District News

Middle school experience nature during environmental day

 

Oct. 27, 2011

 

On October 17, the 7th grade students at Canajoharie middle school experienced nature during an interdisciplinary unit that culminated with an environmental day. Teachers broke students into five groups, and each group spent an hour doing one activity.
Science teacher Kathy Bowerman took her students to a pond on Old Sharon Road to study its ecosystem.

With nets and buckets in hand, students caught a variety of organisms (think tadpoles, beetles and dragonflies) from the pond. The students then described the adaptations each had that enabled it to live in the pond.

Other activities included:

•  Forest exploration with Celia VanDerwerker. Students went on a 1.5 mile trip in Wintergreen Park. They examined the differences between coniferous and deciduous forests and identified different organisms within it.

• Making a difference in the world with social studies teacher Michael O’Connor. Students learned about some of the causes of current environmental problems and discussed possible solutions. The solutions included developing alternative sources of energy and exercising personal responsibility with regard to the issue of changing destructive behaviors into positive ones. They also discussed the importance of political involvement and the power of voting for candidates whose policies are environmentally friendly. The students finished the activity by contributing to a “making a difference” environmental issues bulletin board.

• Wind power construction with Dr. Greg Pitonza. The students constructed, tested and raced wind-powered cars.

• Math measurements with Lorraine VanSlyke. Students did a lab where they measured the total surface area of large and small cereal boxes. They discovered that the large box used less cardboard per serving than the small single serving box; meaning the large box is more environmentally friendly. 

To see more pictures of the trip, click here.