Point North

Opening Frame

• Say something like: “Today we are going to practice getting proximate. That means paying attention to the place we are in, not just as a background, but as a living context shaped by land, water, people, histories, plants, animals, weather, and systems.” Then add: “It is okay not to know the answers. Noticing what we do not know is part of the point.”

Start Without Phones

• Invite students to work in pairs or small groups. For the first round, they should answer as many questions as they can without using phones, laptops, or the internet.
• Point North Questions
  • What direction is north?
  • What time is sunset today?
  • Where does your drinking water come from?
  • Where does your garbage go?
  • What kind of soil is under your feet: clay, sand, rock, silt, or something else?
  • What plants grow nearby?
  • Name one bird you have seen or heard nearby.
  • Who were and are the Indigenous peoples connected to this land?
  • What human-made systems shape this place: roads, housing, schools, transportation, etc.?
• Notice What You Know and Do Not Know
  • After 8–10 minutes, ask students to mark their responses:
    • K = I know this
    • G = I guessed
    • ? = I do not know yet
    • ! = I want to learn more
• Then ask:
  • What was easiest to answer?
  • What was hardest?
  • What surprised you?
  • What did you realize you move past every day without noticing?

Second Round: Research One Question

• Now allow students to use reliable sources, maps, posted signs, teacher-provided resources, or local knowledge to investigate one question more deeply.
• Possible research choices:
  • watershed and drinking water
  • waste and recycling systems
  • local Indigenous history and ongoing presence
  • native plants
  • birds and migration
  • wildfire history
  • food systems
  • military, park, or neighborhood history
  • climate impacts in the local area

Pair Share

• Invite students to share:
  • One thing we knew
  • One thing we guessed
  • One thing we learned
  • One thing we still want to understand
• Encourage them to speak from curiosity rather than certainty.

Connect to Courage

• Ask: How is paying attention to place connected to courage?
• Possible discussion pathways:
  • Courage can mean slowing down enough to notice
  • Courage can mean learning the histories we were not taught
  • Courage can mean caring for a place, even when its problems feel large
  • Courage can mean seeing ourselves as part of a living community, not separate from it

Closing Reflection

• Students complete one of the following:
  • One thing I noticed today that I usually overlook is…
  • One thing I do not know yet about this place is…
  • One question I want to keep asking is…
  • Knowing where I am helps me feel…
  • One way I can care for this place is…
  • One thing this place has already taught me is…

Educator Support

• Facilitation Tips
  • Keep the tone curious. This activity works best when students realize that not knowing is an invitation to pay closer attention.
  • Be careful with Indigenous history. Avoid treating Indigenous peoples only as people of the past. Use language that recognizes original and continuing presence, stewardship, and sovereignty. When possible, use sources created by or in consultation with local Indigenous communities.
  • This lesson also connects to evidence from environmental education and adolescent development.
    • Reviews of nature connectedness research describe nature connection as involving emotional, cognitive, sensory, ethical, and well-being dimensions.
    • Recent adolescent-focused reviews suggest that nature connectedness is relevant to mental health, pro-environmental behavior, and social connection. 
    • Research on place-based science teaching also suggests that local environments can be meaningful sites for learning because they connect scientific inquiry with students’ sense of place.
      
• Differentiation
  • For students who prefer visual learning, invite them to make a place map with drawings, symbols, arrows, or sensory details.
  • For multilingual learners, invite students to name places, plants, animals, weather, or landforms in multiple languages.
  • For urban schools, emphasize that nature is not only wilderness. Sidewalk trees, fog, pigeons, weeds, storm drains, soil, parks, insects, community gardens, shorelines, and air quality are all part of the local environment.
• Assessment
  • Students demonstrate understanding when they can:
    • ask meaningful questions about their local environment;
    • distinguish what they know from what they need to learn;
    • describe at least one connection between place, belonging, and responsibility;
    • identify one local system or history that shapes daily life; and
    • name one possible act of care, attention, or stewardship.