Friday, October 7, 2011

Teresa Gonzales - Crosbyton, Ralls and Lorenzo Playa Festival

This was a great day! The environment in which we arrived was welcoming and very respectful. Way to go, fifth grade! We had the honor of having a special presenter for this festival, Melanie Hartman is with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and shared a Wildlife presentation with the students.. This was a large group so they were divided into three rotating groups . The three presentations were Playa Wildlife by Melanie Hartman. Playa Plants and Soils by Teresa Gonzales, and Playa Lakes, Buffers, and waterfowl was presented by Jim Steiret, an author and waterfowler. After our classroom instruction, the students loaded buses to a nearby playa. Students were excited and ready to explore their new surroundings.   Students usually enjoy the field experience most of all.  This group collected plants and shells and made observations about the earth's surface and they were amazed at the cracks and how deep they might be.  The teachers were interested in the follow-up lessons provided by Julie Hodges in her "Playa Binder." The teachers were informed that the Playa Binder was forwarded to their princiipal via email. Amy Reece, a fifth grade Ralls teacher collected the clay soil she will need to start her own "Playa Jar." She knows the soil contains over 350 types of seeds and 200 types of eggs. Her students were very pleased that they will be able to have a class project that will lend itself to all subjects easily. Her students are lucky to have her!

No comments:

Post a Comment