Dows Lane First Graders Build Food Supply Defense Mechanism

IRVINGTON, NY — First graders at Dows Lane Elementary School have been learning how plants and animals use their defenses to survive in nature. Recently, they applied this knowledge to solve a real-life problem.

Teacher Ann Marie Reardon presented her students with a problem: The aquarium animals’ food, which comes in bags and is stored outside, is being eaten by wildlife. She then challenged them to find a way to protect the food supply.

“The students spent time viewing images to learn about biomimicry, the idea that scientists use what they know about the natural world to inspire solutions to solve human problems,” Reardon said. “In this lesson, the students used what they learned about animal defenses to solve a human problem.”

The students were required to pick one type of defense — shells, spikes or camouflage —to guard the food supply. They drew and labeled their plan in their science notebooks and then built their structures using a variety of recycled materials they brought from home, including plastic bottles, toothpicks, pencil-top erasers and colored tissue paper.

“At the end of the lesson, the students shared and discussed their work with the class,” Reardon said. “They were able to apply their understanding of how defenses work in nature to solve a problem.”

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