Help me give my students the tools to use hands-on exploration to make connections between recycling, decomposition, and food webs in nature. The worm composting kit will allow students to see decomposition as it happens.
I have 20 first graders. It is an equal balance of 10 girls and 10 boys. The majority (17) of these students were together in my class for kindergarten, so are bonded and feel very comfortable. We work very hard on reading, writing and math as a focus in our district.
When asked at the beginning of the year what students wanted to learn about, they compiled a list of items they wanted to study.
The majority of items on the class list were science related, but they also included reading, writing and math.
This group, really needs hand's on learning and real life application of skills to help them see the relevance of learning. They will work hard on a task when they see the use for it, but struggle when it is not engaging and hands-on.
This is a culturally diverse class that is very energetic and inquisitive. Some of the students have developmental delays, learning disabilities, and speech/language issues that impact their academic progress. The Majority come from homes impacted by the declining economics hitting our local area.
My Project
We are currently taking learning out of the classroom. We do monthly walking trips to a local pond for fishing and learning. We draw, paint, write, do math and science about our experiences at the pond. We are graphing how many fish are caught on worms vs. corn or other bait. Catch and release techniques are used, and any fish who are injured beyond survival are donated to needy families or prepared for the students to taste.
Students growing their own worms will help students actively observe the food web of fish from decomposition/ soil to worm to fish to people.
This project will also make their fishing trips more self-sustaining.
Students will be able to actively explore recycling, decomposition, the life cycle of worms, and food webs. They can apply this experience to larger ecosystem concepts and deepen their understanding of the interconnected traits of plants, animals and things that affect nature and their world.
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