The LCLL Curriculum

Each lesson in the LCLL curriculum uses an inquiry-based learning approach in asking the children a question which they try to answer throughout that lesson. As they investigate, the children’s “wonderings” can lead to further topics to explore in that or future lessons. The lessons culminate in a product each child creates which illustrates the child’s knowledge of the topic. Most products are in the language arts field, such as illustrated poetry, analogies and similes, informative paragraphs, brochures, journals, and posters . There are others, however, where the children will undertake a process to produce the end product. This happens as the children experience the life cycle of a seed “in” nature: from planting a seed in the classroom, to its growing into a mature plant in the garden, to the harvesting of the vegetable or flower, to gathering the new seeds that will begin the planting process all over again.

Collecting Seeds

The most significant venue for children to know what is important about nature is to be “in” nature. That is why this curriculum unfolds in both the school classroom Kindergarten through Fifth grade to use their natural curiosity and the many skills they have been taught. The Living Classroom Learning Lab is a comprehensive curriculum completely aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards that describes nature’s balance and interdependence through the key underlying and unfolding concepts of nature: ecosystems, pollination and adaptation, biodiversity, and sustainability. By providing hands-on experiences to help children understand these concepts, we can nurture them into young adults with a desire to make our Earth a better place.

Scope and Sequence of the Ecosystem Theme

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