Activity

NB Parks: On Our Playground – Fundy National Park

Grades 3-5

Subjects: Mathematics, Personal Wellness, Physical Education, Science

Overview

Parks NB is coming to your own school playground! In this outdoor learning activity, learners not only will discover provincial facts and explore geographical locations, but they will also engage in physical activities to experience just a small taste of what our New Brunswick Provincial and National Parks offer every day!

NB Curricular Connections

3-5 Learning Areas

Personal Wellness:

Strand: Well-Being – Big Idea: Emotional Health and positive identities

Physical Education:

Strand: Skills & Concepts – Big Idea: Stability and Balance
Strand: Well-Being – Big Idea: Emotional and Social Skills

Science:

Strand: Learning and Living Sustainably – Big Idea: Responsible and Sustainable Application

Math:

Strand: Shape and space – Big Idea: Measurement

What You’ll Need

Parks NB: Fundy National Parks PPT (See attached)
Pencils
Equipment (listed with each activity)
Benefits of outdoor play (See attached)

Instructions

Please note: The majority of this activity is intended to be provided in an outdoor learning environment, however, feel free to adapt and change to meet the needs of your learners and outdoor spaces.

The Great Outdoors & My Mental Health: Gather and discuss this question: “What is positive mental health?” Allow learners to suggest and share signs of what positive mental health might look like, sound like, feel like (positive self-talk, good attitude, kindness, confidence, clearness of mind, sound decisions, creative, etc.). Then, ask: “How does learning outdoors contribute to positive mental health?” Allow learners to provide examples, testimonials, and ideas of the correlation between positive mental health and outdoor learning.

*To review the benefits of outdoor play and mental health please see the PDF resource attached. *

Parks NB Experience: Before beginning the activities, ask learners: “How many have been to a Parks NB site before? If yes, which one and what did you do there? Which is the closest Parks NB site to us?” Use slide 2 of the PowerPoint Presentation to refer to the NB map. Be sure to have learners dressed appropriately for the activities outlined below and have all materials prepared. There is no particular order of experiences – simply plan according to your preference. Here are how the experiences are organized:

Parks NB Experience #1: Fundy National Park

Park Highlight: Bay of Fundy

Materials Needed

Rope – 12.8 m in length (can also be meter sticks, hockey sticks, or skipping ropes tied together)
2 Pylons
Meter Stick or Measuring Tape
Soccer Field or large space

Instructions:

High Tides Discussion: Discuss: “Fundy National Park is home to the world’s highest tides! The Bay of Fundy, twice a day, sees an incredible amount of water come in to shore and then back out to sea. How high do you think the water rises during high tide (in m)?” Allow learners to discuss possibilities, as well as personal experiences with the Bay of Fundy waters.
High Tide Measuring: Using rope (or other materials available), measure 12.8m in length with students on a soccer field. Place 1 pylon at the beginning and 1 pylon at 12.8m, so that it is clearly visible for students. Have students see if they can be as high as the tides by lying on the ground beside the rope – head to toes. Discuss how many students it takes to measure the tide heights. Make another (in a second line beside the first line), until all learners are measured to fill in the blank: Our class is _____ times Bay of Fundy HIGH TIDES tall!
Game – Red, Yellow & Green Light: All learners will create a single-file line, and all start at the first pylon. They should be able to clearly see the 12.8m rope. A caller will be responsible for yelling out Red Light, Yellow Light, or Green Light.

For learners to get a sense of how tides move, it is necessary that the caller does not yell Red Light until the very last call. Learners will also walk or run as far as 12.8 and then walk or run back to the starting line and continue this pattern until Red Light has been called. After the first game, ask learners: Why was Red Light only called once? (Tides never stop moving.) Repeat, as desired.