Teacher Resources

Welcome to the teacher resource section of Focus on Nature. In here you can find how our workshops connect to the current curriculum, what an average workshop looks like, reviews, feedback forms, and extension activities.

Curriculum Connections

What Does an Average Day Look Like?

Testimonials

  • "This was a wonderful program and got even my most resistant children engaged and focused on a creative task. It helped them to see the elements of design in a concrete way and introduced artistic language that we can now use in the program. It also allowed us to have 1:1 tech so every child could work at once, something that is not possible otherwise. Best of all, they had fun and found joy in art and nature. Thank you so much Bri!"

    Jordan - Grade 6 Teacher

  • "The Focus on Nature Program was a very positive experience. It gave a chance for those students who are more creative to show their skills. All the students loved this program. "

    Pamela - Grade 3/4 Teacher

  • "I thought it was an excellent well structured program. Danielle was very engaging while presenting elements of design and maintained good control of the group for the entire day. The students were very engaged taking pictures for the entire time we were outside. I could tell this improved confidence and the students were really excited to share their pictures with each other. Showing how to use the students how to edit the photos was helpful so they can do so again in the future. "

    Adele - Grade 4 Class

  • "The Focus on Nature program was awesome! My students were begging me to do this for another day- they loved learning how to use the cameras/ having their own cameras for the day. They enjoyed learning about the elements of design and they were so excited to go to the reservoir and take photos in nature (they loved finding critters in their natural habitats to photograph!). This program was the best because of Danielle- she was amazing with the students, ran the program in such a fun way and made the day full of learning and joy! I will do this every year!"

    Lindsay - Grade 5 Class

  • "The strengths of the program is Sarah's ability to be engaging with information on the elements of design, how to use a digital camera and photo editing in a room full of 10 year olds. She also came with an ability to understand/know when students have sat down for too long and needed a body break before resume (WHAT A BONUS!!). She was patient with all the students who had many questions to answer and who demanded a lot of her attention. She was knowledgeable with the information she knew and it helped that she was very passionate about the workshop and what it can do for the creativity of students. "

    Princess - Grade 5 Teacher

  • "Fantastic program. Addressed many of the curriculum expectations for a variety of grades. Facilitation was amazing. Students with a wide range of learning styles could participate and be successful."

    Breanna - Grade 4 Teacher

  • "Considering this workshop was so close to the end of the school year, I was impressed by how engaged my students were. As their art teacher, I did cover the elements of art and design, and I can say with confidence that my students were more engaged by your workshop than they were with my lessons."

    Kevin - Grade 5/6 Teacher

  • "Sarah and Kristy were kind, knowledgeable, enthusiastic and approachable. The students felt relaxed in their presence and felt confident to try new compositional approaches. The students really enjoyed exploring a new tool for their creative expression. They also really enjoyed having the time and freedom to explore creatively outdoors. The environment and tone was supportive, relaxed and enjoyable."

    Jo-Anne - Grade 11 Teacher

  • "Excellent program! It covered the elements, the terminology, and the visuals for student learning. Lots of time to work with the cameras, getting hands-on experience. Google Photos was easy to use."

    Anna - Grade 6/7 Teacher

  • "This was one of the best programs I've done with a class in 15 years. The level of engagement for the students was something I hadn't seen before to this degree. Danielle is fantastic with students - especially those in a Special Education class. The students are already asking me to book another workshop with Focus on Nature. "

    Jonathan - SERC Teacher

  • "Engaging, taps into student's artistic strengths that they might not even know they have within them. FON offers them insight into careers they might want to explore during their educational journey. Exposure to technology and how to edit is such a great learning tool for our students. We can't say enough about this amazing Program!!"

    Julie - Grade 4/5 Teacher

Click Here to Provide Feedback From Your Workshop

Extension Activities

 Visual Arts & Language Arts:

  • After the workshop, have each student choose their favourite photo they took. 

  • Have each student identify which Element of Design the image represents (the most prominent). 

  • Instruct each student to recreate the image by drawing it on a piece of paper, keeping in mind the Element of Design. 

  • On the back of the picture (or on a different piece of paper) have students describe the Element of Design in their picture (i.e. line: curvy, straight, leading line, seen in the veins of the leaf) and 1-2 other Elements of Design they can find in it.

 Elements of Design Game!

  • Split the class into four equal groups (if possible).

  • Give each group a dice and have them roll it. The group with the highest roll gets to go first. 

  • Project an image and give the group 1 minute (depending on difficulty and level of your class) to decide what Element of Design is being represented and how it is represented (i.e. line: viens, texture: spiky leaves, tone: bright/ lights spots, form: shadow/ highlight, etc.). 

  • If they are correct, award them 100 points and have the other teams roll to see who goes next. If they are wrong, have the other teams roll to see who gets a chance to steal! Continue!

Visual Arts & Oral Communication: 

  • Split the class into small groups (4-5 students in each).

  • Provide each group with a picture of nature (preferably pictures taken by your class in the workshop). 

  • Ask each group to brainstorm a list of Elements of Design they see in the picture and choose 1 that is the most prominent.

  • Project each image, one at a time, on the board and have groups present their findings to the class.

 Keep Practising and Exploring: 

1.) Sign out technology (i.e. iPads) for your class to take outside and take pictures with. 

2.) Have students choose one piece of nature found on the ground and bring it into the classroom to draw a picture of it. You could do a gallery walk of the images and the objects or just the objects and discuss the Elements of Design. 

3.) Revisit the place you went to during your workshop (during a different season) and have the students explore and either verbally discuss how the nature is different or have them write in a journal about it. This can be done numerous times and then have them reflect on their different experiences/ journal entries.