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Trails to learning
By DONNA WINCHESTER © St. Petersburg Times, published January 31, 2001 ST. PETERSBURG -- Fifteen young explorers arrived at Boyd Hill Nature Park ready for adventure last week. Equipped with binoculars and clipboards, they set out on the trail with hopes of seeing some of the plants and animals they had studied in their classroom. Branica Hyman, 9, searched the sky for a Cooper's hawk. Ashleigh Ferguson, also 9, kept her head down in search of exotic air potatoes. Sam Roberts, 11, scanned the pond's banks for alligators basking in the sun. The fourth- and fifth-graders in Susan Pomeroy's class at Azalea Elementary, 1680 74th St. N, were among many Pinellas County schoolchildren who have visited Boyd Hill recently. Thanks to "track packs," a resource designed by environmental education specialist Julie Poth, the students were well-prepared for the trip. Mrs. Pomeroy has been using the track packs -- duffel bags stuffed with materials such as magnifying glasses and pine cones -- to teach her students skills for the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test while taking advantage of their interest in science. The packs were designed to match the standards and goals of the school system as well as the features of Boyd Hill. "I'm always looking for a strategy that will help my students," Mrs. Pomeroy said. "They like science so much. I try to include science with a reading activity to teach them other skills." She explained that in order to do well on their tests, they have to be able to think while they work. They have to know how to classify things, how to compare and contrast, and how to follow a key. She said the track pack activities help them develop these skills. She handed out the materials the week before the field trip, dividing the students into groups of twos and threes. The classroom buzzed with activity. Two children used white plastic magnifying glasses to inspect dried leaves sealed in plastic sleeves. They identified maple, Scotch pine, redbud, oak, Lombardy poplar and red cedar by comparing the leaves to pictures in a reference book. Nearby, another group of children carefully inspected seed packets. After pondering clues for each seed, they used deductive reasoning to identify them, writing their answers on worksheets. A group of three students studied the shapes and colors of pine cones. After measuring them from end to end, they created a bar graph that identified Douglas fir, lodgepole, limber, slash, longleaf and sand pine. One child sprawled on the carpet, comparing and contrasting the inventory of two greenhouses. He transferred the information to a diagram, making a visual representation of his data. Another child studied an information sheet on "From Seed to Plant." After painstakingly coloring the black and white drawings, he cut them out, rearranged them and pasted them in sequence to a sheet of blue construction paper. The children were so engrossed in their projects that they were reluctant to put their materials away. Mrs. Pomeroy said their enthusiasm motivates her to keep finding new ways to challenge them. A "by the book" teacher when she started her career, she said she started out using the basic materials provided to her. As she gained more experience and found out about other resources, she started experimenting. "I use the Florida Writes book for basic directions, but now I incorporate new things," she said, referring to preparation for the FCAT. She said making the track pack activities available to her students involves extra planning, but it's worth the effort. She thinks they got a lot more out of the field trip because of the hands-on projects the children did in the classroom. The day after the field trip, she asked the children to write essays on their favorite aspects of Boyd Hill. "Teaching deadline writing is not my favorite thing, and I don't think it's their favorite either, but they need to know how to do it to make a good score on their tests," Mrs. Pomeroy said. She tried to make it as painless for them as possible. She warmed them up with a pre-writing activity, getting them to talk about why it's important to record their experiences. Then they brainstormed three "big" ideas about the park and backed them up with supporting details. Branica decided to write her essay about the squirrels she saw "playing baseball" with acorns. Ashleigh wrote about the air potatoes and the heart-shaped leaves in which they were nestled. Sam, disappointed that the gators were nowhere to be seen, wrote about a tree that had been damaged by lightning. All three children said it was easier to write their essays because they had pictures in their heads that helped them put the words on paper. After they finished their writing, Mrs. Pomeroy reflected on what they had done. "I really want these kids to like school, to want to be here, to enjoy learning," she said. "If they have a bad experience later, maybe they'll remember it wasn't always like that. Maybe something they learn from me will carry over."
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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