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Curriculum Details for
Journey North
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Journey North
Journey North is a free inquiry science program for young people providing multiple pathways to explore wildlife migration and seasonal changes around the world. Educators have their choice of standards-based lesson plans detailing a wide range of online and offline activities, and the Web site disseminates a wealth of information geared at helping youth make local observations that can inform global knowledge. Enlisting international participation, the resource involves hundreds of thousands of youth in the research and observation of migratory wildlife, such as butterflies and whooping cranes.
| Content Focus: |
Science, Multimedia/Digital Literacy |
| Linkages to: |
Geography, Math, Language Arts |
| Grades/Ages: |
Grades K–12 |
| Costs: |
Free |
| Publication Date: |
1997-2008 |
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Design Overview
Journey North provides an opportunity for young people across North America to participate in a global study of wildlife migration and seasonal change. Supported by Annenberg Media, the project cultivates youth engagement in three areas of study: sunlight and seasons, plants and seasons, and seasonal migration. The sunlight and seasons study involves solving a "mystery" with clues found around the globe related to sunlight change. The plants and seasons study asks youth to start a garden and plant tulips and then track the growth and development of tulips over time. Finally, the seasonal migration study gets young people involved in the observation, research, and documentation of migrating wildlife using real-time maps. The developer notes that each project is unique and that the depth of involvement is determined by the educator and the youth they are working with. Supporting materials such as lessons, additional activities, and interactive maps accompany each study. Groups are encouraged to report their findings to Journey North via e-mail, with notation of longitude and latitude so that the data can be properly mapped and shared with the larger community of youth researchers.
- Activity Types: Hands-on learning, online research, collaboration
- Materials/technology required: Computer with high-speed Internet connection to view videos and other supplemental materials.
- Program Length/Duration: Varies
- Site Adoption: Thousands of schools representing hundreds of thousands of youth from the United States and Canada
Instructional Approach
Journey North engages students in real-world investigations that connect to multiple content areas and support a variety of instructional approaches. Primarily inquiry-based, Journey North activities generally involve answering key questions posed both in the studies and in weekly updates posted on the Web site. To enhance their learning experience and empower them to learn independently, the developer hosts a section of the Web site targeted to youth directly. This multimedia collection includes stories, pictures, and video clips.
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