Sixth Grade Programs
Sixth Grade Programs
The Lilly Center’s K-12 programs aspire to a high goal: develop water literacy in the children who will eventually lead our community. Students who engage with one or several of our programs leave with a deeper understanding of and appreciation for local water resources, as well as practical ways to care for them on their own.
Outdoor Field Trip Programs
Join us for a hike! Outdoor programs start at the Lilly Center and include hikes to the outdoor classroom and along the wetland trails. Students will experience nature up close as they learn about caring for our local water resources. We host outdoor programming from August to October, and March into May. Students should dress for the weather and wear closed-toed shoes.
Essential Questions: What is a watershed? How does pollution move in a watershed?
Description: On this field trip, students will discover how watersheds flow throughout Kosciusko County and what might be flowing in that water through an educational hike and fun team-work activity. After defining watersheds and pollution, students will hike to a wetland ecosystem and learn about the role of wetlands in our local watersheds. To simulate these ecological concepts, students will role-play thunderstorms and evaluate the movement of pollution through run-off before critically evaluating realistic preventative strategies.
Standards:
MS-LS2-4: Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.
MS-LS2-5: Evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Indoor Field Trip Programs
Our most popular learning experience! Students rotate through all of the following stations during their 2-hour visit to the Lilly Center. They will interact with live animals, the Virtual Aquarium and the Augmented Reality Sand Tables while learning about local water quality impacts.
Essential Questions: What is algae? How is algae important in our lake ecosystem?
Description: Calling all future scientists! While using microscopes students discover the formerly hidden world of algae and plankton that dwells in our local aquatic ecosystems. Students will develop their observation skills and microscope familiarity while learning about algae’s role in our lake ecosystems.
Standards:
MS-LS1-6: Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for the role of photosynthesis in the cycling of matter and flow of energy into and out of organisms.
MS-LS2-1: Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.
Essential Questions: What is stratification? Why are lakes stratified?
Description: In this lesson, students dive into and break down the scientific definition of “stratification” and preform a science experiment to explore the properties of stratification in our own lakes. Students continue the scientific process by documenting their results and learn what is the driving force behind lake stratification!
Standards:
MS-LS2-3: Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.
MS-LS2-4: Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.
Essential Questions: What are point source and nonpoint source pollution? How does land use affect water quality?
Description: What is pollution and how do we affect it? At this station, students are able to visualize and create a community with our Augmented Reality Sand Tables as they learn about the six most common pollutants in Northern Indiana, their sources, and how we can work to minimize pollution’s presence in our own communities.
Standards:
HS-ESS3-4: Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces the impacts of human activities on natural systems.
MS-LS2-4: Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.
Ready to book a field trip?
Reach out to Marc Andrews, Assistant Director of Education: andrewmw@grace.edu