Schools
Community Day School students get hands-on with science
Fifth and sixth-graders focus learning on the role we can and should play in reducing red tide
Recently, fifth and sixth-graders from the Hershorin Schiff Community Day School embarked on a scientific learning expedition to UF/IFAS (University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences) Extension Sarasota County. They participated in three hands-on outdoor labs about plankton energy flow, nitrogen testing, and the local watershed. The three labs helped students come to conclusions about how human behaviors impact the environment.
These students have been working this trimester on a larger project-based learning topic about the role we can and should play in reducing red tide. The fifth-graders have been focusing on “Earth’s Water”; the sixth-graders on “Animals Living in Our Environment.” Due to student interest and concern, teacher Joannie Bloch redirected studies to include red tide, its impacts and human behavior might contribute to its proliferation.
“Being that we are a project-based learning school, it all started with the children wanting to see if we could decrease our fertilizer use here in the school garden as well as seeing if they could conserve their water use in their homes and at school.”
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Not only are the students learning about a relevant local issue but they are also becoming empowered to realize the changes their generation can make to combat this devastating environmental situation in the future. The students will present their findings during the school's Learning on Display program on May 9.
“Thanks to hands-on learning and the partnership with organizations such as the UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County, our students will be informed and motivated to find solutions to problems like these in the future,” said Bloch. “The main goal of our work on this area of study has been for students to become more aware of the human impact on the environment and the power their generation holds in being able to change behaviors.”
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For more about Community Day School, go to CommunityDay.org or call 941-552-2770.
About Community Day School
The mission of the Hershorin Schiff Community Day School, which serves students in preschool through eighth grade, is to impact the world by creating a community where children of all faiths demonstrate integrity, academic excellence, and a desire to improve the world. For more information, visit the website at communityday.org or call (941) 552-2770.
