Each year the 3rd grade students at Holladay Elementary take a PE field trip to Three Lakes Park to go fishing. This year they decided to do a science experiment to see which type of bait worked best. In groups, they researched which kinds of fish are at the park and what types of bait to use. The students developed their own hypotheses about which type of bait would work best, and then they tested their hypotheses at the park by keeping track of which types of bait caught which kinds of fish. They also measured the fish as they caught them and took photos. They had practiced measuring fish earlier in Art class using fish rubbings. The photos were posted online here using CoMemories. (CoMemories is a great site for sharing pictures because anyone can contribute with the given link). Back at school, students analyzed the data and drew conclusions. They concluded that worms were, by far, the best bait. I helped them publish their findings in a brochure for the visitors center at Three Lakes Park. They also created group presentations about the different types of fish using a program of their choice (Comic Life, Keynote, Pixie, and/or video). You can take a look at the students’ presentations here. Finally, they scored their projects using a rubric. This project was also Holladay’s entry for Henrico21. Hopefully we’ve helped future 3rd graders and other visitors to Three Lakes Park catch lots of fish!
