Nature Study: How to Use Field Guides
Learn how to use these helpful books to identify what you find while hiking and exploring out in nature or just playing in your backyard!
Suzanne Tomlinson
Average rating:
4.8
Number of reviews:(180)
What's included
1 live meeting
30 mins in-class hoursClass Experience
Field guides are books that contain organized information to help you identify observations in nature. There are field guides on everything from animals to weather phenomena. Some are very general, such as insects from around the world. Others are very specific, like native plants in a certain state.
The following will be covered in this class:
- Different types of field guides and their purposes
- Best practices for narrowing down an ID within the field guide
- Recommendations for types and titles based on interests and backgrounds
- Sources where field guides can be obtained (print and digital)
This is an ideal class for students who have never used a field guide (or used one very little) or those who get confused by the information in field guides.Other Details
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Joined May, 2018
4.8
180reviews
Teacher expertise and credentials
I began looking at field guides over 30 years ago when I was a young child. I was fascinated that one small book could help me figure out some of the cool stuff that was in the woods and in my yard! I loved the idea that everything had a name and it was organized in some way (long before I learned the formal structure of taxonomy). Just as each person has a name, and a story of how we came to be, so does each plant and animal. My curiosity to know those things has only gotten stronger as the years have passed. I enjoy using field guides to find out so much information about things that I rarely see, and also the things I walk by daily. I hope to share some of this passion for using these very useful reference books. Reviews
Live One-Time Class
$5
per classMeets once
30 min
Completed by 5 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 9-13
5-15 learners per class
