Our River Classroom sessions are wrapping up for the Fall semester, and for our last class with our 4th and 5th graders at Chama Elementary, we planned two fun activities to end out the year.
Students divided into two groups for two different activities and then switched places. The first activity was to create a foldable to learn about the water quality parameters we’ll be testing on the Rio Chama later in the year.
We reviewed each of the parameters one by one as students filled in their foldables. We also came up with practical examples of factors that affect temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, turbidity, and nitrate levels at the Rio Chama near the school.
Students were very proud of their foldables and did a great job remembering all of these new vocabulary words and what they mean for our local river.
The second activity allowed students to expand on their knowledge of latitude and longitude as well as other important ideas about geography. Students explored a variety of different types of maps (physical maps, road maps, political maps, topographic maps) and solved critical thinking problems.
Students applied basic math skills to calculating elevation change and used their imaginations to answer questions like “Find this latitude and longitude. What type of transportation would you be using to move through this area in January?”
Our students did a wonderful job at each of the activities, and we can’t wait to expand on this knowledge in the spring as we begin testing water quality and exploring new areas outside.
