I'm always surprised when I hear the stats (统计数据) about how little time kids spend outside. One study found children are spending less than half the amount of time outdoors than they did just 20 years ago. Meanwhile, the Kaiser Family Foundation found that kids spend an average of seven hours a day using electronic media.
My own childhood was filled with outdoor time. I built forts in the woods, rode my bike with friends, went ice skating in the winter, climbed trees and rocks, and read books on a platform in a tree on hot days.
But my nature time wasn't limited to after-school and weekend activities. I attended a public school in New York's Hudson Valley, and we spent almost all our gym outside. We spent science classes on the acres that surrounded our school, collecting samples from trees and learning about everything from chemistry to physics.
All that outside time isn't just about health and getting kids to exercise more. Several studies also have linked outside time to higher test scores, lower anxiety and aggression, more creativity and improved attention spans.
A public school in Vermont, is taking these results seriously. Eliza Minnucci’s kindergarten class there engages in Forest Mondays, during which the students spend the whole day in the woods, rain or shine.
Minnucci said that playing outdoors involves plenty of learning. It’s fairly easy to weave lessons into nature play. Kids wanted to know the names of birds, plants, rocks and clouds. We followed streams into larger streams into larger streams into a pond and created bridges with logs and stones. We even made up stories about ants and butterfly. For the older kids, we had more defined lesson plans, but we were still outside the whole time, and we would often go off on a tangent(转向)if something interesting was happening, so the learning experience was always fresh and engaging. Besides learning and moving around freely instead of sitting at desks, the kids were having fun while they learned, which made them excited for the next lesson.
12. Why does the author mention little outdoor time kids spend at the beginning of the passage?
A.To make the official data known. |
B.To focus on children s mind and body. |
C.To introduce the topic for the passage. |
D.To explain the reason for little outdoor time. |
13. What does the author think of kids spending time outdoors?
A.Bad for kids, attention. |
B.Harmful to kids, anxiety. |
C.Doubtful of kids' test scores. |
D.Beneficial to kids’ mind and body. |
14. What lessons does building bridges with woods and stones involve?
A.Physics and teamwork. |
B.Chemistry and investigation. |
C.Biology and geology. |
D.Language and creativity. |
15. What would be the best title of the passage?
A.Kids Get Creative in Playing Outdoors |
B.Why Outdoor Education for Kids Matters |
C.Learning Outdoors Is the Goal of Education |
D.Outdoor Lessons Involve Kids' Learning |