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!
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