Connecting Outdoor Instruction to Innovative Learning Standards

(COIILS)

an Illinois Scientific Literacy Staff Development Grant

    - Brad Harriman, St. Clair County Regional Superintendent of Schools. . .

View Existing Data Login to Enter Data Pond Links Collected Data Pages/Downloads Experiment Home Page

Schoolyard Pond Experiment

Contributors to this activity are: Mike Schneider and Terri Emmerich

Grade Levels: 4-12 (Note: This experiment can be simplified or made more challenging depending on the developmental levels of your students. See Teacher Information.)

Description: This investigation allows students to observe and identify the different life found in ponds and wetlands that may exist in and around the schoolyard. Numbers and varieties are to be submitted for others to compare and analyze.

Approximate Time Involved: One or two classroom planning sessions, 30 minutes plus travel time to collect samples at each site, two or three class periods to identify and count organisms, 20 minutes to enter data online, one or two classroom sessions to examine results, state conclusions, draw inferences, and make recommendations. NOTE: The time allotted above has been designed for an instructional special education classroom. Your time may need to be adjusted to fit the ability of your students. Already having pond samples will also significantly reduce the amount of time needed.

Teacher Information:

Ponds are a great way to study ecosystems and all types of life forms. Most schools have some type of pond near the area. Students can see all different kingdoms co-existing and relying upon each other for life to continue. When working with students with mild mental impairments, you will want to prepare the students by working on observation skills. You may also want to set up the project by using a Know, Want to Know, and Learned (KWL) chart to get students thinking and to put them in charge of the experiment with their own questions. A good set of field guides (Golden Guide to Pond Life) with pictures identifying the animals will also assist the students with identification. HELPFUL NOTE: The longer pond water sits in the classroom, the more likely it will begin to stagnate and smell. To reduce this problem, either remove as much algae as possible after the first observation or aerate the water.

Challenging Your Students to Be Problem Solvers:

To make this experiment more challenging to your students, you might just want to pose a question such as: How many different animal phylums can you find in a sample of pond water? Identify the different animal phylums found in your sample of pond water and arrange them according to complexity. Using environmental indicators, determine the quality of the pond water you have collected. Compare two samples of pond water and describe the different plants and animals that are found in each. Conduct an investigation that will help you determine the environmental quality of your sample of pond water. Determine the different plants and animals in your sample of pond water and then compare your data with the data of another group.

This should become a team exercise where your student groups might each develop and write a hypothesis, list the materials they would use (buckets, microscopes, magnifying glasses, etc.), the number of each item, and a procedure. An excellent way to assess this activity is to have the teams repeat each other's experiment to see if they achieve the same results. This will also replicate the real world challenges facing a research scientist.

Here is an opportunity for your students, especially those at late high school, to present and defend their pond experiment results to a professional in the field:

Dr. Elaine AbuSharbain, Science Educator at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, has agreed to review any student designed experiments and their results, conclusions, inferences, and recommendations. Elaine's Email Address is: eabusha@siue.edu

Student Instructions Available to download as a PDF file.

Needed Materials: pond water samples, 1 liter containers to collect samples, aquatic nets, plastic concave slides, microscopes (optional), pipettes (eye droppers), thermometers, air filter device to keep oxygen ciruclating in the samples (optional), pond life field guides for identification, permanent markers, safety goggles, magnifying glasses, blank white paper, small containers to separate the organisms for study (ex. baby food jars, petri dishes, etc.), illuminated hand magnifiers (optional)

Safety Rule: Collect all samples from the pond's edge to prevent any water hazard accidents. Safety goggles should be a consideration if there is a concern about the chemical make up of the water samples.

Procedure :

Student Information: The following information will provide you with the steps for setting up your pond project. Constant (or controlled variables) would be such things as: the amount of water in a sample, how long the sample sits, the way in which the sample was collected. Manipulated (or independent) variables would be those things that we change to see if the response will be different, such as: site, location, and depth of the sample, season, time of day. The responding (or dependent) variable for this experiment will be the number and variety of organisms you collect in each pond water sample. NOTE: Water temperature is one variable that will difficult to control or intentionally manipulate in this experiment. However, from your experiments, you may be able to infer as to whether temperature has any impact on the number and variety of animals collected.

The reporting form for this experiment is set up so that you can share such things as: where you collected your water sample(s), the temperature of the water, the time of year, clarity of the water, and number and type of organisms collected. If you would like to include a control, tap water would suffice. Also remember that a good scientific experiment is repeated a minimum of three times. Therefore, your data will be more accurate if you look at several equal samples of water from the same location.

Steps to Setting Up Your Pond Project

  • 1. Choose a location or locations to collect your samples. The number of locations you choose depends on the number of lakes, ponds, or wetlands available in your area. NOTE: It may be necessary for the teacher to collect samples in advance of this activity or ask students to bring in pond water samples from the surrounding area.
  • 2. Take the temperature of the water with a thermometer at each location.
  • 3. Use a permanent marker to write the location, date, and temperature on the bucket or on a clipboard.
  • 4. Collect 3 - 1 liter (approx. 1 quart) samples from each water location. To do this, dip your container(s) into the water at the pond's edge making sure to get any algae or plant life present. Quickly remove it to ensure that most of your organisms do not escape.
  • 5. Repeat the above steps at each new location.
  • 6. Bring samples back to classroom for observation
  • 7. Observe, identify, and record the type and number of visible organisms found in each sample (see experiment reporting form). Students may need to use a net or eye dropper to separate and identify the different organisms. These organisms can be transferred to such things as petri dishes, baby food jars, or any shallow white or clear container. The clear containers should be placed on a white sheet of paper to help make it easier to identify the organisms.
  • 8. It will be possible to identify some of the organisms using just a hand lens or the eye. For smaller organisms, use an eye dropper to capture the organism and place it on a concave slide. Use a pocket magnifier or microscope to view the very small organisms. NOTE: You may want students to view and/or identify single-celled protozoa that are always present in this type of water, but this will take a higher powered microscope.
  • 9. To compare and analyze your collected data (results), create a data table and graph. There are several good software applications to assist with this task.
  • 10. Discuss your results in groups and as a class.
  • 11. After group and classroom discussions have occurred, login to enter your data.

Below is a list of questions that can be used to stimulate student discussions. If your students are at a developmental level where you are able to challenge their higher level thinking skills, then only present them with the first set of questions from each group below. Use the second list of questions as a way to stimulate thinking when you students seem unable to expand their knowledge on their own.

Examining Local Results

Discussion Questions that Require More Critical Thinking Skills:

  • What were your conclusions for this experiment?
  • What could your infer based on your conclusions?
  • How would you design this experiment differently the next time?

Discussion Questions that Require Less Critical Thinking Skills

  • What types of animals did you find in the pond water?
  • Did the location change the number of organisms found?
  • If the answer to the above question is "yes", what do you think is the reason?
  • Did the water temperature have any impact on the number of organisms found?
  • Would you expect to find the same animals organisms in the pond all year round? How could you test your predictions experimentally?
  • What types of organisms did you find to be the most/least numerous?
  • What characteristics helped you recognize that these organisms were aquatic?

Examining Local and Online Results

Discussion Questions That Will Require Critical Thinking Skills to Compare Local Data to the Online Data of Others

  • How did your results compare with the results of others?
  • What conclusions can you make when you compare your results with the results of others?
  • What inferences can you draw from your additional conclusions?
  • What changes would you now make in this experiment based on the information you now have?

General Discussion Questions that May Occur as a Result of Comparing Local Data to the Online Data of Others

  • Where is the geographic location of the schools who have provided online data?
  • How did the types of organisms you caught compare with those caught by others?
  • What external factors may have contributed to different organisms found in other locations?
  • What similarities existed among those schools that caught the same types and numbers of organisms?
  • Was there any noticeable difference in the types of and number of organisms found in the different aquatic locations (lakes, ponds, or wetlands)?

Performance and Multiple Choice Assessment Options

Pond Links

Pond Ex This site has been designed to help promote an understanding of the biodiversity of man-made ponds. It shows how to create a pond, and also provides pond study materials and worksheets. The teachers' notes give an informed base from which to develop the specific learning content of the investigation.

Protist Images This site provides images of different protozoa but they are identified by their scientific name and may only be appropriate for upper level students.

Give Water a Hand With Give Water A Hand, young people team up with educators, natural resource experts and committed community members to study water issues and take ACTION!

Wetland Ecology Glossary This is a glossary of terms dealing with wetlands.

THE SMALLEST PAGE ON THE WEB This page is an introduction to the microscopic organisms you can find in a freshwater pond.

Pond Life Game This game is designed to test your ability to identify the creatures that live in ponds. Playing the game is simple and designed for ages 8 to adult.

Pond Action This site provides a wide variety of K-8 pond activities that can be used as extensions to this project.

Enature.com This site provides online field guides for North American plants and animals with descriptions and photos.

More links to Schoolyard Habitat Information

Schoolyard Habitat Links Learn more about developing and maintaining schoolyard and backyard habitats by visiting these links.

Copyright, 2005

by Prism Press

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
The text of this publication or any part thereof, may not be reproduced or transmitted in any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storage in an information retrieval system, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the authors.


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