We’re halfway through our 2007-08 Trout in the Classroom unit. This year we’re using Voicethread to help kindergarten students wonder aloud about their trout, and the 6th Graders are answering questions wherever they can.
Here is the footage from our Trout Release Party, which happened on March 31, 2007 at Lagunitas Lake. Attendance was somewhat small because it was the first day of our Spring Break, but it was truly an amazing experience. (Music is “One Kiss to Say Goodbye” by Norton Buffalo.) Enjoy! (requires Quicktime)
Our fishy friends are growing up and ready to go back home! Here’s a copy of an email that went home to 6th grade parents last week:
We are going to release the trout we have been raising in Bob’s 6th Grade Science classroom over spring vacation. The date was picked for optimal survival of the fish. We will meet on Saturday, 3/31 at 9:00am at the Lake Lagunitas parking lot in the hills above Fairfax. All 6th grade students and their parents are invited to participate in this special release party, but you have to arrange your own transportation. Hope to see you there!
In case you were wondering whether the trout are getting excited about their upcoming release, they’ve decided to do a little interpretive dance for us all, entitled “Fish Ballet.” Enjoy! (requires Quicktime)
Not wanting to be outdone, the Kindergartners in Sequoia Room have recorded a trout song of their very own! The Sequoia Room’s “Trout Song” was written to the tune of “Mr. Golden Sun” by one of our parents, Chris Donohoe. He kindly recorded himself singing the song on a CD for the kindergarteners to listen to. The teachers and students alike listened over and over again while doing their work until it was totally memorized (and stuck!) in everyone’s minds. Click on the mp3 icon below to hear the song:
Sequoia Trout Song
(To the tune of “Mr. Golden Sun”)
Oh Mr. Trout, Trout
Mr. Little Trout
Please come swim with me
Mr. Trout, Trout
Mr. Little Trout
Hiding back under the sea
These little Sequoias are waiting for you
To come out so we can swim with you
Oh Mr. Trout, Trout
Mr. Little Trout
A tear comes to my eye
Mr. Trout, Trout
Mr. Little Trout
‘Cause we have to say goodbye
You’ll live in a river or nice cool lake
Or maybe in the ocean underneath the waves
Oh Mr. Trout, Trout
Mr. Little Trout
Your Sequoia days may end
Mr. Trout, Trout
Mr. Little Trout
But you’ll always be our friend
We had so much fun experimenting with our new underwater camera. While the footage isn’t terribly clear, it’s still interesting to see the world through a trout’s perspective. Enjoy! (requires Quicktime)
The Holly Room kindergartners have been singing to their trout each morning. Click on the mp3 below to hear their rendition of “Splish Splash.” (And, by the way, to hear more of Holly Room’s songs be sure to visit http://www.mcdsblogs.org/holly) Enjoy!
Splish, splash, I was takin’ a bath,
In my fish tank today,
I’m just an egg, floating in my bag,
The temperature is feeling okay.
I was movin’ and a groovin’,
Splishin’ and a splashin,
Oo baby, I love the action,
Zoom, zim, I thought I couldn’t swim, but then I popped my little fins out.
Splish, splash, I was takin’ a bath,
I’m an alevin today.
My egg sack is a anchorin’ me,
The temperature is feeling okay.
I was movin’ and a groovin’,
Splishin’ and a splashin’,
Oo baby, I love the action,
Zoom, zim, I thought I couldn’t swim, but then I swept my tail about.
Splish, splash, I was takin’ a bath,
I’m a small fry today.
I’m zoomin’ here, I’m zoomin’ there,
The temperature is feeling okay.
I see my sister, I see my brother,
I’m ready for the real world mother,
Zoom zim, now I can swim, I’m ready for the creek today!
Here is a glimpse at what it looked like when Matt and the 6th graders fed our growing fry (requires Quicktime):
Our science curriculum is based on the inquiry approach to teaching science. This approach encourages children to learn by asking questions and observing, forming questions, designing experiments and researching. This approach excersises and strengthens critical thinking skills, gives the children practice with making observations without jumping to conclusions, and also allows children to be active participants in the process of discovery which gives them ownership over their learning.
The Holly Room posed a series of excellent questions about the trout last week during their visit to the Computer Lab. Click on the movie below to see what the kindergarten students are wondering about (requires Quicktime).
http://www.mcds.org/data/files/Gallery/ClassroomGallery/questions.mov
Are you wondering what an alevin actually looks like? Take a peek below (requires Quicktime):
Here’s an update from Janet’s Kindergarten classroom:
“Yesterday we opened the tank and we noticed that 2 of the alevin had turned into frys. And by today we had 3! Alevin is the stage when the fish starts to absorb the nutrition of the egg and becomes a tiny fish with a big tummy. At that stage they hide in the gravel for protection and darkness. Then, when they start to absorb the egg’s nutrients, they grow into the next stage, which is a fry. When they have absorbed enough of the egg nutrients, they can free-swim around the tank.
The kids used their science journals to draw the frys as best they could, but they dart around the tank so fast that we had to draw quickly!
Along the way there have been eggs that have deteriorated in the tanks. When this happens, Matt reaches in with a turkey baster and sucks them up. If you don’t do this, the dead eggs hook onto the gravel and become bacteria. Because we our tanks don’t have free-flowing water, the bacteria would contaminate the tank and it would become a hostile environment — trout need to be in fresh, clean water.”
And here are some quotes from Janet’s kids:
What was exciting is that we had some fry. ~Harrison
There were some eggs attached to the fry. ~Lila
I learned that alevin had big bellies. ~Alexander
When I looked at it, it feeled like their bellies were filled with all this food. ~Caroline
I saw the egg part was still red and I was surprised. ~Ella
The fish fry were swimming on the top of the tank. ~Lily
Some were fry and some were alevin. ~Haakon
Some eggs are still trying to hatch. ~Emma J.
I saw that that the tail of an alevin was sticking out of the rock. ~Addy
I didn’t know that alevins stay in the rocks until they swim. ~Emma
The older they get, the smaller the egg gets. ~Cameron
I saw one fish was trying to get inside the rock. ~Amelia
There is an alevin hid under a rock. ~Lila
I saw an alevin swimming on the top of the water. Ben
I wonder why the little fry were swimming on the top. Raphaela
The fry swim fast. Michael
The fry are so cute and swim really fast. Sarena
Click on the thumbnails below to see some journal entries from our Kindergarten scientists:
The MCDS community is fortunate to have a poet in its midst. Dave M. is a member of our illustrious custodial crew, and writes a daily haiku for all of us to enjoy. Last month he composed the following ode to our trout:
Haiku no. 129
She peers into the aquarium –
eyes wide,
“hey, trout eggs look like . . . eyes!”
The Kindergarteners patiently waited for the Trout Unlimited representative to arrive with their trout eggs, but — alas — the school day ended before the reps arrived! We decided to see if the students had any questions about the Trout in the Classroom project. Naturally, they did! Click below to hear their questions (requires Quicktime):
The Kindergarteners in Janet & Doug’s classrooms were very excited to watch the tanks get filled with water. They were curious, however, as Matt covered all of the tank’s sides with styrofoam. Click on the video below to see Doug’s young K scientists figuring out why the tanks need this special covering (requires Quicktime):
The Kindergarteners in Janet & Doug’s classrooms were very excited to watch Matt assembling the tank. As Matt busily worked, the kids had lots of questions for him. Click on the video below to see (requires Quicktime):
We are getting ready for the tanks to be assembled and for the trout eggs to arrive! As we officially launch our new Trout Blog, we hope you will read our A Little Bit of Background page to hear about TIC (Trout in the Classroom) at MCDS (Marin Country Day School.)
