Guidance and Resources to Support Teaching and Learning Remotely

Micro-Field Guides

Part of the Projects at Home Collection

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Create a field guide to a tiny spot in your yard (such as one square meter) or a local park or patch of woods.

To get started with this project, check out these models:

Tips

  1. Micro-Field Guides are a guide to all the things you can find in a tiny plot (patch of land). There is no rule for the size of the plot. If you have a meter stick (or any stick about 3 feet long), you can make a square plot that is about one meter on each side. You could create a circular plot with a hula hoop, or a very tiny square plot that is only one foot on each side. 
  2. If you can divide your plot into equal sections with string or sticks (this is easier with a square plot), it makes it much easier to draw a map of your plot and place objects more accurately where they are in the square. 
  3. In a notebook or on paper, standing by your plot, draw an accurate map of everything you can see in your plot. If you have a magnifying glass, bring that and look as closely as you can at each thing. Notice details. 
  4. After your map is done, you may also want to look under the grass, rocks, leaves, or sticks in your plot to see what is hiding. Using books or the internet, try to identify as many of the living and non-living things as you can that are in your plot. Label what you can. You can count those things and create a census (a list by category) of what is in your plot. You can create close-up drawings of objects. You can see these features in our models of kid-created micro-field guides.

Create a field guide to a tiny spot in your yard (such as one square meter) or a local park or patch of woods.

To get started with this project, check out these models:

Tips

  1. Micro-Field Guides are a guide to all the things you can find in a tiny plot (patch of land). There is no rule for the size of the plot. If you have a meter stick (or any stick about 3 feet long), you can make a square plot that is about one meter on each side. You could create a circular plot with a hula hoop, or a very tiny square plot that is only one foot on each side. 
  2. If you can divide your plot into equal sections with string or sticks (this is easier with a square plot), it makes it much easier to draw a map of your plot and place objects more accurately where they are in the square. 
  3. In a notebook or on paper, standing by your plot, draw an accurate map of everything you can see in your plot. If you have a magnifying glass, bring that and look as closely as you can at each thing. Notice details. 
  4. After your map is done, you may also want to look under the grass, rocks, leaves, or sticks in your plot to see what is hiding. Using books or the internet, try to identify as many of the living and non-living things as you can that are in your plot. Label what you can. You can count those things and create a census (a list by category) of what is in your plot. You can create close-up drawings of objects. You can see these features in our models of kid-created micro-field guides.

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