Earlier this week the class went to see the grizzly bears at WSU. This was a really nice way to spend an hour of the day. One of our experts, an environmental historian, has visited the class several times and spoken about the role of science in the Lewis and Clark expedition. He introduced the class to two ways of scientifically describing organisms. The first way being in isolation (where the organism is described just by its physical features), and the second being in connection (where the organism is described by its connection and role in the environment). For our WSU grizzly visit, the students were asked to describe the grizzly bear in isolation, as if they were describing it for Thomas Jefferson. Following this they wrote a reflection on the similarities and differences between their experience with the bears, and Lewis's and Clark's.
We have also been learning how to create a scale map by using scale ratios, magnetic compasses, rulers and drawing compasses. To enhance this learning we went back to the arboretum at UI. Boy was it chilly today! I don't think the kids will need a reminder to bring a coat next time! Despite the temperature challenge, every student was able to accomplish our objective, which was to create a range/bearing data table of the main paths of the arboretum. This has been really exciting and will feed into our final product work.
No comments:
Post a Comment