Get Out of the Classroom and onto the Trail!

 

As the weather gets nicer, and students begin to feel a bit trapped being indoors, it can be nice to take a break for a day and go outside on a nature walk. 

When I taught at the Museum School in San Diego, we were fortunate to have a trail within walking distance. We also took field trips to local nature preserves. It required some extra effort but was always well worth it!

A nature walk can provide a brief pause from standards-based academics. The natural learning and unexpected discoveries that take place have value in themselves, as does the connection students can form with the natural world. This connection can plant seeds of a lifelong curiosity about ecosystems.

Some students were lucky to catch a glimpse of a gray fox!

Nature walks can also be used to highlight concepts being explored in class. Erosion, natural selection, invasive species, human impact, and biotic vs. abiotic factors are examples of topics that can be reinforced while on the trail. 

At times I used a walk as a stand-alone activity. Other times I used it as a step in guiding the class to generate a question for a field study. In both cases, I prepared students by teaching them about the plants they might see on the trail, and during the walk I asked that they complete a simple observations sheet to encourage them to closely study their surroundings.

One of the most valuable aspects of getting students outdoors and on the trail is to allow them a little unstructured time in nature. This provides us all with an opportunity to get to know one another a little better.

 

If you are interested in another opportunity for outdoor learning, follow this link to my blogpost about a citizen science project on pollinators:

Get Outdoors with Citizen Science! The Great Sunflower Project

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Easy and Fun pH Lab

 

A simple pH lab is fun and easy to prepare. All you need are pH paper (purchased online), water (preferably distilled ), small containers, and a collection of household substances to test. Use this lab when teaching MS-PS1-2. Analyze and interpret data on the properties of substances before and after substances interact to determine if a chemical reaction has occurred. 

The lab procedure is simple. Pour a small amount of a water-based liquid into a container. You can test dry substances like baking soda by mixing them with water. Dip in the pH paper, and watch for a color change.

Students observe a color change when the pH indicator in the pH paper reacts with the substance being tested. After dipping the pH paper into the substance, the color of the paper is matched to a color chart that comes with the pH paper. 

You can invite students to bring to class substances that they would like to test. Here are examples of some that you might provide for students:

* Vinegar

* Rainwater

* Tap water

* Salt

* Baking soda

* Shampoo

* Borax

* Seltzer water

* Lemon juice

* Apple juice

I like the element of choice in this lab as students are free to test the substances that interest them the most. The teacher provides a collection of substances, adds any that students bring in from home, and then asks students to select a certain number to test. I required five. Students record their results on a simple data sheet. I did this lab at home with my eleven-year-old daughter just for fun, and she created her own data sheet.

Often a few students want to test their own spit. When I did the lab at home with my daughter, this was the first thing she wanted to try! If you choose to indulge your students' curiosity, you could give them a pH paper or two to take home.

When students have finished their tests, you can have them discuss their results. Which substances were acidic, basic, and neutral? Did students who tested the same substances get the same results? What might cause variation in their results? Do they notice any common properties of the acids? Did anyone test the pH of a mixture of more than one substance? If no one tried mixing an acid with a base, have someone try this to see the result.

This pH lab takes little set-up on the teacher's part. It's a fun way for students to become more familiar with the concept of pH and observe a color change in a chemical reaction.

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