Purposes
- To help students recognize that many organisms live beneath the surface of a pond, a perhaps unfamiliar or counterintuitive reality.
- To generate a list of pond organisms that teachers and students can refer to later in this pathway: underwater plants (e.g., bushy pondweed, hornwort, widgeon grass), mayfly larvae, little fish (minnows), and big fish (perch).
Description
Let the students know they will be exploring “The Mystery at Sunrise Farm Pond” in the coming weeks. To begin, facilitate a brainstorming discussion about the types of organisms [2] that live in a pond. Show students photos of ponds and encourage them to think of any ponds or lakes they may have visited. Ask students what kinds of plants and animals live in the water. Record pond organisms on a list as students respond. Make sure that insects, small fish, and larger fish are on the list. If students don’t mention them, add them yourself and call students’ attention to them. Students are unlikely to know the names of specific organisms; telling them the names is okay (see implementation tips below). Call students’ attention to organisms that live only underwater. They are especially important in this pathway, in contrast to organisms that also live out of, or near, the water (e.g., ducks or cattails).
Student Thinking
Some students may have trouble accepting that a variety of organisms, particularly plants, live under the water surface in ponds. They may also name only animals that visit the pond (e.g., foxes or deer) or live largely above the water surface (e.g., ducks, beavers, or turtles).
Implementation Tips
- Underwater plants are often called “submerged plants” by ecologists.
- Organisms that live only underwater are of special interest because they will be most directly affected by low levels of oxygen in the water (which students explore more in parts two and three). However, student suggestions of other organisms such as turtles or flying insects that spend time at the pond above the water should also be welcomed during brainstorming.
- Students are unlikely to name the specific target organisms for this pathway (i.e., perch, minnows, mayfly larvae, underwater plants). If they do not name these organisms, you should tell them the names and make sure they know that particular organisms belong to a larger category (for example, mayfly larvae are insects; minnows and perch are fish). Preserve and display this smaller list of organisms so that students can refer back to it as they go through the pathway.