Driving Question: "Why are pollinators so important, and how can we help pollinators that are disappearing in our local community?"
Project Description: In this project, students first identified the global problem of pollinator decline and how it is affecting our local community. Students launched their inquiry by engaging in fieldwork at Guajome Regional Park. Essential questions that were uncovered during field work were: "How do plants grow and survive?", "How do pollinators help plants grow and survive?", "How do we get the fruits and veggies we eat?", "Why should people help pollinators survive?", and "How can I take action to help pollinators?". In literacy, students further developed their skills in reading informational text, navigating text features, and researching to build knowledge. After close-reading the texts "A Place for Butterflies" and "A Place for Bats" by Mellisa Stewart, students learned how author's state opinions and support their claims with evidence and reasoning. Students studied different types of pollinators and the plants they help pollinate. In particular, students learned how butterflies are crucial pollinators in our local ecosystem that are in decline.
Products/Exhibition: After carrying out multiple investigations with plants and seeds in science labs, students used design thinking to build, test, and refine hand pollinators that could be used in our school garden. We then used a formalized brainstorm process to address the question, "How can it take action to help pollinators?". With student's knowledge of opinion writing, we decided we could write opinion pieces making the case to protect pollinators in our local community. These opinion pieces went on the back of seed packets with detailed scientific drawings of butterflies. Students chose to put Milkweed and Marigold seeds in their packets after learning that butterflies need these plants to survive. We then distributed these packets to our outside and school community.
Project Description: In this project, students first identified the global problem of pollinator decline and how it is affecting our local community. Students launched their inquiry by engaging in fieldwork at Guajome Regional Park. Essential questions that were uncovered during field work were: "How do plants grow and survive?", "How do pollinators help plants grow and survive?", "How do we get the fruits and veggies we eat?", "Why should people help pollinators survive?", and "How can I take action to help pollinators?". In literacy, students further developed their skills in reading informational text, navigating text features, and researching to build knowledge. After close-reading the texts "A Place for Butterflies" and "A Place for Bats" by Mellisa Stewart, students learned how author's state opinions and support their claims with evidence and reasoning. Students studied different types of pollinators and the plants they help pollinate. In particular, students learned how butterflies are crucial pollinators in our local ecosystem that are in decline.
Products/Exhibition: After carrying out multiple investigations with plants and seeds in science labs, students used design thinking to build, test, and refine hand pollinators that could be used in our school garden. We then used a formalized brainstorm process to address the question, "How can it take action to help pollinators?". With student's knowledge of opinion writing, we decided we could write opinion pieces making the case to protect pollinators in our local community. These opinion pieces went on the back of seed packets with detailed scientific drawings of butterflies. Students chose to put Milkweed and Marigold seeds in their packets after learning that butterflies need these plants to survive. We then distributed these packets to our outside and school community.