Fifth graders at Trevvett Elementary have been learning about vascular and nonvascular plants in Science (SOL5.5). Today students in Ms. Ballou’s class examined different types of plants using a digital USB microscope called a Proscope. First, the students got into self-selected groups, and we distributed the Proscopes and the plants (flowers, moss, celery, and ferns). Then they logged into Google classroom where I posted a Google slides template for them to use to share their findings (you can make a copy of the template here) Students put their names on the first slide, and on the subsequent slides they were to identify each plant as vascular or non-vascualr and upload a photo or two of the plant under the microscope. Proscope makes it easy to take photos by simply clicking a button. Some students also labeled different parts of the plants using the text box and arrow tools. They had a great time seeing the plants in a way they had never seen them before, and they also got some practice making a Google slideshow. You can see their finished slideshows here. Let me know if you’d like to use the Proscopes with your class. Each school has a couple, and I can bring a box of 15 additional ones.
