Sixth Grade Programs

Description: Teachers may choose hikes with either a woodland, wetland or bird watching theme. These hikes which take place at the Lilly Center, will differ in specific content based on the season and will feature the plants and animals that are present at that time of year. The learning will point to preservation of  water quality. These open-ended hikes are designed to include input from teachers so they can be tied to current classroom learning – if desired. 

Essential Question: What natural conditions impact the lakes in Kosciusko County? How does precision affect the scientific process?

Description: Students will learn about the organisms that live in our lakes that we can’t see with our naked eye. Students will become familiar with Zooplankton, Phytoplankton, and Algae by knowing what they are and how they exist in our local lakes. For their activity students will learn how to use a microscope and its different parts before observing algae under the microscope. Students will create their own slides using lake water and observing what they see on a worksheet.

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.
6.CC.1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions ( e.g., one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) on grade appropriate topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing personal ideas clearly.
6.CC.2: Pose and respond to specific questions with elaboration and detail by making comments that contribute to the topic, text, or issue under discussion.

Essential Question: What is point-source pollution? What is non point-source pollution? How does land use affect water quality? What are some common sources of pollution?

Description: Students will start their lesson by brainstorming on what they think are the top 5 pollutants we have in Kosciusko county. With these pollutants in mind, they will name places these pollutants might come from and whether they would be considered point or nonpoint source pollution. Using the Augmented Reality Sandbox the students will use a map to create a topographic map of Warsaw. Students will then build a community and  discuss what types of pollution would come from certain parts of the community. Finally, students will brainstorm ways to keep these pollutants from getting into Winona Lake and how to prevent them in the future.

Standards:
HS-ENV1-2: Use a computational representation to illustrate that humans are part of Earth’s ecosystems and how human activities can, deliberately or inadvertently, alter ecosystems.
LS2.C: Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience. Moreover, anthropogenic changes (induced by human activity) in the environment — including habitat destruction, pollution, introduction of invasive species, over exploitation, and climate change — can disrupt an ecosystem and threaten the survival of some species.
SEP.6: Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions. Design, evaluate, and refine a solution to a complex real-world problem, based on scientific knowledge, student-generated sources of evidence, prioritized criteria, and tradeoff considerations.

Essential Questions: What is stratification? How is stratification related to our lakes? What natural conditions impact lakes in Kosciusko county? 

Description: Students will start their lesson learning what stratification and density mean and how they both affect the water in our lakes. For their activity, students will use their new knowledge of stratification and density to conduct a scientific experience. Students will begin their experiment by creating a hypothesis by determining which water temperature they think will be the most dense. Students will then test water density and stratification using four different temperatures of water. In the end, students will be able to visibly see stratification and density and be able to connect their experiment to our local lakes. 

Standards:
MS-ETS1-4: Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved.
6.DM.3: Use approximations and evaluate reasonableness of observations, results, and solutions throughout processes.
SEPS.8: Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information.