Kalifornsky Beach Elementary School
Soldotna, Alaska

Mr. Daniels 4th Grade Class participated in the Bucket Buddies Project.  We are students from Kalifornsky Beach Elementary located in Soldotna, Alaska. The majority of our students are Caucasian and Native Alaskan. K-Beach is a K-6 School located Between the towns of Soldotna and Kenai on the Kenai Peninsula. Our Latitude is 60:29:12N and our Longitude is 151:08:25W. Our Elevation is 103 feet. We are the class of 2014-2015.

Question: Are the organisms found in pond water the same all over the world?

Hypothesis:

Half of our 4th grade class believes that there will be a difference in the organisms from our ponds compared to the organisms from other ponds around the world, and half believes there will not be a measurable difference.

Procedure:

Our class went to the technology lab to research the various organisms found in pond water. We read about the different characteristics of many organisms and we also viewed pictures and drawings of them. With the help of a local watershed group, we traveled to our adopted wetland. While we were there, we learned about the local watershed, we caught fish in traps, we dip netted for insects, we tested the ph of the water,  we picked up garbage around the area, and collected a water sample to bring back to the classroom. Each student received an identification sheet printed from the project's website. We set up microscopes in our class where Mr. Daniels guided us in viewing the organisms living in the pond water. Each group got the chance to view organisms and make their own microscope slides. While looking at the organisms students “adopted” an insect and wrote down their characteristics and made drawings of what they saw.

Click here to see our class website.

Below are some pictures of our experience. Click on thumbnails for larger images: