In this lesson, we covered the salmon life cycle and the seasonal migrations both Atlantic and Pacific salmon take on their journey. We used specimens to learn what morphologies characterize different stages of development, and what each one needs. Afterwards, we talked about the large scale of salmon migrations, and compared that to how far the students themselves had traveled. The students then turned into salmon for a short game about the risks that salmon face. The students got really excited about the game, and though at times it could get rowdy, they were always very engaged and I think the interactive format really helped them wrap their heads around the factors of population decline. We also talked about local species, and brainstormed what we could do on a small-scale individual level to help out the species - and ourselves. We wrapped up the day by doing an analysis of the game we played earlier, and talked about the cost of human impacts and ongoing efforts to help mitigate population decline.
I really liked teaching this material, both because it was something that I had a lot of personal experience with as a marine biologist but also that the kids had lots of experience with. This lesson really hit home the value of teaching locally. Focusing on salmon, it was really easy to start in with something that a lot of students had experience with (salmon fishing) and I was actually very surprised at the thoughtful discussions that followed about how salmon populations affect them personally. Using a local example really does help to open up a conversation about what their community needs and how to balance those for the greater good. At the end of the day, the kids brainstormed small-scale things that they as 5th graders could do to help out, and I think that the exercise was overall empowering them with knowledge of what was happening in the community while also presenting very tangible solutions. Bringing in samples of the fish also really helped get the kids pumped about the topic even before the class began. I had jars of fish specimens sitting on the tables when the kids walked in, and the result was they were immediately engaged with the material as soon as they walked in the door.
As I said before, I felt as though I learned a lot about the community based on how the kids responded to teaching. We got an intimate understanding about the major veins of environmental and scientific education, both formally and informally (by families or by other means) and I think that that familiarity with the community’s inner workings is extremely important for designing effective curriculum.
-Alia Hidayat
I really liked teaching this material, both because it was something that I had a lot of personal experience with as a marine biologist but also that the kids had lots of experience with. This lesson really hit home the value of teaching locally. Focusing on salmon, it was really easy to start in with something that a lot of students had experience with (salmon fishing) and I was actually very surprised at the thoughtful discussions that followed about how salmon populations affect them personally. Using a local example really does help to open up a conversation about what their community needs and how to balance those for the greater good. At the end of the day, the kids brainstormed small-scale things that they as 5th graders could do to help out, and I think that the exercise was overall empowering them with knowledge of what was happening in the community while also presenting very tangible solutions. Bringing in samples of the fish also really helped get the kids pumped about the topic even before the class began. I had jars of fish specimens sitting on the tables when the kids walked in, and the result was they were immediately engaged with the material as soon as they walked in the door.
As I said before, I felt as though I learned a lot about the community based on how the kids responded to teaching. We got an intimate understanding about the major veins of environmental and scientific education, both formally and informally (by families or by other means) and I think that that familiarity with the community’s inner workings is extremely important for designing effective curriculum.
-Alia Hidayat