Naturalist – A Graphic Adaptation teachers guide
E.O. Wilson’s passion for nature, discovery, and ideas that make us rethink the world is unmatched. When first published more than 25 years ago, Dr. Wilson’s memoir, Naturalist, was called “one of the finest scientific memoirs ever written” by the Los Angeles Times. Naturalist is an inspiring account of Wilson’s growth as a scientist and the evolution of the fields he helped define.
The graphic edition (publication date November 6, 2020), adapted by Jim Ottaviani and illustrated by C.M. Butzer, brings Wilson’s childhood and celebrated career to life through dynamic full-color illustrations and Wilson’s own lyrical writing, inspiring next generation naturalists everywhere. Learn about the creative process from Dr. Wilson and the graphic adaptation team.
Hear from teachers who are excited to bring this fresh version to inspire a new generation of naturalists.
Incorporate literacy in science while encouraging students to reflect on their own experiences with the natural world using excerpts from Naturalist – A Graphic Adaptation provided in this sample activity.
The Naturalist as teaching tool at Tuscaloosa Academy
Get a glimpse of Jaclyn Foster’s active MS classroom in Tuscaloosa, AL, where students use Google Earth and Tour-builder to make collaborative presentations inspired by reading E.O. Wilson’s Naturalist and the exciting new graphic adaptation. Be inspired to have your student build a biodiversity tour!
Mapping E.O. Wilson’s Journey from Biophilic Kid to Famous Naturalist: a Student Design Challenge
This activity integrates literacy, arts and science by asking students to process scientific information in graphic and text form, and then producing a product in the form of box or panel for a graphic novel. Students work in collaborative groups to learn more about Dr. Wilson through a series of multimodal activities. The following Google Earth product showcases the final product made by students in Educator Ambassador Jaclyn Foster’s class using Naturalist: A Graphic Adaptation.
Naturalist-inspired artwork from Jaclyn Foster’s students
Student’s interpreted passages from E.O. Wilson’s Naturalist and created their own illustrations. They then compared them to the illustrations of the same passages found in Naturalist: A Graphic Adaptation. Check out this awesome student work from Educator Ambassador Jaclyn Foster!
