Riverwatch, Part Three: The Saga Continues...

Part of our group at the river this fall.

We started out our unit this fall teaching about the Mississippi River and its tributaries. Next,  we had our students color and label a map of the Saline watershed, which is, of course, a series of streams and creeks that empty into the Saline.  We took a field trip to Parkinson Lab at SIU, which has a river model in the basement,  to learn about what rivers do.  Then we taught the students how to do physical, chemical, and biological surveys in class and a group of students and parents went to the river after school.

Isn't it funny how, when you do something new, at first it seems all important and exciting but, after you've done it for awhile, it becomes routine: just something you do (kinda like driving!)?  That's kind of what our Saline River Project has become: part of my class routine.  My fellow teacher, Miss Ozment, and I have taught our students about water quality and taken them to the river to test the water three times now.  The first time, I did most of the testing and allowed the students to help.  The most recent time, the students and their parents did most of the measuring, kicking up macro invertebrates, and chemical testing, and we supervised and helped.  Yes, they're fourth graders being silly and having a good time in the water. But - they are also fourth graders doing physical, chemical, and biological surveys of our local river while being silly and having fun!  They can do it!

We decided to find out if people in our area know the name of the main river in our county and its location, so I typed up a survey with a map of our county and various questions about the river: What is its name? Mark the location on the map. Rate the water quality 1-5. Have you ever seen a sign? Do you think there should be a sign? Why?  The students took it home and surveyed  their friends and neighbors, as well as students and staff here at school. After we tallied the results and found percentages, we found that 69% of those surveyed do not know the river's name (And I must admit that these results are skewed, because most of the students who knew the name were involved or at least knew about the project last year!)

Next, I taught my kiddos how to write persuasive letters.  We had already worked on persuasive essays, so it was a natural next step.  They could choose to write their  letter to the governor, our state representative, our state senator, or either the director of the IDNR or IDOT. Each of the above received at least one letter (in cute fourth grade handwriting! Love it!) about the project and results of the survey. Students gave three reasons why the river should have a sign and asked for help in procuring that sign for the Saline River.  (Who could resist that?)  I also wrote a letter to each recipient and included pictures of the kids at the river.

So, last Friday, I received a phone call from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Apparently, the people that my students had written have gotten in touch with each other to see about getting a sign for the Saline River. Bottom line: he said that the DNR could make a sign and put it up!  Success! The students are so happy!  I am so proud of them!  Hopefully, this will help them see that they can accomplish big things, even if they are small!  I can't wait to post a picture of our Saline River sign!

Turn Over A New Leaf!

Fall
By Jack Prelutsky

The leaves are yellow, red and brown,
A shower sprinkles softly down
And the air is fragrant, crisp and cool,
And once again, I'm stuck in school.

Every year when the nights start getting cool and leaves begin to turn, I start thinking about leaf collections.  I walk around my neighborhood with Maggie, my 12-year-old beagle, and collect leaves from all of the neighborhood trees.  The next day I bring them to class and teach my kids some leaf basics, like simple and compound, needleleaf (evergreen) and broadleaf (deciduous), and we make rubbings.  This is an old fashioned activity that kids don't get to do nowadays and they love it!  They think it's magic when the shape of a leaf appears through the paper!  

Fall is a great time to learn about trees and the Illinois DNR has published a great little workbook called Illinois Trees.  I have used it with my fourth graders for about ten years now.  I teach them some leaf identifiers, like different edges, pointed and rounded lobes, and even and asymmetrical bases. Then students use a dichotomous key to identify 15 leaves from Illinois trees.  The first time I tried the dichotomous key with 9-year-olds, I thought it would be way too hard for them.  I was so wrong.  Most of the students caught on quickly and had all the leaves identified before the end of the period.  Since then, my classes have all done just as well.  Once in awhile someone will hit a snag, but with a little help from me or a classmate, will quickly get it figured out. 

After they finish with the Leaf Identification booklet, I tell students that we're going to do a leaf collection.  They love the idea.  I have them collect ten leaves, identify, and classify them.  They tape them into a simple booklet that we make in class and we use the leaf rubbings for the cover.  Cute, simple, and easy! You could have them collect any number of leaves, but ten is enough for me.  I mostly want them to get out in the backyard and do some science!

Sometimes there is a leaf that we have a hard time identifying.  There is a great iPad ap called Leaf Snap that lets you take a picture of a leaf and will give you several options to choose from. There are also several leaf identification websites.  If you're an Illinois teacher, the DNR has beautiful leaf posters that students can use to identify their leaves.  And, you can always use a good, old-fashioned book!

I hope next fall you'll have your kiddos give leaf collecting a try!