You Can Create an Experiment at Your School!
In this optional extension module of Project Crystal, students apply what they’ve learned in Project Crystal to design their own related experiment about how birds interact with the plants and insects at their school site.
First, students make observations of the plants around their school site and develop a research question to compare two different types of plants and their impact on bird feeding activity. Next they create a model of the ecosystem to help make a prediction about what they will find. They can then develop a hypothesis about what they think they will find in their experiment and design a study using the same clay caterpillars from the Crystal Cove experiment to test their hypothesis at school. After the caterpillars have been left out at your school site, students can collect data on bird attack rates and use their data to determine which types of plants birds attack the most caterpillars on. Check out the materials below to get started with your own school site experiment!
Module 7 School Site Extension Lesson Guide
- Explore Part 1: Making a Model Slideshow
- Explore Part 2: Making a Hypothesis and Designing the Experiment Slideshow
- Explore Part 3: Collecting and Analyzing Data Slideshow
- Share: Discussion Slideshow
- Reflect: What plant adaptation did you compare? What plant at your school had the most bird attacks on clay caterpillars?
- Share your thoughts with us on Padlet or Flipgrid
- Host the reflection video prompt on your own platform!