As part of a third grade project, Trout in the Classroom provided an opportunity to use science as a context for an interdisciplinary investigation into why animals (including humans) migrate. The “Great Migrations” project was designed to provide opportunities for authentic research and writing about animal migration and to allow students to investigate the needs of living things through fieldwork, collaboration with middle and high school students, and 3-dimensional NGSS-aligned science lessons and experiences.
The NGSS Framework calls for third graders to formulate answers to questions such as How do organisms vary in their traits? And How are plants, animals, and environments of the past similar or different from current plants, animals, and environments? Raising trout in the classroom requires the setup of a large freshwater aquarium that mimics ideal natural conditions for trout at all stages of their life cycle. Trout are delivered as eggs and are raised to the “fingerling” stage before being released into the wild. The water in the tank is required to be cold, clean, and chemically well balanced. These parameters required students to understand that dynamics of a freshwater ecosystem (3-LS4-3) and develop models for the unique life cycle of organisms (3-LS1-1.) Students learned that animals such as rainbow trout, monarch butterflies, hummingbirds, and whales migrate to reproduce, find food, and avoid harsh weather conditions. Additionally, Rainbow Trout and their close cousins, the salmon, migrate between fresh and salt water habitats. The behavior and physical traits that allow animals to live and thrive in a variety of environments are passed down from their parents (3-LS3-1) and the physical changes trout undergo throughout their life and as they transition between salt and freshwater provide advantages in survival, finding mates, and reproducing (3-LS4-2.) By visiting our local creek and learning about the environmental conditions that exist, students also learned how the habitat has changed over the years and how these changes have resulted in the absence of native trout in San Diego. Students collected water quality data from the creek, looked for evidence of runoff and effects of erosion, and learned how macro-invertebrates play a role in the ecosystem and can serve as environmental indicators (3-LS4-3.)
Throughout the project, our elementary students worked with middle and high school students to maintain the tanks, to conduct fieldwork (whale watching,) engage in lab activities, and, ultimately, to release the dozens of trout that were raised collaboratively. Elementary students benefitted greatly from the expertise of the high schoolers and from the interactions with the middle schoolers. Students took turns being experts, clients, teachers, and learners as they worked to transform their experiences into products. Elementary students worked with middle schoolers to create stories and publish a book, and with high schoolers to help design games and lessons about water, watersheds, and Trout biology. The third grade team of students designed a 7-station lab experience for exhibition that included water chemistry (red cabbage indicator/pH,) the effect of the sun and shade on water temperature, runoff and erosion, live macro-invertebrates, trout life cycle, trout anatomy (fish dissection,) and tank setup.
The NGSS Framework calls for third graders to formulate answers to questions such as How do organisms vary in their traits? And How are plants, animals, and environments of the past similar or different from current plants, animals, and environments? Raising trout in the classroom requires the setup of a large freshwater aquarium that mimics ideal natural conditions for trout at all stages of their life cycle. Trout are delivered as eggs and are raised to the “fingerling” stage before being released into the wild. The water in the tank is required to be cold, clean, and chemically well balanced. These parameters required students to understand that dynamics of a freshwater ecosystem (3-LS4-3) and develop models for the unique life cycle of organisms (3-LS1-1.) Students learned that animals such as rainbow trout, monarch butterflies, hummingbirds, and whales migrate to reproduce, find food, and avoid harsh weather conditions. Additionally, Rainbow Trout and their close cousins, the salmon, migrate between fresh and salt water habitats. The behavior and physical traits that allow animals to live and thrive in a variety of environments are passed down from their parents (3-LS3-1) and the physical changes trout undergo throughout their life and as they transition between salt and freshwater provide advantages in survival, finding mates, and reproducing (3-LS4-2.) By visiting our local creek and learning about the environmental conditions that exist, students also learned how the habitat has changed over the years and how these changes have resulted in the absence of native trout in San Diego. Students collected water quality data from the creek, looked for evidence of runoff and effects of erosion, and learned how macro-invertebrates play a role in the ecosystem and can serve as environmental indicators (3-LS4-3.)
Throughout the project, our elementary students worked with middle and high school students to maintain the tanks, to conduct fieldwork (whale watching,) engage in lab activities, and, ultimately, to release the dozens of trout that were raised collaboratively. Elementary students benefitted greatly from the expertise of the high schoolers and from the interactions with the middle schoolers. Students took turns being experts, clients, teachers, and learners as they worked to transform their experiences into products. Elementary students worked with middle schoolers to create stories and publish a book, and with high schoolers to help design games and lessons about water, watersheds, and Trout biology. The third grade team of students designed a 7-station lab experience for exhibition that included water chemistry (red cabbage indicator/pH,) the effect of the sun and shade on water temperature, runoff and erosion, live macro-invertebrates, trout life cycle, trout anatomy (fish dissection,) and tank setup.