Coventry students take studies to great outdoors
COVENTRY — Coventry’s
Erwine Middle School sixth-graders blossomed at an
outdoor field trip Oct. 4-5 to the Ohio Department of
Natural Resources Division of Wildlife office on Portage
Lakes Drive.
The field trip, called a “classroom without walls,” focused on entomology, the study of insects. Students fished in the stocked ponds, went on a hike, looked for insects and plants, studied the symmetry of insects, read poetry about nature and did insect crossword puzzles during the field trip.
“This gives kids a sense of appreciation and wonderment,” said sixth-grade science teacher Sue Cook. “This is the kind of learning kids don’t forget.”
Shown above, Cook explains to her students where to find insects during the field trip. Some of the students used nets to catch insects.
Half of the 208 sixth-graders and their teachers went one afternoon and the other half went the next, according to Jim Trogdon, also a science teacher.
Students walked the short distance from their school to the site for the free field trip and will return to the location in the spring for another one.
“They are learning, but don’t realize they’re learning,” said Rachel Sokira, a natural resource specialist for the Division of Wildlife. “They learn an appreciation for the outdoors.”
Shown below right, Regan Holmes searches through a dry pond area for insects and plants.
Sokira helped students bait their lines and catch fish in three ponds.
“I caught two fish but needed help because I didn’t want to touch them,” said sixth-grader Penny Ford. “We enjoyed the fresh air and got to learn more about outside, fish and bugs.”
Division of Wildlife officials gave Erwine teachers permission to take samples of insects and plants back to the classroom for further study, according to Trogdon.
A praying mantis with a swollen abdomen found during the trip, shown at right, is one of the specimens students will study and observe. Jodie Watkins (in center) shows the insect to her classmates.
“She’s getting ready to make an egg case,” Cook explained to her students. “We’re going to keep the egg case cold all winter.”
Students will release the baby praying mantises in the spring.
“We are very fortunate to have this right in our own back yard,” Trogdon said.
“The students live in Portage Lakes, and they need to understand why it’s important to protect this area,” added Cook.
— By Joyce Rainey Long
Photos: Joyce Rainey Long
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