Nitrogen Cycle Animations

            The nitrogen cycle is the third ecological cycle the sixth graders have learned about this year.   They have completed a project in which they demonstrated the cycle in an animation. To make the project more "place based", students drew a picture of the tallgrass prairie which included wildflowers and forbs for their slide background. These prairie plants have bacteria in their roots that aid in nitrogen fixation.  The only other way that nitrogen can be converted into a usable form is through lightning. 

             After inserting their picture into powerpoint, they used the drawing  and animation tools to demonstrate the cycle. Nitrogen gas, N₂ is changed into a nitrate, NO_3, by the bacteria.  The plant is then able to utilize the nitrogen to grow and develop.  Animals receive nitrogen by eating the plants or other animals that have eaten the plants.  All living things must depend on this conversion to receive nitrogen even the though 78% of the atmosphere is made up of this gas. When the organisms die and return nitrates back to soil, it is converted to nitrogen gas by bacteria and released back into the atmosphere.

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Sixth Graders Stand and Deliver Illustrated Talks

Students presented illustrated talks on the Kansas or flyway bird they have researched this past month. This product represents the last step in the paraphrasing process that students have been practicing.  Students delivered their speeches without presenter notes, they were able to talk about their birds from memory over the things they have learned about it during this project. Most of the students included an uploaded jpeg of their drawing and sound files to enhance their presentations.  Each student was peer reviewed by all the members of his or her class according to the assessment rubric.  Videos can be accessed through Google classroom.

Paraphrasing Using Microsoft Word Tools

Sixth graders used the Cornell - "All About Birds" website to read information about the description, habitat, and special behaviors of birds that can be found in Kansas during the spring migration. They used the thesaurus from Microsoft Word to paraphrase the information.

The activity is coupled with a field investigation where students are collecting data on weather and comparing the results of temperature increases in air, soil, and water to the number of sightings of some of these birds in the outdoor classroom, as they make their way north during the spring migration.

The unique drawings added the A-Art into the STEM activity.