Science in the Pond: Third Grade Wetland Explorers at Work

Students learned in the lab that macroinvertebrates are small animals without backbones that can be seen with the naked eye. They are often used by scientists to help determine the health of an aquatic ecosystem. Once students were secure in their knowledge about macroinvertebrates, we took a trip into our outdoor classroom.

The pond was bursting with life this spring. Students carefully extracted, contained, observed, and identified an incredible variety of organisms, including dragonfly larvae, bullfrog tadpoles, pearl-like strands of toad spawn, aquatic snails, and water beetles such as Water Boatmen. Through close observation, students created detailed scientific sketches and recorded notes about the structures, behaviors, and habitats of the creatures they discovered.

Many students were amazed by the amount of life thriving in a space they pass every day. This authentic field experience helped bring our wetland studies to life while strengthening observation, classification, and scientific inquiry skills. Most importantly, it sparked curiosity and wonder as students uncovered an entire hidden world within our school garden pond. We hope to revisit the pond during the final days of the school year to continue our investigations and discover even more macroinvertebrates thriving within our wetland ecosystem on campus.