There are three third-grade classes at Woodrow Wilson School.  Mrs. Neal is our science and social studies teacher.  Our school is located in Central New Jersey in the suburban section of New Brunswick.  We are about thirty miles north of Trenton, our state capital.

 

Each class was divided into three teams so we had nine squares.  There were five members on each team. The perimeter of each square was 4 meters.  We used meter sticks to make our squares on the school grounds.

 

We went out to observe our squares on October 26th.  It was a chilly, windy day.  The temperature was about 55 degrees  While one team member was digging in the square, some of the other members were using tree identification guides and binoculars to observe and understand our natural environment.

 

Our findings were compared to Nancy Creek Theme School in Atlanta, Georgia.

We used a three-part foldable with a Venn diagram to record and compare our data.

First we listed what we found in our squares.  Then we listed what the 3rd graders at Nancy Creek Theme School found in their squares.  Finally, we identified what we found in common and the reason why.

 

Our squares of life were alike because we both found flying bugs, leaves and grass. Since Woodrow Wilson School's squares were near trees, we used tree identification books to identify the leaves that blanketed the squares.  We think we found many different types of leaves like oak leaves, sweet gum leaves, and Linden leaves.  Some seeds were in our squares, too.  Maple seeds, acorns and pine cones were found.   Students at Nancy Creek Theme School found slugs, moths and worms.  They found a centipede, caterpillar, butterfly, grasshopper, red ant, yellow jacket, and black spider on a web.  Maybe they found more living things because in Atlanta when it's fall, it is much warmer and maybe their squares were bigger.

 

When we compared the non-living things in our squares, both our school and Nancy Creek Theme School found dirt. However, the dirt in Georgia is very red and has lots of iron in it.  The students reported that it's more like hard clay than dirt  The squares at Woodrow Wilson School were also different than the squares at Nancy Creek Theme School because we found  some small rocks and a metal cylinder that was about 5 cm long.  There were no rocks in the squares in Georgia because their squares were located in a garden area and people removed the rocks.  There was very little trash except for some small pieces of glass.

 

New Brunswick, New Jersey and Atlanta, Georgia are both located near the East coast.

However, New Jersey is in the northern part of the U.S. and Georgia is located in the southern part of the U.S.  We're located in different regions of the U.S., therefore there seemed to be more differences than similarities.

    

The Square of Life project was enjoyed by all students.  It enhanced our study of Structures of Life and the Life Cycle of the Monarch Butterfly.  In one class we took our milkweed pod outside with us and opened it up and watched the seeds disperse. Perhaps milkweed plants will grow near our school grounds in the spring and we'll observe lots of monarch butterflies.

It was great to learn in the natural environment and compare our environment to other environments! See our project photographs below.