Dear Families,
Just wanted to share some photos and musings on our October soil science field trips to Madame Sherri Forest. It might seem a little belated, but we are just now enjoying some debriefing in the classroom. After the field trip we had to hurry up and use our science time to plan our tulip experiments and plant before the ground froze solid. Now we are revisiting our soil adventure by viewing slideshows of the trip and discussing what we learned about soil, decomposers and scientific methods (observation, data collection and experiment design). I hope you enjoy the slideshow above!
The days I spend outside all day with students in the field are often my favorite and most memorable ones. My undergraduate degree was in environmental science, and I spent several years working in outdoor and environmental education jobs before transitioning to public school teaching. While I love being a classroom teacher, taking the class outside is still my preferred way to open students’ minds to the joys and wonders of nature and science.
Of course the logistics of chaperones and buses and scheduling make it hard to do such field trips as often as I’d like, but Chesterfield’s partnership with the Harris Center made this day possible. Outdoor education in the field is difficult to do with groups much larger than 12, so with class sizes of 22 this year, taking them into the field by myself is a daunting task. With the help of Jenna Spear from the Harris Center, we were able to split the classes in half and choreograph an all-day hiking adventure and soil science experience in Madame Sherri’s Forest for each class. Many thanks to the Harris Center and our principal Sharyn D’Eon (winner of this year’s Harris Center’s Educator of the Year award) for making this possible.
One thing that is unique about the Harris Center’s approach to environmental and science education is that their educators work closely with classroom teachers to tailor lessons and experiences to the curriculum happening in the classroom. This way it’s not just an isolated field trip or canned presentation; instead the experience can be embedded into a larger unit and be more meaningful. Jenna and I met several times to craft a trip that would meet my goals for the classroom. While at the time we weren’t presently doing a soil science unit, I decided upon this trip to provide an anchor experience that we could refer back to throughout the year as it would connect to several of our units.
Knowing that later in the year we would be studying matter cycling in the ecosystem I wanted students to have a hands on experience exploring decomposers in the forest and soil. In addition I wanted students to experience real science- gathering data, organizing data, asking questions, making hypotheses and puzzling over the natural world, skills we will be building all year long in all our units. I wanted them to have this experience in a fun, engaging way that they would remember when we referred back to it all year.
The decomposer scavenger hunt was an activity I could do with the whole group, but hiking and data collection was not. We decided that Jenna would join us for the last four hours of our trip for those activities. During this time students took soil cores, gathered data on soil moisture, soil temperature and air temperature in a deciduous forest, hemlock grove and near a pond. The activity required students to use data tables and calculate medians.
Jenna also brought materials to do a soil percolation demonstration at lunchtime, exploring the question: Do different soils hold different amounts of water? Equal amounts of topsoil, sand and gravel were placed in a colander and 2 cups of water was poured into it. For each material, students measured the amount of water that filtered through in 30 seconds. While adding to students' understanding of soil, this experiment also became a shared anchor experience and was referenced when learning about fair tests (only change one thing- in this case the type of soil!).
In addition, a common thread throughout our science program this year will be our Journey North Tulip Test Garden (Future posts will explain more about this exciting project!). Having a greater understanding of soil will add depth to the discussions we have in class about this garden project. For example, one of the criteria for bulb planting is that you must plant after the soil temperature has dropped below 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Haven taken soil temperature readings, this is easier for students to understand.
While the experience no doubt tied directly into the science standards we will cover this year, there are other benefits to field trips like this. First, in our increasingly virtual world- even in rural Chesterfield- kids’ connection to nature is not what it once was. If we hope to raise a new generation that will protect the natural world and all it has to offer, they must care about it. Spending time in nature has been shown to be a significance factor in inspiring such an ethic. Finally, the comraderie of a shared experience scrambling over rocks, marveling over views and having time for a 1:1 conversation with a teacher or friend while rambling in the woods helps build a stronger community.
As I read through students’ reflections on their first trimester as they prepare for parent conferences, several wrote about this experience as their favorite part of sixth grade so far. Many thanks to Jenna from the Harris Center and the parent chaperones who helped make these trips possible (Erwin Cagande, Mike Motta, Peter Fiorello, Jim Denis, Theresa Montgomery, David Ciccone, and Julie Buffum).
Sincerely,
Laura White
Just wanted to share some photos and musings on our October soil science field trips to Madame Sherri Forest. It might seem a little belated, but we are just now enjoying some debriefing in the classroom. After the field trip we had to hurry up and use our science time to plan our tulip experiments and plant before the ground froze solid. Now we are revisiting our soil adventure by viewing slideshows of the trip and discussing what we learned about soil, decomposers and scientific methods (observation, data collection and experiment design). I hope you enjoy the slideshow above!
The days I spend outside all day with students in the field are often my favorite and most memorable ones. My undergraduate degree was in environmental science, and I spent several years working in outdoor and environmental education jobs before transitioning to public school teaching. While I love being a classroom teacher, taking the class outside is still my preferred way to open students’ minds to the joys and wonders of nature and science.
Of course the logistics of chaperones and buses and scheduling make it hard to do such field trips as often as I’d like, but Chesterfield’s partnership with the Harris Center made this day possible. Outdoor education in the field is difficult to do with groups much larger than 12, so with class sizes of 22 this year, taking them into the field by myself is a daunting task. With the help of Jenna Spear from the Harris Center, we were able to split the classes in half and choreograph an all-day hiking adventure and soil science experience in Madame Sherri’s Forest for each class. Many thanks to the Harris Center and our principal Sharyn D’Eon (winner of this year’s Harris Center’s Educator of the Year award) for making this possible.
One thing that is unique about the Harris Center’s approach to environmental and science education is that their educators work closely with classroom teachers to tailor lessons and experiences to the curriculum happening in the classroom. This way it’s not just an isolated field trip or canned presentation; instead the experience can be embedded into a larger unit and be more meaningful. Jenna and I met several times to craft a trip that would meet my goals for the classroom. While at the time we weren’t presently doing a soil science unit, I decided upon this trip to provide an anchor experience that we could refer back to throughout the year as it would connect to several of our units.
Knowing that later in the year we would be studying matter cycling in the ecosystem I wanted students to have a hands on experience exploring decomposers in the forest and soil. In addition I wanted students to experience real science- gathering data, organizing data, asking questions, making hypotheses and puzzling over the natural world, skills we will be building all year long in all our units. I wanted them to have this experience in a fun, engaging way that they would remember when we referred back to it all year.
The decomposer scavenger hunt was an activity I could do with the whole group, but hiking and data collection was not. We decided that Jenna would join us for the last four hours of our trip for those activities. During this time students took soil cores, gathered data on soil moisture, soil temperature and air temperature in a deciduous forest, hemlock grove and near a pond. The activity required students to use data tables and calculate medians.
Jenna also brought materials to do a soil percolation demonstration at lunchtime, exploring the question: Do different soils hold different amounts of water? Equal amounts of topsoil, sand and gravel were placed in a colander and 2 cups of water was poured into it. For each material, students measured the amount of water that filtered through in 30 seconds. While adding to students' understanding of soil, this experiment also became a shared anchor experience and was referenced when learning about fair tests (only change one thing- in this case the type of soil!).
In addition, a common thread throughout our science program this year will be our Journey North Tulip Test Garden (Future posts will explain more about this exciting project!). Having a greater understanding of soil will add depth to the discussions we have in class about this garden project. For example, one of the criteria for bulb planting is that you must plant after the soil temperature has dropped below 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Haven taken soil temperature readings, this is easier for students to understand.
While the experience no doubt tied directly into the science standards we will cover this year, there are other benefits to field trips like this. First, in our increasingly virtual world- even in rural Chesterfield- kids’ connection to nature is not what it once was. If we hope to raise a new generation that will protect the natural world and all it has to offer, they must care about it. Spending time in nature has been shown to be a significance factor in inspiring such an ethic. Finally, the comraderie of a shared experience scrambling over rocks, marveling over views and having time for a 1:1 conversation with a teacher or friend while rambling in the woods helps build a stronger community.
As I read through students’ reflections on their first trimester as they prepare for parent conferences, several wrote about this experience as their favorite part of sixth grade so far. Many thanks to Jenna from the Harris Center and the parent chaperones who helped make these trips possible (Erwin Cagande, Mike Motta, Peter Fiorello, Jim Denis, Theresa Montgomery, David Ciccone, and Julie Buffum).
Sincerely,
Laura White