6th graders classifying organisms...in the REAL WORLD!
6th grade PreAP students spent their day at Bear Creek Park
classifying different organisms into the 6 currently recognized kingdoms.
Students used a GPS unit to find a specific animal, plant, fungus,
protist, or bacteria and then classify the organism based on its
characteristics. Students loved being able to see all the different organisms
at the park such as a ringworm that could infect a sheep, aspergillus rambellii
which could infect the lungs of a sick emu, to a pot bellied pig and oak tree.
One thing is for sure-- these students will never be able to look at
an organism without the words "eukaryote/prokaryote,
unicellular/multicellular, heterotroph/autotroph, sexual/asexual" running
through their minds. Science ROCKS!
Our GPS units were funded by the Katy ISD Education Foundation Inspiring Imagination Teacher Grants this past year.