FIRSTHAND LEARNING E-NEWSLETTER
Volume 1, Number 1

IN THIS ISSUE:
1. Learning from direct experience
2. Investigating Insects makes its debut
3. Download a free nifty pocket journal – perfect for recording insect observations
4. Make your own butterfly net!

1. WHAT IS FIRSTHAND LEARNING?
First Hand Learning, Inc. is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote learning from direct experience, inquiry-based teaching, and collaboration among formal and informal educational organizations. To learn more about First Hand Learning, Inc. and its projects, go directly to www.firsthandlearning.org.

“Firsthand learning” empowers learners by providing them with opportunities to figure things out for themselves, to believe in the analytical abilities of their own minds, and to connect with the world around them through direct experience.

To learn more about First Hand Learning’s philosophy, click on www.firsthandlearning.org/about.

2. THE PUPATION IS OVER! A NEW OBJECT LESSONS® KIT EMERGES
The INVESTIGATING INSECTS kit presents a Standards-based, hands-on learning experience that prepares students in grades 5 – 8 to think and act like scientists. Introduced to naming and classification, to the power of organizing ideas such as life cycle, metamorphosis and structure/function, and to the components of a good scientific experiment, students pursue a collection of thought-provoking “mini-mysteries.” The unit culminates in a challenge to students to design and implement their own insect investigations.

For more detailed information on the array of materials and topics included in the Investigating Insects kit, click here.

To learn more about other Object Lessons® units go to www.firsthandlearning.org/object.

To find out about on-going Object Lessons® professional development workshops, click on www.firsthandlearning.org/prodev.

3. INSECT MINI JOURNALS ENCOURAGE BUDDING ENTOMOLOGISTS
Field journals are crucial tools for naturalists of all kinds. Use First Hand Learning’s mini Insect Field Journal to entice your students to record observations and questions about how insects maneuver. It’s easy; just click on the link below to download a pdf version of the journal. Print it out, fold it up, and go exploring!
www.firsthandlearning.org/insectjournal.

4. MAKE YOUR OWN BUTTERFLY NET!
Investigating the fascinating world of insects firsthand means observing these creatures up close and personal. Click on the link below for easy directions on how to fabricate an insect collecting net. Be sure to have a container ready to accommodate what students catch so that they can observe creatures closely and then let them safely go free again.
www.firsthandlearning.org/net
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We hope you found this edition of the FIRSTHAND E-LETTER useful. Please contact us with any comments, suggestions, or questions you may have by emailing us at: inquiries@firsthandlearning.org.

First Hand Learning is interested in teachers’ accounts of learning and teaching from direct experience. Share your thoughts and stories with us, and we’ll feature them in a future e-letter highlighting real-world inquiry in, and out of, the classroom.

Next month: A new and improved Field Journal! and Linking Science and Literacy.
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