as simple or advanced as you deem appropriate. Before students break out to collect, give examples of things to collect and ask each student to tell the group what they plan to collect. Examples can include: insects seen in a particular patch or species of flowers, things that are red, patterns sand makes when it blows, things with a strong smell, insect galls, cloud shapes, postures of coots, or insects under rocks. You can also collect parts of animals such as bird bills (this can be easier than drawing the whole animal). Review the student’s collections when they have finished. Note how the subject you pick leads you to different discoveries.

Mapping
Instruct students to create a map of an area spanning several vegetation zones. Help the students make a key to the significant plants or vegetation zones. Clearly define the scale (such as 1 inch= 10 paces). Help the students get an appreciation for the scale by drawing themselves on the map at the center and pacing off the distance to a nearby landmark. Extension: Once the map has been completed choose two points and have the students draw a cross section of the route (side view). See activity below. Discuss patterns in the landscape and why species of plants occur where they do.

Cross Section
Students create a cross section of an area that shows strong vertical zonation (intertidal area, shore to pond, across a riparian corridor) or other spatial pattern (such as over a ridge showing north/south facing slope differences. Explain to the students that they will be creating a side view of the area. Help the students to draw the substrate/ ground across their paper, showing changes in elevation. Instruct students to draw themselves standing on the ground to set the scale. You may also help the students make a key before they begin. Walk slowly across the transect sketching the distribution of plants or animals. Discuss patterns in the landscape and why species occur where they do.

Field Guide
Show the students an illustrated field guide (Peterson’s Western Wildflowers is great). Note how the illustrations are clear and show distinguishing characteristics. Tell the students that they are going to make their own field guides to common plants of the area. Ask the students to determine what are the most common or interesting plants in the area (they should choose 4-6 species). Ask them to draw these plants and note important details that would help someone else recognize the plant . This activity does not have to de done all at one time or in one place. For instance, they may work on their field guide at either end of a solo walk. If some students finish long before others, suggest that they try to include another plant or add more detail to the notes that they have already taken.
When students have completed their work, regroup, review student work, and identify the species that the students have drawn. There will be much greater interest in the plant identification after students have drawn their plants.

Natural Events Cartoon
If you witness interesting animal activity or behavior, make a serial cartoon of what you witnessed.