Activity+Ideas

**Seed Activity Ideas - from High Voltage Participants**

 * Have students generate a list of life in the ocean.
 * Generate a "web" on the board/wall.
 * Food web by habitat.
 * The "upwelling song" (Sally Connelly)
 * X-Fish program/experience in the classroom, generated by students
 * Invite GMRI staff to participate in "X-Fish" classroom experience
 * Darwin in the Galapagos and evolution - Whale changes over time
 * Adaptation - Representing bird bills with different household tools, foods 
 * Stomach sessions - "What's in the stomach of your species?" (food web, bag of stuff)
 * Scientist meet with students to talk about research, process
 * Students design their own experiment. Feedback from scientist
 * Fisherman/Industry in the class
 * UMO Scientists in the classroom, still running?
 * Project Learning Tree, pair classrooms with foresters
 * [Google Earth] Video of school in Gulf of Maine watershed, connection from inland to ocean
 * Thinking/acting like a scientist
 * Census of aquatic life tied to GMRI trip, CoML (Census of Marine Life)
 * Write a constructed response about why the X-Fish is important in the Gulf of Maine
 * Resources (Project WET, WILD, Heathy Water Healthy People, PLT, ...)
 * Resources from GMRI (Images of watershed, etc.)
 * Social Studies/Science - Past civilization (e.g. Egypt) working waterfront vs. current
 * "A Street Through Time" (Anne Millard, picture book of different people in different eras)
 * "A Port Through Time" (Anne Millard)
 * "Horseshoe Crabs and Shore Birds" (Victoria Crenson) - Specific food web
 * Darling Marine Center, Gulf of Maine Center, Jan Faulkner - Day long marine science activities...
 * World's Oceans
 * "Ocean Literacy Standards"
 * "One" Ocean, separated into "oceans" for place-based learning
 * Lake stratifcation/turnover, lake vs. ocean
 * Weather, Atmosphere effects on aquatics (lakes,
 * Connection between astronomy, tides, and ocean
 * Atlantic Center for the Environement, Friendship, Jennifer Atkinson, "Muscongus (Bay) Amongus" - organizations, programs
 * Sonar/sound activity online, navigation, echolocation, ...
 * Adaptations - echolocation, physical medium of water vs. air
 * Simple machines, technologies for underwater research
 * Ecology center at GMRI, lending library (books and physical stuff), resources ala Boston Museum of Science
 * Reading resources - Delta science, "Oceans" (Basic concepts, 3-6)
 * Resources from GMRI??? (small group brainstorm)

Activity Ideas, General Discussion:

 * Add "seriousness" by letting students know their videos will be watched later by EVERYBODY later AND that they'll go to a website. Generally, set expectations.
 * It was great to make a connection with a "real" scientist (John Grabowski and scientists in photos/video
 * Get students as excited about science as you can
 * The Cohen Center was a unique experience for me RE technology gap, warp speed change, the Cohen Center is a "mind-blowing experience for kids... life altering... career opportunities..."
 * Many students in Maine have never even been to the ocean (!)
 * Any ideas for a "hands-on" (direct) experience?
 * Young women scientists are wonderful role models for budding scientists/students
 * Voyage of the Mimi, Secret life of lobsters, etc.
 * Ocean units from Cape, South Portland
 * Adopt a boat program and other resources
 * Know that some kids will "know nothing and other will know a lot" and deal accordingly
 * How did scientists get to where they are right now ... what was their path. Help students make connections from where they are to where they could be as a marine scientist.
 * GMRI experience is anywhere between introductory and reflective as scheduling classes in the Cohen Center can be difficult. Consider survey monkey for students, classes to work with classes more directly.
 * Evaluation, pre and post to add data to what students are learning.


 * RE Break** between rounds 2 and 3
 * Once students feel that they are "done," they may not reengage.


 * Students-Scientists**
 * Have students collect data as much as possible, especially with respect to watershed
 * Talk with students/scientists as much as possible
 * Can 5th-6th add to citizen science. 10-12 year olds are "ready to be valued." Ready to be let go.
 * 5th-6th graders "always listen to each other" - though not necessarily to us/teachers : )
 * Authentic research vs. just for sake of learning


 * Teacher Reflection "Station"** (and/or website)
 * Provide list, links of resources
 * Wiki page for lesson ideas
 * Blurbs, bullet points about each LVS station
 * Vocabulary, terms (bank, ridge, etc.)
 * Topic discussion from our scientist's research... background reading.
 * Survey monkey at kiosk RE experience
 * Survey monkey for teachers to learn what their students are learning
 * Actual evaluation from students (ala clipboard) before students leave the experience (for comments, questions). Polling survey is also great but may not allow for comments.
 * "Ask the expert" (blog)