Summary: This set of activities helps students describe their body of water using different tools.
Preparation: Teachers should visit the body of water before taking students to it, and note the best places for observation. It is helpful to preassign students to their group locations. Check with the owners or authorities (e.g., park service) to arrange good times to bring the students.
Look carefully for any hazards, such as poison ivy, steep cliffs, broken glass, etc. Review medical records of the students, obtain proper permission slips, and always carry a first aid kit appropriate to the needs of the students. Students should be dressed appropriately with clothes that can be soiled or get wet. Have the students wear shirts and pants that cover their arms and legs (protects from poison ivy and bug bites) and shoes that cover the toes.
Discuss with the students in advance that they are invited guests into the homes of many different types of insects, birds, animals, and fish. They should be careful to not disturb the ecosystem.
Materials:
tent posts
colored ribbon
meter sticks or strings marked with distance increments
electronic or paper notebook
drawing tools (paper/pencils or computer)
optional: tape recorder
optional: topographical map
optional: digital camera
Class Management:
Review the Water Inventory. Decide if you want to assign teams to cover the different sections.
Activity Steps:
Prior to going out explain to the students that site assessments are often used by scientists to record important features when in the field. Ask the students to make a list in their group important features that would help describe their site once they return.
Listening to the Water's Ecosystem
After students have located their observation site, have them sit down and close their eyes. Encourage the students to quietly listen for the sounds around the water.
Students may decide to:
Repeat sounds of the birds
Record sounds for later identification
Write a log of what they hear
Create a story using the different species as characters
Describe the Site
Students should record in their journal their first impressions.
Inventory the Site
Students should consult the Water Inventory. If you are using teams, encourage them to fill in their sections of the inventory.
Mapping the Site (Column) Graphing
Using an electronic or paper notebook,
the students should spend time sketching the key landmarks and
boundaries of their site. It is important that the students have
a sense of scale while drawing their sketch. Make a meter stick
or even string marked with specific distances available to each
group. They should mark distances between major features found
on their sketch.
Extensions: Encourage the students to use a digital camera to supplement their personal drawings of their site. Have the students annotate their digital photographs when they return with the distances between major features that they recorded in their drawings. Students may even wish to provide a bigger picture by taking an overview photograph of the body of water. This will allow students to relate their site to the locations of feeder streams or rivers, local land use, etc. Once the students return, have them write a paragraph that describes their body of water and particularly their site.
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