Pond Project

Teacher

Mrs. Mack

Program

Martin School

Age Group

3rd Grade

Phase I

The pond project stemmed from our discovery of two ponds within walking distance of Martin School. Our school, located in a suburb of Chicago near Wisconsin, is in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by fields and farms, so transportation was not an option. We explored various ideas within the school building such as exit signs, drainpipes, but after reading an article about fish dying in the area and noticing the proximity of a pond to the school, the topic became clear. Our kickoff event was visiting the ponds to write down initial observations using all senses. We then generated a list of questions and interesting topics about ponds. The biggest questions seemed to be who/what lived in the ponds and how will the pond change in the winter. As the teacher, I noticed students did not have a solid vocabulary in English or Spanish so my expectation was to develop more vocabulary and knowledge through the pond project.

We visited the ponds at least three more times during Phase II, including one visit with some parent helpers and two visits with an expert.  We met an expert fisherman at the ponds in late fall and again in January. We learned about strategies to measure the depth of the pond, as well as pond safety, fishing and ecology. At the beginning of the project we had a six-week visit with a Mississippi map turtle. Students were tasked to research turtles and find out what kind type of turtle the class pet was and the best way to care for the turtle. This led to other research on animals and turtles found in the area. They were interested in reading several books about ponds, and finding “our” ponds on Google Earth. To represent what they were learning, the students collaborated to create a giant wall mural of pond life above and below water. Since it is a bilingual classroom, we did hands on activities and games to develop vocabulary in both languages. Students, in particular, loved the visit in the winter with the expert fisherman. They saw how an auger is used to drill a hole in the ice and saw how ice fishing works, many had never seen either before! The fisherman later sent our class a video of him filleting a fish and described the fish body parts to help with vocabulary. The parents were amazed that the students became so interested in nature and said their children carried over this interest at home. 

Phase II

Phase III

Our culminating event was an early spring visit to the pond. We took pictures to document the visit and drew pictures to observe the seasonal changes and noted differences in the ecology. Students demonstrated their final understanding of the pond with the large mural and labeling the different life and plants around and also by creating a three-dimensional model a fish and labeling parts in both languages. We shared our project with families at our school Open House. We also invited the second grade bilingual class to our room to share what we learned about how the harsh winter had affected the pond and the life in the pond. Another student who was highly engaged in the project decided to create a PowerPoint presentation based on what the class had learned. Other students collaborated and added to the power point during the year. I noticed the students developed skills in observation, data, synthesizing information and questioning. 

 

Teacher Reflection

“The pond project was an excellent topic, in particular because we could easily visit the pond on multiple occasions, during various seasons. The pond project lent itself to many aspects of learning, including multiple subjects. I realized the importance of expert visitors and hands-on experiences. The opportunity to have a pet turtle was also invaluable and generated so much curiosity and interest in the world of animals and nature, especially at the beginning. We learned to work as individuals, as a team, and as partners, depending on the activity. The whole school was interested in our Pond Project, and our pond mural has been on display in the hallway all year. The direction of the project did take a bit of a turn when children became more interested in fish and fishing, instead of with the ecology of the pond. I learned that taking a break from regular classroom work has more benefits than I could ever imagine. When we visited the pond students were energized and more ready to work. I also learned that the many different talents and skills of my students can all be put to good use with such a unique and variable project as ponds, such as allowing a child to take care of the turtle or a student creating a PowerPoint. The time was well spent.”
 

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