Pill Bug Project Presentations

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Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the 5th and 6th grade students Pill Bug Presentations!  These presentations represent over a month's worth of work in science class.  It started with multiple weeks of experimentation and behavioral studies and concluded with the students presenting their findings to their peers.  I am thrilled with their efforts and results and I hope you enjoy watching these videos!


Grade 5
Kyle B. - https://youtu.be/irKYQNuOQEc

Aiden C. - https://youtu.be/iJFu2URHXi8

Katy F. - https://youtu.be/zqXdf3f7vYA

Kate H. - https://youtu.be/AWMAIGpJCY0

Dawson H. - https://youtu.be/sEHHrf_jwkM

Noor H. - https://youtu.be/Hqu4177Wgtg

Jane L. - https://youtu.be/x6KM298aNLk

Simon L. - https://youtu.be/zV0tl06rW24

Cooper M. - https://youtu.be/ATpEhd7CKMk

Harrison M. - https://youtu.be/bjgP3qGV6LU

Grayson M. - https://youtu.be/dIvrbpNLRo4

Bryce M. - https://youtu.be/1uYTzEx8ld4

Kylie R. - https://youtu.be/slVBUN6-D4I

Jack R. - https://youtu.be/y7qUHxqWnU0

Michael T. - https://youtu.be/OEd4CXjyyjE

Connor W. - https://youtu.be/rMAxsGobQDQ


Grade 6
Laura B. - https://youtu.be/xXG7bMWE5hA

Arushi K. - https://youtu.be/PYRXTIFh8mA

Eli K. - https://youtu.be/PsSXbJaZxbk

Ryan F. - https://youtu.be/aLKdXSoR7kI

Ava L. - https://youtu.be/wWQ4kIJvex0

Lucy P. - https://youtu.be/3vsFj9RLNsk

Dillon R. - https://youtu.be/P12tg4k96uM

Updates from the Wonderful World of Science

Grade 4

Students in Grade 4 science have been working hard learning the ins and outs of taxonomy and classification.  They have been learning about Carl Linnaeus (the father of taxonomy) and learning how the system he created 300 years ago provides the framework we still use today.  We have spent time discussing the idea of grouping organisms by the ways they are similar and dissimilar and using the macroinvertebrates from our own collection as examples for when orders/families/classes/genus separate from each other and become a new group of organisms.

Some of our class time has also been dedicated to continue to care for our crayfish collection.  My room is starting to look a little like a rescue center for aquatic species and we currently have eight working aquariums!

Crayfish are omnivores and scavengers.  They will eat pretty much anything... plants, insects, fish, alive things, dead things, and even other crayfish!  We've been trying to stop the carnage and separate out our species into individual tanks and I think we've finally reached a good balance.  The other highlight has been that we observed a pair of crayfish mating, which in addition to being really cool, was super helpful in helping us understand the anatomy of a crayfish.  The difference between a male and female can be told by looking at the size of the uppermost swimmerets on the abdomen.  When we completed our crayfish anatomy lab that was one of the things that had most of us stumped because most of our crayfish all looked like they had the same size swimmerets.  Now that we knew we had a female and a male we could compare their swimmerets and finally could see the difference in size clearly.  We have isolated the female crayfish and hope that her eggs will fertilize and come to fruition.  If we get baby crayfish you'll be sure to know!

The crayfish mating ritual usually consists of the male and female grappling together for one to two hours.  I kept my eye on them all morning and our mating pair was linked together for more than three hours!  When I came back from lunch they had disconnected and each crayfish had retreated to the corner farthest from the other one.  This would lend itself nicely to a class on healthy relationships, but in our 4th graders case I just silently chuckled to myself and moved on.

Crayfish enjoying a piece of turkey at Thanksgiving

Grade 5 and 6

I haven't sent a lot of updates from Grade 5/6 recently because they have been immersed in the same work for a few weeks now.  They have completed their independent experiments around pill bugs and have been working on putting together powerpoint presentations that highlight their experiments and findings.  This week they will present these findings to their class.  I will be videotaping the presentations and have those to share with you all via the blog sometime next week.  I am very proud of the effort the students have put into their projects and presentations and can not wait to see the fruits of their labor!

“Some things need to be earned”

A major component of the experiential learning cycle is reflection on the experience.  Some say that without reflection the experience itself was meaningless.  To that end, our students took some time to reflect on their Owl Calling expedition and I’d like to share some of their insights.

What were the feelings you experienced on the trip that you most enjoyed?

“I think the feelings I most enjoyed were accomplishment of the hard challenges and then the fun we had while dissecting owl pellets.” – Kate H.

“Happiness and excitement!” – Kylie R.

“I experienced accomplishment after finishing the hiking trails and loved rock climbing!” – Connor W.

“The feeling of having fun in a familiar environment was great!” – Jack R.

“Accomplishing goals that needed teamwork.” – Grayson M.

What were the feelings you experienced on the trip that you least enjoyed?

“When we found no owls.” – Simon L.

Specifically, how did the group work together?

“Great!  Because when someone did not do the right thing we all stepped in to help.” – Kylie R.

“We worked together by planning ahead and working together to include everyone’s voice” – Cooper M.

Specifically, how did the group make decisions?

“We gave our reasons and tried to come to agreeing points.” – Jack R.

What did you discover about yourself? The group?

“That we can really do a good job working together if we put our mind to it.” – Noor H.

“Some people rush, but others take their time.” – Jack R.

“I discovered I am an outdoors person!” – Kylie R.

“I discovered some things need to be earned and that the group cares for other people” – Bryce M.

Who are we tending to take seriously and why?

“We are tending to take seriously the people who usually pay attention.” – Aiden C.

“We should take everyone seriously, because you never know if they have a good idea.” – Michael T.

How much talking vs listening was done by the group (during the group challenges)?

“I think we did a lot of both by communicating and listening to everyone’s feedback so we could do better at the challenges” – Kyle B.

What differences did you notice about other group members’ styles of communication?

“Some would yell so everyone heard them, and some would listen and build off other people’s ideas.” – Katy F.

“Some would expect you to know what they were thinking.” – Jane L.

What did you learn about the way you communicate that will be helpful later?

“You do not communicate by yelling.” – Aiden C.

“I think I learned that I like to communicate when people are giving their attention to me, so I will try to state my ideas when people are quiet.” – Kate H.

“If you don’t communicate well you will never achieve a goal.  If you do, you’ll exceed everything.” – Harrison M.

“I learned that you need to adapt to each way everyone communicates.” – Cooper M.

“I am very verbal.  It will help me listen more.” – Jane L.

“Say stuff loudly only when necessary. People won’t take you seriously if you shout too much.” – Jack R.

What would be helpful to change in order for the group to be more successful in the future?

“If we would be quiet so people could express their ideas to the whole group.” – Katy F.

“Probably spending more time making plans.” – Grayson M.

“I think it would be helpful to have each person present their idea (with no interruptions) and then have the group decide if it’s good.” – Kate H.

“Don’t get mad when somebody messes up.” – Dawson H.

“To give other people a chance to share their thoughts.” – Michael T.

Did you make a difference during the trip?  What did you contribute?

“I contributed by cheering up some people when they were sad.” – Aiden C.

What specific memories, or visuals, will you take away from this trip’s experience?

“That when you go owling, if you try 5 times but no response… you don’t give up!” – Kyle B.

“It was so beautiful, rain or shine.  It really will stick with me for a long time.” – Jack R.

Bat update

Just received a call from the Wildlife Rescue Center and it turns out that our bat friend does have some damage to her back legs (possibly a spinal injury) and has been transported to the Missouri Bat Census, who can provide her with the expert care she needs.  They will send more updates as they have them.

We Went From Owl Calling to Bat Falling

Today during MakerSpace we were working behind the Little House when we saw some of our pre-school friends all crowded around something on the ground.  Turns out they found a red bat (Lasiurus borealis) and he appeared to be injured.  He was spreading his wings and hissing when we approached it.  We moved the bat to a safe area (i.e. not on the playground) and then looked up "what do if you find a bat" while we continued working.

Based on what we learned from protocols on the Bat World Sanctuary website we needed to call a local wildlife rehabilitator.

We called and within an hour we had formed a plan to get the bat some help.  The folks at Wildlife Rescue Center in Ballwin were willing to help as long as we could get the bat to them.  I headed there after work and they were able to examine the bat.  Turns out he checked out physically on the initial exam, but he was very shaky while walking around in the netted enclosure.  They suspect it could be head trauma or there's something going on that they didn't see in the cursory examination.  They are going to monitor the bat for the next few days and update me when they know more.

If they can rehabilitate the bat, the protocol for release is to take the animal back to where it was found.  Their trained staff would handle all of that, but they did invite the kids to be a part of it... only problem is that bats are nocturnal so they would release him in the evening. The staff at the Wildlife Rescue Center were amazing and it was evident that they were really passionate about helping critters.  Their mission is to rehabilitate injured, sick and orphaned native wildlife and release healthy animals to their natural habitat.

If you would like to support this program please consider donating here.  I did!  And stay tuned for another bat health update next week as I get more information.

"Owl Calling" expedition (or "What to do if it rains for 20 hours straight")

We'll you've all heard the story by now.  Epic rainstorms and safety concerns led us to modify the expedition.  Those reasons alone are enough to cancel a trip, but just as importantly I wanted this to be a positive experience for the students and having 90% chance of rain from the time we arrived until the time we left just did not sound fun.  It was a pretty easy call to cancel Hawn and we already had worked out a back-up plan in the days leading up to the expedition.

So we changed the the first day's programming location to West Tyson Park.  We virtually had the park to ourselves and were able to complete a lot of the team building games under cover of the pavilion.  As the rain kept coming and coming we kept saying to ourselves, "We made the right call.  This would have been miserable." When it did stop raining we were able to get in a 2-mile hike before heading for cover once again for more team building elements.

The objective of the team building elements we planned was to build team unity and chemistry between the 5th and 6th grade.  This is the group that will be heading to the Smoky Mountains together and we rarely have time to bond like this during the daily school schedule.  Group dynamic theory says that if you add or remove one person you have a whole new group, so while the kids may interact with each other often at CDS they don't often work as a unit.  We designed initiatives and games that would help this group form bonds and begin to develop group norms for behavior with the long term goal of having them working together efficiently while on our big trip.

Good team work and collaboration isn't something that just happens.  You have to intentionally build and scaffold experiences for students so they can grow their capacity in these areas.  Some of the initiatives were more cognitive and had the kids trying to work in teams to solve coded word problems or spatial/geometric problems.  Others were more kinesthetic and had the kids running around and trying to form four-person bobsled teams!  But they were all intentionally selected with specific goals around building team identity and creating a positive environment for all members for the group.

After our day at West Tyson we headed back to our secret camping location of the CDS gym!  We first headed to the gym for some more team building challenges like Team Jump Rope.  These games are great ways to get the students energized and working collaboratively to achieve success.  While the kids completed the games, our wonderful chaperones BBQ'd in the rain out back (thanks David Fitzler!) and then we all ate our camping style dinner in the atrium while the rain poured down around us outside.

After dinner we headed to the science lab for a lesson on owl adaptations and had a chance to see owl specimen pieces on loan from friends at the MDC.  Then the students each dissected an owl pellet and identified the bones of the prey it consumed. The students had bone charts which they were able to use to see if it was a rodent, bird, shrew, or mole bone.   I'm sure you heard all about this, so I'll digress... but it was awesome.  My personal highlight was just seeing my science lab jam packed with both students and adults at 7:30 at night.  It was odd, but I like odd so it was cool.

If your child came home with a bag of bones and you weren't happy, this is my public apology, but it's hard to say "No" to their sheer excitement!

After our owl pellet dissection we headed to the gym to set-up our campground.  I love camping, but we definitely made the right call as the storm was at it's most intense while we were setting up our tents.  You could hear the rain pounding the gym roof and I think we were all content right where we were!

The rain did stop long enough for us to board the bus one more time and head out for some owl calling though.  We headed to the Rollo's house where they frequently hear owls.  It was a great spot for owls and we had a perfect break in the weather, but we were unsuccessful with getting any responses.  It was a valiant effort though and I'm really glad we tried.  Plus it just opens the door up for a second attempt.  Get those winter-rated sleeping bags ready...  :-)

The next morning we were up and at it early just like if we had been camping!  We were packed up, out of CDS, and back on the bus by 7:30am where we headed to Castlewood State Park for the next full day of programming.

My what a difference a day makes! 

 It was a gorgeous morning for us to make our camping breakfast in the park.

After breakfast we continued our predator-prey study by participating in a game of Oh Deer!  In this game some students are habitat components (such as water, food, or shelter) and others are deer.  As the students played the game we collected data on how the deer population was changing throughout the simulation.  As the game continued, we reintroduced wolves to our "ecosystem" and tracked the effect of these predators.  After the population simulation game, the students graphed the results of the simulation and were introduced to the concept of feedback loops, an important systems thinking tool that will be expanded upon in class over the next several weeks.

Our final challenge of the expedition was a team building activity called Through the Cube.  Hanging from a rope in a tree was a 1m cube made of PVC pipe.  Attached to the top of the cube were a series of bells.  If you touched the PVC pipes the bells would jingle.  The object was for each individual to go in one side of the cube and out a different side of the cube without touching the pipe or jingling the bells.  The trick was that if anyone hit the pipe or jingled the bells... the whole group would start over.

Many strategies were tried in the first several rounds before the students found methods that seemed to work better.  They were all coaching each other and working tremendously well to support all members of the team.  Eventually, they were all able to successfully go through the cube and there was a huge cheer!  But then they learned that this was only Level One and that they now had to go through while connected as a group!

Same rules applied, but this time everyone on the team had to connect and go through the cube while maintaining this connection.  After a few attempts the students were able to complete the challenge and every single kid had a huge smile on their face as they celebrated.  It was grand!

We headed to the pavilion for lunch and were visited by the Park Rangers who were excited to see schools out and using the parks for programming.  They shared some important hiking safety tips and made sure no one named Turtle had stolen any milk ;-)  It was a great way to end the day and a welcome surprise.

Overall the trip was a huge success.  It met all of my programming objectives and I was proud of the work we did as a team to adapt the programming to the weather conditions.  There was a subtle message there to the students too, that when the going gets tough you find a way to make it work.  The kids were tremendously upbeat the entire trip and really grew as a group in terms of their communication, teamwork, and problem solving.  Big shout outs to Alexis Mićić, David Fitzler, Corrie Marks, Josh Mandell, and Matt Rollo for their hard work and flexibility throughout the trip.  We had a great team of teacher and parent leaders and this trip ran really smooth even though everything was modified on the fly.  YOU ALL ARE AMAZING!

Until the next adventure!

Adapting to Environmental Conditions (Grades 5 and 6)

I had this grand plan in my head as we started the school year.  We would start the year talking about experimental design and learning about the scientific method.  Then we would transition from that to an independent study around bird behavior using bird feeders installed on campus.  Students would design their own birdfeeder-based experiment and then collect data everyday right here at CDS.  I had done a project like this through Cornell University a few summers ago and it was really engaging for the students and produced some awesome science investigations.  I had the Audubon Society come out and introduce the students to bird identification, we set-up seven feeding areas around campus, we put out water for the birds… and nothing.  We would watch the feeders in 10 minute observation windows and we might see one bird and it wouldn’t even be at our feeder.  It would be near it, but not at it feeding.  We just don’t have an abundance of birds on our campus (yet).  Kind of shocking to be honest.  I was in this Field of Dreams mentality where “if we build it, they will come!”, but they most certainly did not!  So rather than go down a road that wouldn’t yield high quality science investigations we did exactly what I would want my students to do when their plans fall apart... we switched gears entirely and did something completely different.  In our case, we dove headfirst into the wonderful world of crustaceans!

When I say crustaceans, I’m guessing your probably thinking crabs, shrimps, and lobsters.  About 99% of crustaceans are aquatic species, but there are terrestrial crustaceans too.  You might be surprised to find out that roly polies (pill bugs) are in fact crustaceans!  Even more of a shocker is that these organisms still possess gills, so they need to live in damp conditions to maintain their ability to breathe.  Pretty cool, right?

Our grade 5 and 6 scientists began their investigation, like any good science experiment, with detailed observations and asking questions.  Students were given roly polies and asked to make some observation on their behavior (for example, is it eating, hiding, running, climbing?  What does it do when you touch it?  Does it move fast or slow?  Do you think it can see well?)  They made technical drawings of their pill bugs from the top, side, and bottom and gained experience drawing for detail and labeling.  Next students generated a list of questions that they had about pill bugs.

               

One of the initial observations the students made was that some pill bugs seemed to be “hikers” while others were more inclined to be “rollers”.  They learned that these were actually two different species.  Pill bugs are “rollers” and their scientific name is Armadillium Vulgare.  Sow bugs are “hikers” and their scientific name is Porcellio Scaber. Students were also introduced to choice chambers which are a fantastic tool that helps students with design their independent investigations.  The choice chamber has two large petri dishes connected in the middle by a chamber with gates.  The students decide the environmental conditions for each chamber, place a few pill bugs in the connector piece, and then open the gates and observe which conditions the pill bugs prefer. 

              

During these final weeks of the trimester students are putting everything they’ve learned about experimental design to the test (literally and figuratively) and completing a series of experiments using pill bugs and choice chambers.  This will conclude with a presentation of their findings and discoveries.

            

Here’s a sample list of some of the questions be investigated by our students:

• ·      How fast do pillbugs move?
• ·      Do pillbugs prefer a light or dark environment?
• ·      Do pillbugs have a color preference?
• ·      Will pillbugs always go to the dark?

• ·      Are pillbugs responding to temperature and not the light?
• ·      Is moisture more important than darkness?
• ·      Is moisture more significant than temperature?
• ·      Can pillbugs learn? Remember?
• ·      Will pillbugs go to a food source? Stay near a food source? Remember where a food source is located?
• ·      Can pillbugs see?

• ·      Do pillbugs have leaders and follow each other?

• ·      Can pillbugs communicate with each other?

             

Please engage your students in discussion about their experiments or have them share their science notebooks with you.  They will be able to tell you their testable questions, identify the independent, dependent, and control variables, describe in detail their methods and procedures and communicate the results of their investigations.

I look forward to sharing more about what they’ve discovered in the coming weeks!