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3. Set up |
The Classroom Set up Day The night before the big set up day, I began to have reservations about our project. How was I going to involve the class? Would the students find setting up an aquarium interesting? Fortunately, my worries were unfounded. The set up day was a pleasant surprise. The students participated, were attentive and as you will see, seemed to thoroughly enjoy the project. I began the presentation with an overview of our goal of constructing an aquatic ecosystem. Approximately 30 students participated with several teaching aids, the school principal and the district supervisor all in attendance. We divided the students into groups and began sorting the plants.
I had several aquatic plant books available for the class to identify the various plants
Everyone got a chance to add substrate to the tank,
…and like all gardeners, get their hands dirty.
Nimble fingers were needed to tie the java fern onto the driftwood.
The perfect location for each plant required artistic talents and some active discussion.
I gave a few tips on space requirements of the aquatic plants, and then it was up to the class to design their tank.
With a little guidance, the students placed each plant, added the water and within a short period of time turned an empty tank turned into a miniature ecosystem.
Over the course of the next several weeks, Mrs. Feeney added feeder shrimp, some angelfish and snails to the tank. She organized a schedule for tank maintenance (water changes and fertilization), and our classroom aquatic ecosystem was off to a good start.
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