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When will they come back?
Who will come back to the schoolyard first? When? Where? Students continue to collect data to investigate schoolyard microclimates. Then, they make predictions about when and where organisms will start popping up around their schoolyard. Our third visit developed student’s knowledge of the role of predictions in science. Because predictions are not just guesses, we wanted students to understand the role of their prior knowledge in making good predictions. We focused the visit on their understanding of the weather and how temperature varied across their schoolyard. We used the Microclimate in the Outdoor Classroom (pdf format) inquiry as a template for a microclimate “scavenger hunt”. For younger students, interesting and unique areas were identified to measure temperature and think about the effect on plants growing in the area. 1st and 2nd graders were accompanied by an adult as they explored the temperature of the north, south, east, and west sides of their school building, as well as unique habitats in their schoolyard (the grassy knoll and the bird habitat in the Outdoor Discovery Core at Lewis and Clark Elementary; in the open and in the trees in the Outdoor Classroom at Florence-Carleton Elementary). The locations and temperatures were recorded on maps of the schoolyard (courtesy of Google Earth), and we discussed the temperature and plant growth variations we observed. Small groups of 3rd-4th graders were given their own maps of the schoolyard and the task of measuring temperatures in specific places. They also could record temperatures in two “extra” places of their own choosing, but they had to be able to justify why they chose those specific areas. Working in small groups, the older students were required to measure temperature in 10 places of their own choosing and record the locations on a map of the schoolyard. Their objective was to find the greatest range of temperatures on the schoolyard. We tailored the task to specific features of the students’ schoolyards, too. At Clinton Elementary, students had to provide “proof” of the effectiveness of the greenhouse at influencing plant growth, while Target Range students were to map the variation in temperature in the garden and the amphitheater. |
