t's no secret that many school programs don't givechildren enough opportunity to explore the naturalworld-i.e., to "mess about" and to have firsthand ex-perience with nature and animals. Not so at the Mus-

cota New School in New York City! This innovative publicelementary school actively promotes inquiry-based learn-ing and encourages teachers to use creative methods in theclassroom to help children study the natural world aroundthem. In this article, we share the experience of a teacher andher students over the course of two years (kindergarten andfirst grade) as they explored nature through direct observa-tion of animals in the classroom, child-centered inquiryscience, and school-sponsored field trips. As the yearsprogressed, so did students' leaming. Not only did studentsdevelop scientific literacy and communication skills, theyalso deepened their understanding of their environment.

Our Hungry CaterpillarOne day Edward brought a caterpillar into the classroomthat he had found in an ear of corn. Because the caterpil-lar couldn't be returned to the farm, we decided to keepit and learn more about it. We placed the caterpillar in aglass fish tank with a metal mesh cover for its protection.We could not be sure what type of leaves the caterpillarwould eat, but as it had been found in an ear of corn wedecided to feed it leaves from typical garden vegetables,such as romaine and green leaf lettuce, etc. Over the nextmonth, we watched it grow.

Soon we began collecting information about the cat-erpillar and noticing changes. The children wrote aboutwhat they saw in small groups during Choice Time, aperiod of the day when children are permitted to performthe work they wish to do. Not every child in the classchose to observe the caterpillar during Choice Time, sothree weeks into the caterpillar observation, the teacherinitiated a whole-group discussion that went like this:

Teacher: "What do you notice about the caterpillar?"Students: "It's twice as big as when Edward broughtit to the class." "It's different."The students also commented that the caterpillar's

color had changed-yellowish and brownish colorsclearly appeared, and the segmentation became moreapparent with the body parts more distinct.

Teacher: "What do you think will happen next?"Students: "I think it's gonna make a cocoon."Teacher: "Wait a minute! What do you mean? Thecaterpillar will become a cocoon?"There was a considerable pause allowingthe children

to organize their thoughts and make a prediction. Atthis point we took an informal survey which showedthat more than half the class believed that the caterpillarwould make a cocoon.

Teacher: "How can we find out?"

Connecting Through Literature)ur conversation led us to discuss sources of

information when researching a topic. Studentssuggested books, the internet, and asking a grown-up (an expert) were places to find out information.We had books about caterpillars, butterflies, andmoths in the classroom, so we started there. Wewere able to find out enough about the life cycle ofmoths and butterflies to make reasonable predic-tions about what might happen to Edward's nowvery large caterpillar. Through looking at picturesand reading descriptions of the life cycle of mothsand butterflies, the children reasoned that as thecaterpillar had grown so large and had changed in

o•olo, it was approachinga new stage in its metamorphosis.Some children also based their prediction on prior knowl-edge fion watching nature shows on television or frombooks read at home.

Then, to further our learning, we connected theresearch to literature by reading The Very HungryCa('rpillar by Eric Carle (1969). This book presents afictional account of the "transformations" (metamor-phosis stages) undergone by a caterpillar: egg larva

pupa butterfly. These kinds of fictional stories helpchildren to think about the factual elements, as longas the teacher asks, "Where's the science?" The mostimportant question the teacher asks is, "What parts ofthe story are true and what parts are pretend?"

Because of students' experience with various animalsin the classroom, they were able to discern the scientificelements from the fantastical ones in Eric Carle's book.h'or example, the children stated that caterpillars don'tcat ice crream or chocolate cake but do eat leaves. Whenthe teacher read the book, she used the terminology kidsalready knew such as larva or pupa. She also pointedout an error in the book-imoths have cocoons and but-terflies have chrysalidcs. After the book was finished,the class discussed what they read.

(Over time, the classroom caterpillar continued togrow bigger. Eventually, it developed a cocoon, whichlay unnoticed for a week as the children had becomedlistracted by other activities and events in our schooland classroom. One (lay, the class noticed an open"ciase" with the contents gone. What happened to it?

The kids were so excited to see the empty cocoon thatinstead ofaskingthe teacher questions, they started tell-ing her what it was, sharing their observations of whathappened. The children decided that the caterpillar had"finished growing" and had changed into a butterfly ormoth. The class was divided as to which type of insectit could be. We never saw the moth or butterfly. Thechildren guessed that the creature had managed toescape through a tear in the mesh cover of the tank andfound its way to a nearby park where there were many

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trees and some gardens. All these conjectures seemedrational and were supported by the teacher.

Field Trip!To extend the nature-related experiences in the classroom,our school has a partnership with the Tiorati Workshopfor Environmental Learning (a nearby nature center andlearning laboratory) where students participate in toursand study programs throughout the year. The goal of thesefield trips is to continue students' firsthand experience withnature and to foster an appreciation of the environment.

In December, we visited Tiorati with the kindergartenclass. A number of trained parents accompanied us to helpguide the students. The parents had been trained by theteacher and a facilitator from Bank Street College, anotherschool partner. The children were encouraged to carefullyobserve the things around them and document to the adultsall they noticed. The children were extremely observant.

Students pre-field trip predictions.What animals might live in the area near Lake Tiorati?

DeerBearsSquirrelsBeaversFoxSnakes

FrogsSpidersFirefliesBeetlesSnailsCaterpillars

Where might animals live?

Under rocksHole in a treeIn the waterIn the dirt (ground)On treesIn a log

NestsBranches of treesIn a rockIn cavesOn leaves

April/May 2007 49

They spotted animal tracks and were particularly intriguedby the two round marks-they made comments about theirshape, location, and size. They even closely examined thesnow under the tracks for possible clues. Whose footprintsare these? "I think it is a bear," said one child. The teacheradded, "Let's think, what might a bear's tracks look like?"Now the children were involved in a reflective thought.

We went through a process of elimination of possibleanimals: Bear? Deer? Woolj? Any other guesses? All re-sponses were accepted as possibilities until we returnedto the Nature Center and were able to look at field g-uidesand other books. The children were asked first to thinkabout the shape and size of the tracks and to comparethose attributes to some of the animals listed. For exam-ple, children stated that the print was small in scale andthat there were two distinct "holes." How did this shapeand size compare to a bear's "foot"? One child stated thata bear's "paw" must be bigger and that a bear had claws.Another said that a bear had "toes." By thinking aboutattributes and comparingthese characteristics to picturesof many animals, the children determined that the trackswere made by a deer. Children also observed the treesand logs gnawed by a "mysterious" animal.

From Track to DamsBack in the classroom, our conversation revolvedaround the marks we had seen in the woods. The tracksin the snow and claw marks on trees emerged as the mostvivid children's memories of the trip and also suggesteda theme for subsequent exploration.

To extend the field trip learning, we read a book aboutanimal tracks and came upon a page that showed a pictureof a beaver, its tracks, and its habitat. The children were in-trigued by the tree marks, and beavers became a new topicfor discussion. Students didn't know much about beavers,so we got several more books about them. They understood somewhat that beavers' behavior involves gnawing(chewing) trees, but they wondered, how do beavers matkedams? Why not construct a dam in the classroom!

We spent a couple of weeks figuring out how to build ourown dam. With the help of'a teacher director from BankStreet College working for Tiorati, we began working inour classroom with two stream tables provided by Tiorati.Stream tables consist of long narrow plastic troughs aboutfour feet long with drain holes at one end. A plastic tube isfitted to the drain and placed in an empty plastic bin. Atthe opposite end, water is siphoned from a bucket througha tube into the trough. The troughs were filled with sand.

Using branches, tnigs, and rocks that we collected, thechildren were able to replicate the construction of the damby controlling the water flow. The dam project developedinto a real water-flow study. Maintenance and monitoringtook up a great part of the class exploration. Two childrena clay took time to closely work with the water table. They

would observe water streaming through the sand, risingand falling; they would patch it or find ways to increase ordecrease the water flow. The teacher would ask the chil-dren, 'VXhat happened to the sand? How does the waterflow?What does it do to the sand? How many ponds can you makenow? What should beavers do in order to make a good dain?The dialogues brought essential terminology to children'sattention: dam, gnaw, lodge, habitat. The children discov-ered that even if they were successful in blocking the flowof water to create a pond, the water would continue to flowand its level would continue to rise in the miniature pond.They discovered that at some point the water would under-mine their dam, there would be a leak, and repairs wouldhave to be made. Sometimes the leaking water would bestopped by one of the children further "downstream" andin this way a second pond would be born.

Nature DetectivesThe year ended, and the kindergarteners becamefirst graders. In the fall semester, we continued tofamiliarize the children with the diversity of the liv-ing world around them. We took several class tripsto a local park guided by an Urban Park Ranger. TheUrban Park rangers are responsible for the protectionof the animals, habitats, and forest growth in theNew York City parks system. They are also respon-sible for outreach and education programs for thecommunity. The most memorable result of the tripswas awarding students Nature Detective Badges.For students, the badges meant that they were now

Students' actual field trip observations.Evidence of animals living in the area near Lake Tiorati.

"* Beaver footprints and teeth marks on a tree."* A beaver's lodge-it was made of wood and

mud and was in the middle of the water."* The lodge was like half an egg and was black."* The beaver came out of the ice under the

water and into another little pond."* A bug under a rock, an insect."* Deer tracks and scat."* A worm in a hole under a rock-there was a

puddle under a rock."* Two snail shells in the water-the snail was

frozen inside and can't get out until spring."* A beetle."* A "crab" shell in the water."* A dead spider."* Chewed up leaves and galls on leaves.

50 Science and Children

explorers, scientists-people who collect evidence.The kids were very proud of the badges and subse-quently looked for every opportunity to explore.

The children regularly used magnifying glassesor binoculars to expand their observations, and weobserved their increasing vocabulary and the ad-vancement oftheir reasoning skills. Students startedto make references to past observations, comparetheir evidence, and find explanations of the variousphenomena. For example, one day some childrenfound a wooden stick in the schoolyard. The stickhad two holes the size of a pinhead in it. The childrenexcitedly explained that the holes had probably beenmade by some small insects and gave various reasonsabout, how this mnight have happened.

To pirepare 1for this year's first-grade trip, we reviewedevidence from the previous year's trip, which studentsactively remeinbered, making predictions about whatwe mnight discover this time (see Figure 1, page 49).D)uring the i brainstorming session we observed stu-dents were now better able to formulate their predic-tions and to articulate their speech more carefully.When asked to consider what kinds of animals wemight find on our trip, the children made reasonableassertions. In the previous year, before their first ex-perience to Tiorati, some children expected that wemight see tigers or alligators. After a year of study, thechildren came to a fuller understanding as to the typesof animals that are indigenous to upstate New York.Some children also more clearly understood that inwinter we were less likely to see bears or foxes as theseanimals were likely to be hibernating.

()n the day of the trip, the students carried binocu-lars and magnifying glasses. The class was divided intosmall groups (three to five kids in each), each with atrainedI chaperon to guide the children to explore dif-ferent areas of the woods and the lake shore. In theirexploration, the kids were looking for evidence ofthe animals they had contemplated before and otherf(orms of life.

O)n( group discovered a huge beaver lodge by theshore, and the children were rewarded by the sightoflive beavers. When the class convened at the endoft the trip, we all shared our discoveries. Studentsroported a range of "animal evidence," includingchewed-up leaves, holes in trees, and deer scat.Figure 2 is a student-generated list of observationsfIroin the field trip. The students were asked to recordtheir observations and findings in a teacher-madenature journal. The journal included color photos ofa range ofepossible aninial habitats and plant life thatcOuld reflect evidence of animal life (i.e., pictures of

Connecting to the StandardsThis article relates to the following National ScienceEducation Standards (NRC 1996):

Content StandardsStandard D: Teachers of science design andmanage learning environments that providestudents with the time, space, and resourcesneeded for learning science.

"skeletonized" leaves, large holes in trees, trunks oftrees stripped of bark, etc). The children matchedtheir own observations to the corresponding photo-graphs and described what they saw and what animalthe photo demonstrated evidence of. Also includedwas a "Beaver Observation Page." The children wereasked to draw and describe the beaver lodge on thispage. This provided authentic assessment of theknowledge the children gained from our study.

Our classroom environment of exploration re-sulted in noticeable changes in the students' abilityto understand the concepts of nature and to expresstheir ideas in a scientific way. Children had built avocabulary of words such as deer scat, lodge, moss,habitat, hibernate, and nocturnal. The students hadprogressed from a stage of passive observation andlimited ability to articulate their thoughts as early

kindergarteners to explorers in its true sense as firstgraders. They gradually acquired independence andautonomy as they continued to look for and analyzeevidence. This was demonstrated as children beganto bring "evidence" of animal life to school, suchas leaves with galls and broken crockery found halfburied in the woods of Inwood Hill Park (an evi-dence of human presence). The children started touse resources around them without being reminded.Most significantly, the children developed the nec-essary language skills to communicate their ideasand their way of reasoning about the natural worldaround them. m

Moses Gostev (meg1'7@columbia.edu) is an assis-tant professor of science education at the College ofStaten Island in New York City. Francesca Michae-lides Weiss is a kindergarten/first-grade teacher atMuscota New School (P.S. 314) in New York City.

Referen~es.

Carle, E. 1969. The Very Hungr, Caterpillar. New York:Philomel Books.

National Research Council (NRC). 1996. National science educa-tion standards. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

April/May 2007 51

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

TITLE: Firsthand NatureSOURCE: Science and Children 44 no8 Ap/My 2007PAGE(S): 48-51

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