Students attending our elementary school come from the nearby neighborhoods to our 7.5 acre wooded campus. Our school is located in North Albany and is in close proximity to the Willamette River, Calapooia River, and Thornton Lake, which allows for some exciting learning opportunities.
My students are hardworking, intelligent and come to school ready to learn.
They demonstrate this by taking charge of their learning and showing pride in their work. Our classroom has a positive learning environment where students feel confident enough to make mistakes by taking on and facing new challenges. They encourage and support one another so all students can achieve success.
My Project
Students will be using the aquatic chiller, tank, pump, filter, and gravel to raise salmon from eggs in the classroom to releasing them as swim up fry in one of our local rivers. This activity is a perfect follow-up to a field trip taken by students in the middle of September. Students visit a local river where they observe spawning salmon in the river, learn about the life cycle of salmon, conduct water quality testing, and learn about the riparian zone around the river. Students come away from the trip eager to learn about aquatic life and ways they can help improve our environment.
There is nothing more powerful to students than being able to nurture and bring something to life.
Students observe the eggs daily and eagerly look for any change to indicate they will be hatching soon. Watching the excitement on their faces as they discuss it with their peers and parents is very rewarding as a teacher. Not only do we learn about the ecosystem in the river, but we use this as an opportunity to learn about all the ecosystems in the world.
While the salmon eggs are in the classroom, my students become experts on them and continually share their knowledge with other classes. They each take ownership in raising them and making sure they are in a healthy environment. When they finally hatch students are bursting with excitement!
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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. Blaine and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.