Outdoor School Curriculum and Resources

The BEETLES (Better Environmental Education, Teaching, Learning & Expertise Sharing) Project has a variety of resources for program leaders and field instructors including professional learning sessions, student activities, and videos. BEETLES materials are based on current research and understandings about how people learn and have been tested by dozens of programs in diverse settings all over the country. Although BEETLES materials have been designed for residential outdoor science schools, they’ve been used successfully in a wide variety of outdoor education settings.

Northwest Outdoor Science School is operated by the Northwest Regional ESD (NWRESD) and has four outdoor school sites in Northwest Oregon. The activities shared are ones used during outdoor school by field instructors and are organized by soil, water, plants, and animals. 

This lesson provides an introduction to the scarcity & fragility of good agricultural soils on earth, with visuals & worksheets. (pre-ODS)

An interactive map, poster or worksheets where color helps students visually identify key crops by region. (pre-ODS)

An activity and worksheet on the ripple effect of agriculture throughout the state’s economy. (ODS)

A hands-on activity using raised relief maps and small blocks allowing students to site future development while avoiding important resource lands.

A hands-on activity using raised relief maps and small blocks allowing students to site future development while avoiding important resource lands.

A hands-on activity using raised relief maps and small blocks allowing students to site future development while avoiding important resource lands.

Oregon Department of Agriculture's DVD overview of the state’s agriculture - region by region. The DVD identifies top crops, makes links to products, and shows farmers and ranchers. Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation will mail this to you. (pre-outdoor school)

This kit features 40 career areas connected to agriculture. The Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation will mail the kit to you, and the kit must be returned. (ODS)

A workbook that provides an overview of forest issues geared specifically for 5th & 6th grades; visuals, some activities. Search the OFRI site (or google) for the teacher guide, student guide, and Spanish version. (pre-ODS)

Stories and activities about the forest - Search on the OFRI Site if you would prefer to request pre-printed versions or the Spanish version.

Sort the Video Library by "Fact Breaks" to find animated and downloadable videos on 15 topics, each about two minutes providing an overview of forest issues. (pre-ODS)

The Blue Mountain Conservancy, based out of La Grande Oregon, partnered with Eastern Oregon University and the GO STEM hub to compile a variety of activities that could support outdoor school in their region.

This curriculum is being shared through professional development events for formal and non-formal educators. PLT and WILD have a long-standing commitment to providing high-quality environmental education materials and can be used to support students before, during, and after outdoor school. Their materials are periodically reviewed by a broad base of individuals, organizations, and partners, and then revised and updated. These programs are committed to ongoing evaluation and continuous improvement and they remain current with educational trends. Please note: you must attend an Outdoor School or ONREP workshop to access the PLT, Project WILD and Aquatic WILD curriculum guides. 

The 4H Youth Development Program created an outdoor school lesson library which shares the activities that they use in programs to teach about soil, water, plants, and animals. The lessons that they selected were self-accessed using the Outdoor School Rubric. Take a look at their Outdoor Science Activities!

This curriculum has 31 hands-on inquiry-based activities that are specific to Oregon’s Ecoregions. It is broken into 6 sections that include: Plant Identification, Ecoregions of Oregon, Ecology of Native Plants, Native, Non-Native, and Invasive Plants, Ethnobotany, and Climate Change and Phenology. While it is not targeted toward 5th or 6th grade students, activities are adaptable.

This nature journaling curriculum represents some of the best thinking about how to use nature journaling as a learning tool with a wide variety of students. While it is specific to California the strategies provided are adaptable to Oregon’s Ecoregions.

Multnomah Education Service District (MESD) Outdoor School has a framework for their outdoor field study experiences organized around animals, plants, soil, and water and that shares standard alignment. If you are looking for ideas on developing an outdoor school framework this could be helpful.

To find a variety of educational materials and field resources that support environmental education visit the OELP Resource Directory. This Oregon-specific database allows users to sort by location, grade level, and Environmental Literacy strands and has statewide contributions.

To help connect and make individual outdoor school experiences meaningful (both in the field and the classroom), use OELP's Standards Integration: A Framework for Incorporating NGSS, Social Sciences, and Environmental Literacy into Classroom Curriculum.  These are one-page documents for each grade level that:

• Show alignments between NGSS, geography, and social studies standards
• Provide guiding questions to support instruction

For resources that support excellence in environmental education, make sure to review the NAAEE Guidelines for Excellence.