In much of the country, February is not the month in which we think of environmental activities, at least the outdoor kind. But this month’s Science Scope has a lot of suggestions for teacher-tested activities that can be done at any time of the year – from exploring the microorganisms that help termites digest wood to working with spectroscopes to study light.
Sometimes our attempts to integrate subject areas can be superficial or contrived. But “Using Art to Get Kids Into and Doing Science” looks like an authentic way to integrate science and art. Even if you’re not into birds, perhaps the same type of activity could be done with other animals, plants, or the sun and moon. But if you are into birds, the annual Great Backyard Bird Count is February 15-18, 2008. (schoolyards or parks would count, too!) Even if it’s too late for you to participate this year, you can add it to your plans for next year. But be sure to look at the website. The section “Explore the Data” has maps and lots of searchable data from previous years by species, geographical location, and other topics. Projects such as this and Cornell’s Project Feederwatch and Bird Sleuth are neat ways to engage kids. (I worked with a third-grade class on the Feederwatch project, from observing and counting birds to entering the data online.) Along with these sites, you may want to check out Cornell’s online exhibit Beautiful Birds just because we need to see beautiful things once in a while.
“The Fish Kill Mystery” illustrates how case studies can provide a context for student thinking. This particular case study is from the Case Studies in Science collection. There are lots of case studies there, but the best thing is the “Teaching Notes” link for each one with background information and suggestions. If you use SciLinks to get a list of suggested websites with more information and related activities for the topic, you have the makings of an engaging study.
If you’re interested in “Investigating Ecosystems in a Bottle,” there are additional ideas at the Bottle Biology websites. Who know there were so many investigations involving 2-liter bottles! For additional resources related to the topics and activities in “How Do Our Actions Affect Water Quality?” log into SciLinks and enter water quality or groundwater as keywords for links to websites with activities and background information. The article “Alien Invaders!” has a board game that reviews invasive species. For more on this topic, log into SciLinks and use the keyword invasive species. One of the best of these resources is NOAA’s Lionfish Invasion which describes a real-life invasion, with graphics, video, and lots of teacher resources on the topic of invasive species.
I have to admit that when I search for a topic, I often look at the wiki article first. It seems like wikis are becoming the basic encyclopedia of the digital age. But many schools block wikis, and many teachers will not let students use them at all! In the BI (before Internet) era, we used to discourage students from using basic encyclopedias as their only source of information. Perhaps that’s the strategy we should be using with wikis –an initial background source, but certainly not the only one. The authors of “The Collaborative Powers of Wikis” describe the value of having students create wikis. I wonder if by creating and maintaining one themselves, students will see firsthand the advantages and shortcomings of this source of information. According to the Wikispaces site, teachers can get private space for free. It might be interesting for a few teachers to test-drive the process first. The authors mention that Tree of Life and Wikibooks are worth taking a look at, as examples of worthwhile wikis related to science.
Don’t forget to check out SciLinks and enter SS080201 as a code for a list of websites related to environmental activities.