Impact to My Classroom

# of Students Impacted: 422

This grant allowed students to see the life cycles of butterflies, ladybugs, ants, shrimp and fish.  Watching a caterpillar form a chrysalis and emerge a butterfly taught the students about adaptations and diversity.  Students learned patience and observation as the chrysalis slowly transforms.  They learn how things can change over time.  They learned respect for nature and how little things can affect the development of the butterfly (if the chrysalis falls down during development).  Students learned to be responsible and care for other organisms.  They had to look up what to feed them and what they prefer for their environment to live.  Caterpillar’s transformation can serve as a metaphor for real life change.  We as humans don’t always start off beautiful (inside or out) but we can change into the beauty that we want to see.  Watching Lady bugs transform was similar to butterflies for the student. They could see that another organism has a similar process.  They again had to research the habitat and nutritional needs of the ladybugs to provide them with what they needed to survive.  They made observations and learned how ladybugs are important to the environment as they offer natural pest control, and they are an environmental indicator species that help us monitor the health of the environment. The ant farms were extremely interesting to watch the students interact with.  They were fascinated by how the ants interacted with each other.  They were able to observe how the ants established a hierarchy and built their home and harvested food.  They watched food that was not eaten break down and become part of the soil.  They noticed that the ants were always moving and being productive for the good of the entire nest.  I hope that these things help students appreciate nature more.  They had to care for these creatures by giving them food and water daily and making sure that they did not escape.  The aquariums were great for teaching the nitrogen and water cycle, water chemistry, how fish eat, life and death, accountability and health.  Students had to use critical thinking skills to learn how to care for the fish by researching water temperature, nitrate and nitrate levels, water health and the proper amount of food to give them.  Students applied to be fish feeders.  Students collected data from the aquarium that helped with learning the nature of science.  Students learned about the cycle of life with the loss of a fish and the possible causes of the death of the fish.  They learned how to prevent further loss by monitoring the aquarium habitat conditions: pH levels, ammonia levels and nitrate levels.  They learned about the types of fish that can live peacefully together and be communal fish.  They also learned about the food chain because certain fish do not coexist in the same habitat well.