Science teacher Howard Granok has been making waves and reaching new heights with his Outdoor Education 5th Day Course! Granok has always been a proponent of innovative, experiential science education. Last year, he encouraged AP Environmental students to turn visiting goats into a science experiment: students measured the goats’ consumption rate to determine their efficacy as sustainable lawnmowers.
5th Day has been the perfect opportunity for Granok to foster his passion for an experiential science curriculum. At the start of the quarter, Granok educated students on the basics of outdoor safety and first aid, fire-making, and other survival skills. Throughout the quarter, Granok called on his students to apply their learning in a myriad of outdoor environments: kayaking and birdwatching at the Audubon Center at Riverlands, fishing in Forest Park, wading and collecting samples in a nearby creek, all culminating in a camping and hiking trip in Hawn State Park, Elephant Rocks, and Johnson Shut-Ins.
Now ready to plan their own outdoor excursions, students are wrapping up Granok’s Outdoor Education course with a passion and preparedness for all the natural world holds.
