Leave It for the Next Explorer
Record a find without taking it and explain a responsible choice.
- Grade 1
- 25 minutes
- Worksheet + teacher guidance
What you will learn
A field scientist can learn from a drawing, photograph and notes. Leaving something in place helps preserve its setting and lets others observe it.
Words to use
- record: keep information
- setting: where something is
- steward: someone who cares for a place
Work through the activity
- 5 min · Choose a viewLook at one rock where it is or use a photograph. The adult explains that this lesson requires no collecting or moving rocks.
- 8 min · Record itDraw the rock and something around it. Add two describing words so another person could recognize your subject.
- 7 min · Make a choiceImagine a sign saying “Leave rocks in place.” Explain how you can still learn about the rock while following that rule.
- 5 min · ShareShow your record to a partner. Say what you learned and why your choice helps the place or another visitor.
Leave It for the Next Explorer
Responses stay in this open page only. Print before closing or changing pages; no student record is stored online.
Teacher & family guide · answers and assessment
Grade 1 · Leave It for the Next Explorer
Learning goal: Record a find without taking it and explain a responsible choice.
Expected responses
- Accept a record that includes the rock and part of its context.
- Any two visible properties are suitable.
- Drawing, photographing where permitted and writing notes are all suitable.
- Accept following the rules, keeping its setting intact or leaving it for others to see.
Understanding check: Draw or describe the rock where it is. Observations do not require taking a specimen. Follow the site rule.
Watch for this misconception
A small or ordinary-looking rock is not automatically permitted to collect.
Assess the evidence
Look for the observations, calculation or explanation named in the learning goal. Accept accurate drawings and dictated responses. Use the expected responses to discuss reasoning; a correct guess without explanation is a starting point for another conversation.
Adapt and extend
Read prompts aloud, enlarge print or let a partner record the learner’s explanation. Use your little field map to mark where the observation happened.