Science at it's Best

*The students will also be looking at real pond water after they experience the virtual pond activities!
http://www.microscope-microscope.org/basic/buyers-guide.htm

*This is a caption from the virtual pond website that goes through each microorganism by group.  It also has a picture of what it would look like, along with a brief explanation of the characteristics they have.
* These three pictures are captions that were taken from the virtual pond website.  The students are able to see each microorganism that lives in the pond.  They can also click on each type and read more information about the individual microorganisms!

* The pretty pond caption is just an example of what a pond looks like in real life.  It would be good for kids to see this along with the online activities.  The students will even take a trip to a nearby pond if time and budgets allow for that type of activity.

http://www.dinternursery.ca/PondProducts.htm

 Teacher Savvy:

As a teacher in the increasingly tech savvy world we have created a way for students in the 6^th grade classroom to explore different microorganisms through the use of digital microscopes and an interactive Internet website. We believe that through the use of these aids this lesson will be more meaningful for the students.

The objective that we are focusing on for our science lesson is to observe and summarize information about microorganisms. For this lesson we are going to introduce the students to the concept of microorganisms. We will discuss a few different types of microorganisms that surround us in our environment. After we have sparked the interest of this new concept we will then explore the website  HYPERLINK "http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/index.html" http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/index.html. This link will take you to Virtual Pond Dip and it is an interactive activity for students. It allows you to see the physical form of various microorganisms. In the pond, each component is a link and has specific information concerning each individual microorganism. The virtual pond will allow students to explore various microorganisms and their information.

After this activity of exploring microorganisms in the pond water, we will then introduce the students to the digital microscope. We plan on using small sample of pond water for the students to view through the microscope. Only a small drop is required under a digital microscope and it allows students to see these small organisms up close.

As students have opportunities to explore microorganisms online, they will be able to clearly see and identify the differences between the various organisms. Using the Virtual Pond website students are able to easily view and classify microorganisms. This easily enhances their ability to pick out the microorganisms and identify the various components involved with each. As students learn about each microorganism they are not only viewing the physical characteristics, but also the make-up and movement of each. This provides the perfect introduction into classifying microorganisms before students view real life microorganisms from a nearby pond. Students are able to truly learn the differences between each microorganism, making time spent looking through the microscope more useful. Students will be able to truly learn the differences without feeling burdened and overwhelmed with staring through a microscope for many hours. This technological feature also makes the distinctions between the microorganisms more clear, enhancing their ability to classify, identify and observe microorganisms. Using this technology not only saves time in the classroom, it also develops studentʼs use of the internet and observing abilities. Students learn skills in many areas as they learn about the microorganism from the Virtual Pond website.