Sparking Student Curiosity Through Nature Journaling

As a child, I spent time in the woods—climbing trees, creating paths, and finding snakes. I paid attention to how the natural world worked, and my curiosity grew as I noticed more. These observations became even more clear and memorable when I started to draw and record my experiences in my journals.

About 10 years ago, I found an outlet for the observation, wonder, and curiosity I had about the world in the form of nature journaling. This activity creates a more structured way to pay attention to outdoor spaces. When we pay attention to what is happening, we can think up questions and musings about the world around us. 

Nature journaling isn’t about making beautiful art, although that can be included. It’s about bringing attention to something that might not have been noticed before. To do this work with students, we can provide encouragement to remove obstacles such as worrying about making perfect pictures or thinking that their own questions aren’t interesting (which prevents them from recording their thoughts and ideas). It’s also helpful for us to have our own practice in place so that we can support our students in building theirs.

Starting Out

Nature journaling doesn’t require much. Students can use clipboards with plain paper or a notebook and pens or pencils. The important thing is to go outside and observe. After you set boundaries for where students can go, start by talking through what they notice.

Often, if you tell a student to look at a tree, they’ll just look at it. However, if you ask them to notice—to use their senses and really explore the tree—they’ll see more. I’ve found that it’s important to start with something on the page, usually details about where, when, what, and who is with us. Then, students can record their thoughts, ideas, and connections in their journals. Following my teacher and mentor, Jack Laws, I like to start with the mnemonic INIWIRMO, “I notice, I wonder, it reminds me of.” 

I Notice

Noticing is the act of bringing attention to something. When you make yourself deliberately pay attention, you remember more. I have journals recalling different days: I watched a squirrel—tail swishing and making loud vocalizations—chase away a hawk from her baby. I leaned over a dock with my family and saw algae, anemones, and tunicate (an interesting creature that looks like a plant but has a prevertebral column during development).

I recorded a day spent with my students watching birds that were swinging their heads in an interesting pattern and being curious about their behavior. When I look back at my journals, these days seem more vivid and connected because I recorded my observations, and the act of doing this helped me to remember. In this practice, just looking isn’t enough; it’s important for students to notice carefully and with intention, paying attention to what is actually happening, and writing and drawing what they see.

I Wonder

To wonder is to engage the mind, bring curiosity to the surface, and take it to another level. At this stage, it’s necessary to ask questions:

• How can I learn more about this tiny ecosystem, and is one dock different from another?
• How did the small squirrel fight off the hawk and save her baby when there seemed to be a dramatic weight difference?
• Why are those birds swinging their heads?

Curiosity and asking questions are vital for future scientists. At this point in the process, it can be helpful to highlight what students might wonder (how two organisms are connected or a pattern that might appear). In the early stages of nature journaling, students can practice talking about these wonders, or questions, with each other. Later, they can write those questions in their journals. Some students might find it challenging to develop questions, so it’s important to support their efforts in asking them. Opening up to why things might happen or what is going on is vital for learning more about the world and what they might see.

It Reminds Me Of

“It reminds me of” helps students make connections between things that might not be obviously related and activate their creativity.

The interaction between the mama squirrel and the hawk might remind me of my fierce protection of my own children. Wondering about how things are growing on the dock reminds me of studying marine invertebrates in college and starts me thinking about diversity and evolution.

Watching the birds reminds me of other repetitive behaviors like when ducks keep diving underwater. Our brains are wonderful at forgetting things, and making connections can help us build on attention and curiosity.

Putting It All Together

“INIWIRMO” not only is a fun word for students to say but also gives them a plan and a path to follow to make their journal pages. Within this framework, you can ask them to look for the cross-cutting concepts of the Next Generation Science Standards, like patterns, systems, or cause and effect. 

You can also ask them to use their senses by making sound or smell maps or by recording the smoothness or roughness of a branch or leaf. Asking students to add words, pictures, and numbers to their journal entries can also build their skills. Challenge your students to find multiple ways to represent their ideas in their journals. Some students will find words easier and worry about drawing. Others will only want to draw. However, using all of these methods will open up ways for your students to notice. 

As discussed in Richard Louv’s book Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder, today’s children experience less connection to nature than previous generations. Why not counteract this by taking kids outside to engage their senses to foster curiosity and wonder? A connection to a place—where we live, our school, or our community—can lead to a deeper desire to protect and conserve those places.

Nature journaling encourages students to explore their natural wonder and curiosity by making observations of the world. These observations then support learning and connection, which ultimately can inspire conservation. Nature journaling is a powerful tool for experiential learning and can enhance students’ educational outcomes.

While taking your students outside might seem like a big step, I’m confident that they will notice more and become more curious about the world around them. This curiosity can lead to setting up experiments or designing solutions to problems at your school. For more information, read the amazing book How to Teach Nature Journaling, by John Muir Laws and Emilie Lygren and the Wild Wonder Foundation. These resources will provide you with activities and plans to support you in teaching your students more about nature journaling and connection. 

Actually, the best thing to do is to just get started!