Oct25

Are children getting enough direct experience with natural materials?

There has been an interesting discussion going on among the middle and high school science teachers on the NSTA General Science email list about the lack of direct experience in their students' background. Some have suggested that early childhood and elementary schools are not laying the groundwork for the later learning.

grasshopperOne teacher said, “I was talking to an honors ninth grade class and most of the students said they had not seen a live grasshopper. This explains why several schools have started their biology classes with the ecosystems because they want students to be able to see and experience life sciences before moving to conceptual ideas in biochemistry and genetics.”

The National Science Education Content Standards (A and C) for K-4 call for all students to develop:

►Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry

►Understanding about scientific inquiry

and

►The characteristics of organisms

►Life cycles of organisms

►Organisms and environments

 

I know grasshoppers from a childhood field—with two visible bulbous eyes, pincher-like mouthparts, barbs on the hind legs, and wings that you don’t notice until one goes zooming past you. And they spit tobacco! At least that is what we called the "partially digested food material along with some semi-toxic compounds from the insect's crop region."  It stained our palms when we held a grasshopper too tightly. Have your students had that experience?

I’ll share this comment with the early childhood teachers I work with to let them know how vital the experiences they make happen, or take advantage of, are to their students’ future learning. It may inspire us to take walking fieldtrips to a nearby field or brush at the edge of a parking lot to look for wildlife, or encourage them to keep a container of Tenebrio beetles (mealworms) in the classroom. Children are fascinated with beetles and other small animals.

Here are two great sites about grasshoppers and other insects:

Grasshoppers: Their biology, Identification, and Management. USDA-ARS-Northern Plains Agricultural Research Lab in Sidney, Montana

http://www.sidney.ars.usda.gov/grasshopper/ID_Tools/index.htm  

Using Live Insects in the Elementary Classrooms: For Early Lessons in Life. The University of Arizona’s Center for Insect Science Education Outreach

http://insected.arizona.edu/lessons.htm

A few crickets are still chirping and crawling under leaves in my neighborhood but I rarely see grasshoppers. Time to create a small habitat so students can bring a cricket inside for a week!

Peggy

Published: Oct-25-09 | 3 Comments | 0 Links to this post

Aug07

Citizen science: collaborative projects for teachers and their class

I was excited to see a Monarch butterfly land on the Butterfly Bush in the yard (I hesitate to call it a garden).

From NSTA The Early Years Blog

 

Milk weed plant with seed pods but no caterpillarsDoes that mean that the Milkweed plant may yet become a home to Monarch caterpillars? I haven’t seen any eggs but there is still time. Maybe another insect has already staked a claim to the Milkweed, making it unattractive to butterflies. Monarch butterfly migration is the subject of a citizen science project called Monarch Watch, which encourages the creation of “Monarch Waystations”, plantings of caterpillar food (milkweeds) and nectar sources for the adult butterflies. This is a project your class could initiate in the spring after studying the butterfly life cycle.

 

Read more about butterflies and how they are the same and different from moths in What’s the Difference Between a Butterfly and a Moth? by Robin Koontz with informative illustrations by Brandelin-Dacey (Picture Window Books, 2010).  Both are in the group Lepidoptera and your children will love to become Lepidopterists, butterfly and moth scientists. Butterfly information is also available online from California to Florida.  See the Educators' Guide: Butterfly Rainforest at the Florida Museum of Natural History for answers to questions such as “How do Lepidoptera see, taste and hear?”

 

Citizen science projects are one way to connect your class with habitats other than your local one, and to broaden their knowledge of the world while helping them understand that sometimes science is a collection of data collected over time by many individuals. Here are some activity ideas that may inspire you to participate with your class, and join with others in a network to provide data that can be used by other classes and scientists.

 

In the Square of Life project, students plot square meters in their school yards and record all the living and non-living things they find in the square. They compare the information with what other classes have found by looking at the information posted on the website. View student reports to see how your class can learn by participating in the project which was developed by Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education (CIESE) and Bank Street College of Education .

 

In Bucket Buddies, another CIESE project,  students collect samples from ponds to answer the question: Are the organisms found in pond water the same all over the world?  Then they compare their data with that from other classes and look for patterns.

 

One of the many species of fireflies, or lightening bugsParticipating in Firefly Watch means observing and recording the presence or absence of fireflies in your area. Read about "How These Beetles Create Light" and what scientists know in David Farenthold’s article in the Washington Post.

 

On one recent morning with the unseasonable summer temperature of 64 F, I saw a bumble bee resting on a purple cone flower, perhaps waiting for the sun to warm it up. I was tempted to pet it! If you are in Illinois and your students are interested in taking photos of bees, learn about Beespotters, another project where citizen scientists lend a hand.   One beespotter’s photo showed a rusty-patched bumble bee, Bombus affinis, a bee that was thought to be locally extinct!

 

Learning about the lives of insects can expand our students' world.

Peggy

Published: Aug-07-09 | 0 Comments | 0 Links to this post

Jun02

Experiences with nature

Although I credit my early childhood exposure to orchard, field, woods, and creek as the foundation for my understanding of the natural world, I would despair if I thought that same understanding is lost to children who grow up in urban, constructed places, or mostly indoors. My father told of swimming in Wissahickon Creek, a Schuylkill River tributary, and digging garnets out of the Wissahickon schist in Fairmount Park in his childhood in the city of Philadelphia in the 1920’s. The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education is where he might go today to learn about ecosystems in Philadelphia.  My mother’s childhood was filled with box turtle sightings and catching gudgeon on the Patapsco River, on land that is now part of Patapsco Valley State Park in Maryland. I wish such experiences for all children.

 

Many of my students spend limited time in natural areas but their sense of wonder is not diminished when they encounter living organisms in human-constructed environments (indoors)—it just needs to be encouraged as the spider episode in class yesterday demonstrates:

 

As the children were gathered around listening to a teacher read aloud, one child drew their attention to a tiny spider slowly dropping on its thread in the center of the group. The teacher directed the children to move a bit and kept on reading. The discoverer came to tell me and get a small viewing container. This is what she told another teacher 15 minutes later, “I caught it from a web spinning from the ceiling. It looks like a bee because it has a ring of fur around its neck.” As they were lining up to leave the room I noticed she was empty-handed and I asked what happened to the spider. “I let it go back to its home.” She understood that the room was the spider’s habitat, an interior one.

Click on the word "Comments" below to share how your class experiences nature.

Peggy
Published: Jun-02-09 | 3 Comments | 0 Links to this post

May27

Tadpoles are baby frogs

What percentage of children ever get to see a tadpole grow into a frog? Reading about tadpoles amazing metamorphosis into adult frogs is less amazing than observing the living animals and noticing a daily change in size or form.

From NSTA The Early Years Blog
The seasonal nature of this transformation means that young children may not remember the last time they saw it because it happened one third of their lifetime ago, so teachers may want to repeat this observation activity every year. There are concerns among scientists that even common species of frogs and other amphibians are facing extinction because infectious diseases are damaging their ability to grow and reproduce. To prevent any accidental spread of disease causing organisms, officers from the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR) and Amphibian Ark wrote a letter to the editors in the 2009 April/May Science and Children (also posted at www.ssarherps.org) describing the strict but feasible hygiene conditions and procedures that must be followed by anyone keeping and then releasing amphibians into nature. They said that observing live amphibians “is a great approach for fostering “bioliteracy”.” IF YOU KEEP LIVE TADPOLES AND OTHER AMPHIBIANS IN YOUR SCHOOL PLEASE READ THE EXPANDED LETTER, "Considerations and Recommendations for Raising Live Amphibians in Classrooms, SSAR’s response to a recent article in Science and Children” . 

I won’t quote from the letter because I believe it’s important to get the accurate information in the entire letter but will say that bleach is used in the disinfection procedure.

Now that you know where to get information on how to prevent the spread of disease in amphibians by classroom activities, here is a photo of the baby Wood frog, newly released back to the pond where it hatched. I wish I could have taken each of my students (a few at a time!) with me to see the frog in its natural environment.

From NSTA The Early Years Blog

Please read the letter and follow these best practices so that generations of frogs will be alive to inspire wonder in generations of children, both animals that are growing and changing.

Perhaps we will be inspired to create school yard habitats so children can observe animals in nature every day.

Peggy

Published: May-27-09 | 0 Comments | 0 Links to this post

May06

Caterpillars all around

Certain trees in my neighborhood are currently supporting populations of growing Eastern Tent Moth caterpillars. Children were excited to tell me about the “nest” they saw “way high” up in the tree (about 15 feet up). The wild cherry (Prunus serotina) is often host to several clumps of these larvae, or baby moths, until they pupate (make a cocoon and change into the pupa stage in life). I hope the children will be encouraged to bring paper and crayons out to the playground and draw what they see. When teachers model this kind of documenting of observations, children often want to do it too! In warm weather the caterpillars climb all over the tree and are easier to catch. Cut a few branches and bring some caterpillars indoors for extended, closer viewing.

From NSTA The Early Years Blog
(Put the branch ends in water and into an enclosed container afterwards so the caterpillars won’t wander and can be put outdoors again.) 

A butterfly species with a large caterpillar, Eric Carle style coloration (The Very Hungry Caterpillar), and a short life cycle would be ideal for classroom observation, so children could see the larvae mouth parts munching, the pupa form appear, and a beautiful adult insect emerge within a month’s time. I often use the not-so-colorful Cabbage White butterflies to show a butterfly lifecycle because the caterpillars are easy to find on collard and cabbage plants (look on the underside of the leaves of decorative cabbage plants that go to seed as the weather warms up).

From NSTA The Early Years Blog
What local species are active in your area during the school year? (Add a comment by clicking on the word “comment” below. Hint: write and save your comment in a separate document to cut and paste in, because the anti-spammer “capcha” box may time out before you are ready to submit your comment. )

 Some species are endangered—check for “at-risk”, “threatened” or “endangered” status of North American species on the US Fish and Wildlife Species List (by state) , with the NatureServe Explorer  (search for “butterflies and moths” to see list), and with a local Lepidopterist (scientist who studies butterflies and moths), and read the Lepidopterist Society Statement on Collecting before collecting any caterpillars. Many state societies, such as The Ohio Lepidopterists have helpful websites.

Some caterpillars with hairs have stinging hairs and should not be handled. State Cooperative Extension Services (Florida, Hawai'i,  Kentucky, North Carolina,  Virginia) often have identification information.

Butterflies and moths—another animal shape to compare and contrast with our own. Pull out some scarves and pretend to become one!

Peggy

Published: May-06-09 | 0 Comments | 0 Links to this post

Feb17

Teach the lifecycle of a butterfly and celebrate 40 years of Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar

March 20, 2009 will be the 40th anniversary of the publication of Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar, a book loved by children for its parade of fanciful food, by parents for the healthy eating message, and by all for the artwork with splendid colors.

Are your students interested in the lifecycles of insects? Observing caterpillars and seeing the metamorphosis to the adult form is a common early childhood classroom activity in spring, culminating with the release of the adult butterflies. The NSTA elementary email list group recently responded to a request for butterfly resources with these suggestions (edited to create a list):

 

  • See the Teacher's Guide from the Florida Museum of Natural History. It has some cool activities, crafts to make, lots of detailed information, and lists of resources Be sure to check the weather forecast! If we rear butterflies, we need to give them a shot at survival--which means you need to have warm enough temperatures for them to survive outside and appropriate nectar plants available outside once the butterflies hatch and you release them. Also, be sure to work around your spring break! You can't predict exactly when the butterflies will emerge from their chrysalises and you don't want it to be when you are gone for a week!
  • The net housing for the adult butterflies is easy to make out of 4 paper plates, enough netting (fabric store) to go around the plates one and one-quarter times (and 30-60 centimeters wide), some tape, and a hot-glue gun.

1.      tape the length of the rectangle of netting to the underside of one paper plate, being sure to overlap the width edges by about 10 cm (the overlap is the access for hands but the butterflies do not find it).

2.      lay a line of hot glue around the edge of the plate (over the tape) and quickly put another paper plate on top of the glue.

3.      repeat this with a second set of plates and the second width-edge, paying special attention to making the net overlap go the same direction as on the first set of plates.

4.      to hang the housing, poke 2 holes in one set of plates, reinforce with tape, and thread string through the holes.

Click on the photo to enlarge.

From NSTA The Early Years Blog

 

  • Please note that almost all butterflies form a chrysalis, rather than a cocoon, when they grow and change into their pupa stage. I substitute the word 'chrysalis' for 'cocoon' when I read The Very Hungry Caterpillar (I even cross it off in my copy of the book so I will remember) but Eric Carle explains his reason for using the word on his homepage, http://www.eric-carle.com/q-cocoon.html
  • Tell children that as scientists we have special words to explain exactly what we mean when we talk about something with others. It helps to have examples of both chrysalides and cocoons to show children (save the empty ones). They often enjoy having the additional special vocabulary at their disposal.
  • What I tell people [about The Very Hungry Caterpillar] is to compare what we have observed about butterflies and what we have read in the book—what is "real" and where does the author's imagination take flight? I think it's a valuable point to discuss and I feel even young students can begin to appreciate the difference.
  • Butterfly resources at www.exploringnature.com:

1.      How to Draw a Swallowtail Butterfly

2.      Diagrams and informationabout different species of butterfly

  • See the article "Honeybees, Butterflies, and Ladybugs: Partners to Plants" in the February 2008 Science & Children .

 

Comment to add your suggestions to this list of resources.

Thanks,

Peggy

Published: Feb-17-09 | 1 Comment | 36 Links to this post

Feb04

Count the birds you see on February 13th -16th for just 15 minutes!

I’ve never taken part in the Great Backyard Bird Count but it sounds like an interesting way to learn about collecting data and become part of a greater group contributing to knowledge about bird population trends. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has partnered with the National Audubon Society on a project that includes the contributions of novice bird watchers to experts—me and you, and our students! See the Great Backyard Bird Count website for the simple instructions on how you and your class can participate. There is a “Learn about Birds” section with tips on identifying birds.

 

The ten most commonly reported bird species last year were:

1 Northern Cardinal

2 Mourning Dove

3 Dark-eyed Junco

4 Downy Woodpecker

5 American Goldfinch

6 Blue Jay

7 House Finch

8 Tufted Titmouse

9 Black-capped Chickadee

10 American Crow

 

Have you seen any of those bird species lately? A flock of Mourning Doves have been resting on the ground among the rhododendrons in front of my house (my neighbor fills her feeders daily), startling me by suddenly flying up all together when I open the front door. So I know where I’ll find my first five birds on February 13th!

From NSTA The Early Years Blog
Bird-shape rubbings are an easy way for young children to make accurate body shape drawings. They can fill in the details after completing the rubbing.
From NSTA The Early Years Blog

 

Once they start looking at birds, children will soon be pointing out the small brown ones and the large black ones, the red birds and the big white ones, otherwise known as sparrows, crows, cardinals, and gulls.

 

Cut out this mourning dove shape (30 centimeters/12 inches long) from old cereal boxes or poster board and help your students choose appropriate colors to make a rubbing that reflects what they see in nature. (Click on the photo to see larger version.)

From NSTA The Early Years Blog

The shapes of additional birds can be made by enlarging photos of birds to their actual size (see lengths listed in identification books) and cut from cardboard. Later children can make a fanciful bird, perhaps a pink crow with blue wings!

 

Be aware that book illustrations showing groupings of birds in perspective—those farther away pictured smaller—may confuse children about the actual or relative size of different species. I like the way  Counting is for the Birds by Frank Mazzola Jr. (1997, Charlesbridge Publishing) combines counting and identifying east coast bird species that often visit a feeder. Feathers for Lunch by Lois Elhert (1990, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich) illustrates the dangers of allowing cats to have access to a bird feeder while introducing 12 species.

 

Some birding groups offer online identification guides, such as that of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge Environmental Education Program about the refuge in Ridgefield, Washington on the Columbia River floodplain. It’s exciting to see the details of the birds revealed by the photographs.

 

Whatever the weather on February 13, I think I can count birds for 15 minutes. The online bird photos are already identified but birds outdoors present a challenge.

Peggy

Published: Feb-04-09 | 1 Comment | 61 Links to this post

Jan19

Dinosaurs--a reason to draw and write

Dinosaurs! This high-interest subject is a focus for questions relating to how animals live in many different environmental niches. What evidence do we have for what we think we know about dinosaurs? How do we know how they were shaped and how they lived? What was that body shape best suited for? What did they eat? Are there any animals alive today that evolved from dinosaurs?
 
These questions can be related to animals the children may have experience with--how do we know a dog walked through the mud at the edge of the playground? What can a bird do that a squirrel can not? How does the shape of their bodies help them survive?
 
An easy way to help young children draw dinosaur shapes is to draw a line of liquid glue over a line drawing on poster board. When the line of glue dries it will be ever-so-slightly raised, high enough to feel through a piece of paper with fingers or with a crayon held edgewise to make a rubbing.

 

Details such as eyes, or feathers, can be added to this basic outline later with crayons, watercolor, or markers.

From NSTA The Early Years Blog

Young scientists ably copy long words—dinosaur names—getting practice with letter recognition and formation.  

With a successful experience making a familiar dinosaur shape, reluctant artists are more comfortable drawing on their own. 

From NSTA The Early Years Blog

 

The American Museum of Natural History has online pages related to a 2005-2006 dinosaur exhibit. Teachers can visit a site by Glen J. Kuban for an overview of dinosaur tracks with drawings of sauropod, theropod, and ornithopod tracks (scroll down).

Happy tracking,

Peggy

Published: Jan-19-09 | 0 Comments | 165 Links to this post

Jan06

Birds in January

Does it seem to you that the pigeons and seagulls that roost and circle the grocery parking lot are more active in winter? I wonder if they are really more active or just more noticeable as there is less action on the street with fewer people walking by. Winter wonderings like these make me realize how dedicated to finding out scientists must be, to persist in difficult conditions.

Talking about persistent—read how Michael Beecher, who leads the research on song sparrows at the University of Washington, and his colleagues tracked song sparrows in the November 8, 2008 issue of Science News. Reporter Susan Milius writes, “Now Beecher and Templeton are analyzing results from their Seattle field project tracking young birds out listening to music. The experimental demands were “insane,” Beecher says. Starting in spring 2006, Templeton and his tracking team equipped young male birds with little radio tags. Thanks to the miracle of modern electronics, tags weighed only about 4 percent of the weight of a song sparrow. At that size, the batteries lasted only five or six weeks, necessitating trapping the youngster at the right time for a switch.

For a year, the crew went out every day to find young birds and record the songs of nearby adults. On a “perfect” day, data gathering took only five hours. The real world of evasive birds, cranky bystanders and suburban cats was far from perfect.”

From NSTA The Early Years Blog
In the January 2009 issue of Science and Children, the Early Years column activity tells how students examine feathers and group them by shape and size and color. Children can do the same kind of grouping with birds they see. All they need is a paper and pencil to record what they see so they can keep track of their data. Grouping and counting are part of a young scientist's everyday math tasks. Where can your class observe birds?

Peggy

Published: Jan-06-09 | 4 Comments | 385 Links to this post

Dec08

Invertebrates in the classroom

Children often do not think of invertebrates as animals. If we can train ourselves to talk about insects and other invertebrates not as “bugs” but as “small animals” we’ll help children make that connection. Visiting small animals, such as isopods (aka roly-polies or pill bugs) and slugs, allow observations to build into a body of knowledge.

From NSTA The Early Years Blog

Shrieks of delight let me know that a slug is on the move, and hearing excited consultation with the classroom’s confident “wrangler” tells me that the children have it under control.

Peggy

Published: Dec-08-08 | 1 Comment | 50 Links to this post

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