The Greenwood County Conservation District Shares Remote Sensing Technology with Sixth Graders

Sixth grade Science students were able to interact with an intriguing piece of technology when District Conservationists, Luke Westerman and District Manager, Keila Sherman, demonstrated how to use the remote sensing Augmented Reality Sandbox on September 26^th, at Marshall Elementary School.  This piece of equipment provides detailed images of Earth that can be used to study the Earth’s surface or to simulate naturally occurring phenomenon, such as wildfires and volcanoes that can affect populations. 

The students got a chance to personalize this technology when they were able to create their own landforms depicting the Flint Hills in the sand. Using electromagnetic waves, the AR sandbox was able to create a map showing the topographical features of the Flint Hills.   The depth measurement sensor, on the sandbox, captured the distance to the sand surface.  The received data was then transferred to the computer.  The computer processed the data and sent a command to the projector. The projector highlighted the sand surface with realistic textures in the terrain – blue water, green hills etc.  

Students were then able to create a storm over the city of Eureka and watch how the rainfall forms local watersheds.   All of this occurred in real time and students were able to make changes in the terrain and see the effect of their changes on the topographical maps.  

It was amazing and a lot of fun.  The Greenwood County Conservation District continues to be a great community resource for the schools in our area.  

Criteria for Life

Sixth graders conducted an investigation to see if samples found in petri dishes had characteristics of life.  The criteria they used is that all living things are made up of cells, exchange gases, use energy, reproduce, and respond to their environment.  The samples included sand, sand and alka-seltzer, and sand and yeast.  After the investigation, students decided that the sand and yeast was the only sample that actually met all of the criteria after hot water had been added to the samples.

Soil Experiment

Students experimented with sand, black soil, and clay.  They wanted to see if the particle size of the soil affected how quickly the soil drained water and how much water was absorbed by the three soils.

 

Special Visitors

6th Graders at Marshall Elementary had some special visitors during  the Veteran's Day assembly.

Sixth graders started their Earth Science unit this year with many “real world” examples.  As they were studying how the Earth’s surface is continually shaped and reshaped by moving water and tectonic processes, they were able to witness the evidence of these processes through Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria.  Students observed the effect of natural disasters on the human populations during the Mexico City earthquake and the dilemma for citizens in Bali, Indonesia as they evacuate and await the predicted eruption of the volcano, Mount Agung.

Students have constructed models and used simulations to help develop explanations for the natural disasters that are occurring around the Pacific Rim – Ring of Fire.   They conducted investigations in the outdoor classroom to see the effect of erosion and the benefit of plants in the biosphere to reduce these effects.

In an effort to practice our healthy habit #6, Synergize.  Keila Sherman, from the Natural Resource and Conservation Service   brought an enormous Earth balloon to Marshall.  Students were able to sit inside the model while she discussed the features of the Earth and the processes that caused them to form.

Studying these features and changes are evidence of processes that have shaped Earth’s history and will determine its future.

Did you know that different ecosystems have different types of soil?

According to our science program, the characteristics of the soil in an ecosystem affect plant growth. Soils that have a lot of decaying, or organic, matter can hold water well and allow air to reach the plant roots. Sandy soils usually do not hold water well because the water flows through too easily. Clay soil, which has small, tightly packed particles, will not allow water to move through easily at all.

Sixth graders proved this is true by developing an experiment where they tested how quickly 90cc of water would drain through each type of soil in seconds. Then, they measured how much of the water drained through the soils in cubic centimeters.

After the data was collected, lab reports were written in Microsoft word.  The observation chart and graphs were formatted in Excel spreadsheets and then inserted into the lab reports.

After proving the science with math means, students will use this information when designing Soil Conservation Posters, for NRCS.

Argumentative Essay - Two Points of View

"What hopes and fears did Americans have about the arrival of new immigrants into our country in the 1900's compared to the hopes and fears that are evident in today's current events over immigration? 

Sixth graders have been asking this essential question and using their technology skills to help them research the problems and communicate the answers they have found into an argumentative essay that shows two points of view. They used a gaming program that immersed them into a historical setting as a fourteen year old, Jewish girl who emigrated from Russia in 1903.  The game promoted the idea that assuming the roll of a peer from that time period would develop a more personal and meaningful connection with history.

http://www.mission-us.org

Another website, zoomin.edc.org, was used to help guide the writing process.  Students were given original documents from the beginning of the 20th century and then guided through the evidence found in them that supported different points of view.

Finally, students summarized current news articles over the travel ban and compared the reasoning behind the ban to the hopes and fears that present day Americans have.