This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
My Students
My students are very excited when it comes to hands-on learning in science and math. My class is very diverse in culture and economic levels, many of my students do not have opportunities to explore nature or the world outside of school hours.
They are full of questions and excitement when it comes to our science lessons.
When we explored animal habitats and food chains (webs) my students were so excited with the outdoor trips to our surrounding fields and outdoor playground that we extended our lessons with virtual experiments found over the internet. I know from past usage of real owl pellets my students will truly feel like a scientist and make the connection from the owl to their prey and the part each plays in a food chain.
My Project
With the 45 owl pellets, my students will get a hands-on look and feel of what real scientists deal with during an investigation, and stimulate their thirst for learning and exploration. My students will dissect their own pellet in order to identify and reconstruct the skeletons of prey that the owl had eaten, as well as to count the number of skulls in the pellet to determine the amount of food eaten and compare bones found on their owl pellet bone charts.
This investigation will allow students to collaborate on their findings with classmates.
Using tally marks students will discuss their findings on which type of bones they find and transfer their findings into a bar graph which will tie in math standards. We will read books on owls and their prey to give students background knowledge to add to their prior knowledge which brings in their reading. After this lab students will record results on their worksheets. They will be asked to make statements based on data. For example: What do we know about what owls eat? Were our predictions accurate? Was there anything in our data that surprised you?
I am asking for the trays to place the actual pellet on while dissecting and forceps will be used to gently remove all bones found.
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Van Winkle and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
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