Over time Write Out educators have gathered many resources to support place-based writing and education. We welcome recommendations; please share them to social media with the #writeout hashtag or email us.
Teaching Resources
National parks turn into classrooms for a new generation, PBS Newshour, November 2016
Place-conscious education, Nebraska style, NWP Write Now, June 2020
As We Continue: Opening the Walls of the Classroom and the Boundaries of the Park, The Current, December 2019. This collection includes resources created through National Writing Project and National Park Service partnership:
- Using Portraiture as a Primary Source with the Philadelphia Writing Project and Independence National Park
- The Power of Argument: The Philadelphia Writing Project and Independence National Park
- Think Like a Scientist: Discover your Park Playlist, Pocono Writing Project teachers and Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.
- Take Another Look/Mapping Phenomena Activity, Adapted from a Science in the Park resource by the National Writing Project.
- From Lines to Networks: Connecting with National Parks for Place-based Science Learning with the Blackstone River Valley National Historic Park
- Integrating History & Social Justice into Today’s Classroom with Central High School and the Little Rock Writing Project
- History and Writing Resources from the Western Massachusetts Writing Project and Springfield Armory partnership
- Women of the West: Agate Teacher Writing Workshop 2018 and Bare Bones: Place-Based Teaching Through the Stories of Agate Fossil Beds National Monument
- Brown versus Board of Education National Historic Site Google 360 Tour
The Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site is located in Topeka, Kansas. .
- Overcoming a culture of Silence, NWP.org, July 2020
Students created podcasts, Google tours, and gave talks where they debate the causes of the Race Massacre and its impact on Tulsa.
Book List of Environmental Literature compiled by Rich Novack
An Adaptable Framework for Project-Based Learning: National Geographic Nat-Geo Inquiry, Edutopia, August 2020
Place-Based Learning: Using Your Location as a Classroom, Edutopia, 2015
Tips for Creating an Outdoor Classroom, Project Learning Tree
Field Journaling #Writeout, by Rich Novack, 2018
Place-Based Poetry, Modeling One Revision at a Time by Ann Gardner, 2005
Native Knowledge 360°
Native Knowledge 360° (NK360°) provides educators and students with new perspectives on Native American history and cultures.
Online primary document databases to help unearth the hidden stories of place
Curated by Park Ranger Amber Kirkendall from Homestead National Monument for Write Out, 2019.
National Park Service Educators Page
Find curriculum units, lesson plans, ideas for field trips, distance learning opportunities, and more!
Telling All Americans’ Stories Hub
This landing page leads to multiple resources on the historical experiences of minoritized populations.
NPS Publications on Diverse and Inclusive History
A collection of NPS publications that focus on the historical experiences of minoritized populations.
Social Injustice in the Landscape
A National Park Service-curated resource, focusing on NPS locations that highlight injustice as part of the geography, ecology and history of the place itself.
Cultural Landscapes of the National Park Service
A National Park Service-curated resource, organized by region, these articles and media dig deeper into the stories of places, giving a platform and voice to those stories and people often forgotten.
In the News …
How Outdoor Learning Can Bring Curiosity and Connection to Education in Tough Times, KQED’s Mindshift, October 2020
With Safety in Mind, Schools Take Classrooms Outdoors, Edutopia, September 2020
‘Black Birders Week’ Promotes Diversity and Takes on Racism in the Outdoors, The Audubon Society, June 2020
Beloved Writers on Nature as an Antidote to Depression by Maria Popova, June 2020
Twitter posts show that people are profoundly sad – and are visiting parks to cheer up, The Conversation, May 2020
Making outdoor recreation more inclusive: Interview with Outdoor Afro’s Antoine Skinner, part of a Hewlett Foundation series about inspiring conservation stewards, March 2020
How Hip Hop Can Bring Green Issues to Communities of Color by Thomas Easley, Yale School for the Environment, March 2020
Black Bodies, Green Spaces: Why is the image of an environmentally conscious African-American still hard for us to picture?, NYTimes Opinion, June 2019
Being ‘Outdoorsy’ When You’re Black Or Brown. NPR: Code Switch podcast, 2016
Connecting
Diversity Outdoors
A coalition promoting diversity in outdoor spaces where people of color, LGBTQIA, and other diverse identities have historically been underrepresented.
Outdoor Afro
The nation’s leading, cutting edge network that celebrates and inspires Black connections and leadership in nature.
Latino Conservation Week
An annual event, Latino Conservation Week was created to support the Latino community getting into the outdoors and participating in activities to protect our natural resources.
Theory and Practice
Place-Conscious Education with the Nebraska Writing Project, NWP Radio series, July 2020
A Place for Local in Critical Global Literacies by Amy Price Azano, English Journal 2019
The Best of Both Worlds: A Critical Pedagogy of Place by David Gruenewald, 2003
Place Based Education: Connecting Classroom and Community by David Sobel, 2004
What is Place-based Education: Promise of Place Website. Center for Place-based Learning and Community Engagement
The Benefits of Place-Based Education: A Report from the Place-Based Education Evaluation Collaborative. Center for Place-based Learning and Community Engagement