By Mallory McSweeney and Kristi Dean

1. By Mallory McSweeney and Kristi Dean

2. Goals of Project (driving questions) • How we will introduce the field trip to a class: -During a unit on ecosystems or while learning how organisms are connected and depend on one another, visiting the nature center will provide plenty of real-life examples. Field trip program appropriate for grades 3, 4, and 5. • Driving question(s) for our field trip topic: -What is an ecosystem? -What is a food chain? • Basic objectives of the field trip: -The students investigate in a vernal pond which presents an amazing ecosystem teeming with life. They collect organisms from a floating boardwalk and explore interrelationships that maintain life in this temporary pond. -The vernal pond program is just one of the many programs the Riveredge Nature Center offers visiting classes. • Basic outcomes (products and skills) of the field trip: -Students list components of an ecosystem and describe a food chain. They show, through investigating how organisms both depend on and contribute to the balance or imbalance of populations and/or ecosystems. They will use their data collected to develop explanations, make predictions and revise their understanding.

3. Application / Illustration of terms • Terms: -These terms will be discussed before the field trip and utilized as background knowledge in the activities. Seeing these terms first hand will benefit student understanding of their meaning. • 1.Ecosystem- the complex of a community of organisms and its environment functioning as a unit - In seeing the vernal pond and how all of the organisms live and function together as a whole, students will come to a better understanding of what an ecosystem is. • 2.Vernal pond- a pond that dries up each winter and returns each spring - Students will see a vernal pond first hand. At this time of year it has not completely returned and it is still clear how it dries up in some places. • 3.Food chain- the relationship animals have to rely on one another as food for survival - An explanation of a food chain can be given while students are grasping an understanding of how organisms survive within the ecosystem of the vernal pond. • 4.Organism- any living thing - Students will see a wide variety of organisms within and around the vernal pond. • 5.Population- organisms of the same species living in a specific location - Students will see how there are many of one organism in specific locations. For example, there is a large frog population in the vernal pond. These terms are important to everyday life because students should gain an understanding of how every living thing is a part of a larger ecosystem and effects everything around it. The vernal pond is just one example of the many ecosystems surrounding us in our world and will help students understand that they are part of something much bigger.

4. Things For Teachers To Know • What are the costs to run this trip with a group of 40 students? • -$3.75 per-student for a half-day program, $150 for 40 students • -$6.25 per student for an all-day program • -$7.50 per student for two different half-day programs • Do you need chaperones? How many? No, you don’t need chaperones but very beneficial! • What is the mode of transportation to safely transport your students? School bus or car

5. “Field trip” permission sheet – are there waivers involved? Accommodations for special needs? Field Trip Permission Slip Riveredge Nature Center April 15, 2006 Cost: $3.75 per student, lunch not provided I ________________________ agree to let my student ________________________ attend the field trip to Riveredge Nature Center during school hours on April 15th. I have enclosed a fee of $3.75 in __ cash / __ check and will provide a bag lunch for my student. Parent/ Guardian Signature _______________________________ ____ Yes I would like to be contacted to chaperone this field trip. ____ I cannot chaperone this field trip, maybe next time! • There are no waivers involved in this field trip. There are no accommodations for physically disabled students and the trails would be difficult to manipulate, therefore it would not be an appropriate field trip if there is a student in class with those needs. Other special needs students should be able to attend with no problems. Allergies will be an important factor in this field trip so any teacher should review students’ files and plan ahead for complications.

6. How would you have students in your own class utilize the experience of this field trip? Why is this trip important to their learning process? How would you assess them on their content learned? • We would have our students utilize this experience to further their understanding of ecosystems and how organisms live together. We believe that this field trip would be extremely beneficial to their understanding because they will be seeing these relationships firsthand. We also believe it will help students to understand their place in the world. • Riveredge School Programs offer students the opportunity to experience and investigate the natural environment under the guidance of skilled environmental educators. Emphasizing outdoor experiences in all seasons, the Riveredge “style” is characterized by small group learning that encourages inquiry, exploration, and problem solving. Through the process of systems-thinking and hands-on inquiry, learners construct their own answers throughout the programs. The goal of these programs is to help students understand our human connection to the environment and how our actions can make a difference. • We would assess our students on the knowledge they gained during this field trip in a couple of ways. First, we would provide a worksheet to be filled out throughout the course of the fieldtrip. Content would include definitions, a drawing of a simple food chain, and a checklist of organisms or ecosystems witnessed. We would also include the field trip information in a final unit assessment such as a test.

7. Other Criteria • There is no literature needed for this fieldtrip but as a teacher it would be beneficial to yourself and your students to read through the Riveredge Nature Center website to prepare for what the center has to offer. • This field trip can be utilized in more than just the science classroom. Students can use what they saw and learned to write a story or journal entry in English class. In Math, they can count up how many of each organism they saw. The idea of ecosystems and populations is easily related to Social Studies. • As we proceeded through the nature center we realized how powerful it is to experience nature firsthand. A misconception might be that students could gain just as much information within the classroom, but being there made us see how students will appreciate the subject matter that much more when they are able to be a part of it and see it in action themselves.

8. Sites For Teachers • http://www.riveredge.us/ • http://www.the-mrea.org/docs/NewburgAccommodations.pdf#search='riveredge%20nature%20center • www.riveredge.us/programs/teacherguides.shtm.-preparation

9. This is the outside of the educational resource center at the nature center. To the right is a hands-on exhibit of an ecosystem.

10. This is a classroom within the nature center where students can examine samples they collected during programs such as “Determining Water Quality”. An area where classes can stop and rest while being taught a concept.

11. To the right is Kristi looking at the difference in how humans view dragonfly food and how dragonflies view their food. To the bottom Mallory is trying to find her way to the vernal pond…

12. The vernal pond!!! Notice how it is slowly rebuilding itself using rainwater. The back is not yet underwater.

13. Kristi in the nature center’s organic garden. This is a great way to show students how to safely and ecologically grow a garden. The garden is grown without chemical pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers.

14. These are two different classes on field trips. On top students were using nets to collect samples of bugs. To the right students were learning about different types of trees.

15. Just enjoying nature!!