School Programs

Description of the video:

Video opens with aerial footage showing Bradford Woods property including the tops of green trees in the woods, grassy open fields, a stream leading to a lake, a bridge, service roads, and a building.

On-screen text reads: At Bradford Woods, students have engaged in hands-on learning using our unique outdoor classroom for more than 60 years.

Video shows smiling, school-aged campers walking through the woods, and then changes to school-aged children walking on a path toward a building.

Video shows students listening and looking up into the tree canopy as an adult talks and points in the air.

Video changes to an adult man talking to a group of school-aged children in the woods. The man starts walking and the children begin to follow.

On-screen text reads:  We bolster environmental literacy and stewardship among students using a curriculum designed to meet state standards.

Video changes to two young boys stacking sticks in a pyramid, seemingly to build a fire.

Video changes to a girl pushing leaves into large sticks that are leaning against a tree, seemingly to build a rustic shelter.

Video changes to young people shifting through a water puddle with a hand-held strainer.

Video shows school-aged children looking into small bowls they are holding with one bowl shown containing water and a crayfish.

Video changes to a girl handing an adult a large stick that he then places up against other sticks leaning against trees, seemingly to create a shelter. Other children watch.

Video changes to students walking off-trail through the woods.

On-screen text reads: Students also engage in recreation, team-building, and character-building activities.

Video changes to a large indoor cafeteria filled with school-aged children and some adults sitting at tables finishing up a meal. A student walks through the middle of the cafeteria as others walk in the background.

Video changes to a grass-filled hill with several children rolling down the hill in play.  Other children, as well as an adult, stand or walk along the top of the hill watching them roll down.

Video changes to a scene showing a web of ropes tied together and tied to trees to simulate a giant spider web. Students are shown stepping over and ducking under the ropes trying to navigate their way through the openings in the web.

Video changes to an adult walking with smiling, school-aged children down a grassy hill. 

On-screen text shows a quote from an unnamed Monroe County Community Corporation Elementary Teacher that reads: “We see it time and time again—the students who struggle with traditional learning in the classroom excel in this learning environment.”

Another adult and more children come into the picture and many start raising their hands and giving “high-fives” to one another.

Video changes to an aerial footage of the tops of green trees.

On-screen text reads: Contact us today to build a program for your students! Visit our web site at bradwoods.org.

The screen changes from video footage to a screen showing the IU Trident.  Text fades in on the screen reading “Indiana University” and “iu.edu” at the video ends.

 

89%of students increase their enjoyment of nature

86%of students increase their desire to spend time outdoors

85%of students increase their connectedness to the environment

Two young girls measure how high a stick is with their hands for use in shelter building.

Custom Curriculum

Over 20 years ago, a team at Bradford Woods worked alongside area school administrators to align our curriculum with Indiana Academic Standards. We now boast over 25 different modular units and three thematic units with alignment for third through sixth grade in the areas of English/Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, Mathematics, and History. Class options include Geology, Dirt on Dirt, Wings of the Woods, Invasive Species, and more. We continue to refine our curriculum to meet the needs of today’s students and our changing world. Upcoming options include Alternative Energy and Physical Activity in the Outdoors.

You can review our curriculum units, recreation and evening activity options below. Schools can work with our program coordinators to choose options that work best for their students. If you're interested in replacing curriculum units with teambuilding initiatives, high challenge activities, or other recreation options, talk to your coordinator.

 

The programs presented are always full of information that we will take back and use in the classroom. Lessons were invaluable as this is a once in a lifetime experience for several of our students.

– Parkside Elementary teacher

Outdoor Instuctors

Our outdoor instructors are a critical component of our educational programs. They spend countless hours preparing lesson plans and teaching resources to create an exceptional once-in-a-lifetime experience for each student. Their unique “classroom” include outdoor spaces that bring life to each lesson and include vernal ponds, wetlands, prairies, trails, and hillsides. Each instructor has their own unique academic experience and field-based training – many from around the world. Many have advanced degrees in education, leisure and recreation, environmental studies, conservation, sustainability, adventure, and more.

Employment opportunities

Customized programs

We actively meet with teachers and administrators to determine the best content that pairs nicely with current classroom curriculum. We can customize any experience to meet the needs of the school that may include adding our challenge courses for teambuilding or waterfront for canoeing. If your school is primarily interested in leadership development, our teambuilding programs may be the best fit. Contact Amran Ahmad at 765-349-5102 or at amahmad@iu.edu to discuss options.

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A tradition of learning

A schoolteacher points out artifacts from the Bradford sand mining operation to her students sometime in the 1950s.

In the 1950s, Residential Outdoor Environmental Education programs were an emerging concept, and the partnerships Bradford Woods forged with the Bloomington and Martinsville school districts were some of the first of their kind in the country: Monroe County Community School Corporation started attending in 1955, and the Metropolitan School District of Martinsville started attending in 1957.

Many teachers from both of these school districts were active in building and creating the outdoor curriculum at Bradford Woods: some teachers would come for weeks at a time to teach fifth graders about astronomy, ecology, natural science, and more. Though our programs have always been focused on environmental education, from the very beginning they have also been about teaching values and social skills, such as family-style meals, peer relationships, and living well with others.