A creative teacher should be aways on the alert for interesting things to introduce to his or her class. What do your students know about whitebait?The whitebait season is with us once again. What do your children know about whitebait?
It would be great if you could acquire a few whitebait to keep in the class aquarium to study.If not access pictures of whitebait from the Internet of from reference books and make use of for research.
Whitebait make an interesting 'mini study'. Such a study could be part of the literacy programme and an opportunity to introduce research reading and writing to the class. A small research booklet could result and include observational drawing and diagrams.
First ask your students what they know about whitebait ( their 'prior ideas') and from this what questions about whitebait they can think of to research. Teachers could interact with their students to add question children might not think of - or wait because as the study progresses ( and students read up on whitebait) further questions will emerge.
Some questions might be:
Why do they have seasons ( introducing the idea of sustainability)?
What are whitebait? Children will discover there are several native species that collectively are called whitebait.
What is the life cycle of whitebait?
How do you catch them?
How do you cook them?
Some interesting maths could be developed around the cost of whitebait? How much do they cost each. Maybe the teacher could buy 200 grams so as to estimate how many in a kilogram!
Their answers to their questions could be drafted out and good copies placed in their study books or a small display could be mounted on the classroom wall.
In earlier days teachers would have called this a single animal study.There are possibly articles in school journals for students to refer to?
2 comments:
I can see that if teachers were alert to seasonal ideas that a curriculum could easity be created - great process and real content.
Fascinating life cycle.
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