salmon eggs. He would then dump about 200 pinkish pearl-like time to begin feeding our fish,” I would say. It was also time to
Chum Salmon eggs into the egg tray in front of an audience of begin the next phase of discovery and learning.
curious on-lookers. Once all the eggs were deposited, the students
looked closely and discovered that the eggs were translucent and
Using Children’s Inquiry as
that you could see the eyes of the tiny fish inside them. “These
are eyed-eggs and soon to hatch,” the Kiwanis volunteer would
a Catalyst for Learning
explain. So began the process of discovery and learning about the
Children of all ages are naturally curious about ambigu-
salmon life cycle.
ous and novel phenomena and experiences. Teachers can take
advantage of children’s curiosity and wonder to foster inquiry-
For the week or so after the salmon eggs arrived, eager learn-
based learning events. Learning fueled by inquiry is powerful
ers would flock to the tank each day to marvel and wonder at the
and engaging. Inquiry sparks motivation, desire, and purpose
sight of salmon fry hatching. The eggs bounced and jiggled until
for learning because children naturally seek to make meaning of
finally the alevin (also know as sac fry) emerged complete with
ambiguous and novel information. Things in nature, particularly
their fatty bulge (a yolk sac for nourishment) in their abdomens.
live animals, seem to appeal to most children, fostering in them a
The alevin would then wriggle and squeeze through the wire
desire to use their keen observation skills. This is what makes the
mesh of the egg tray and swim downward into the rocks and
salmon in the classroom project such a powerful catalyst for teach-
gravel where they remained hidden for approximately six weeks.
ing and learning new concepts and skills. Through the salmon
“Where did they all go?” the students would wonder upon dis-
in the classroom project, using
covering no more eggs on the egg
a variety of cooperative and ex-
tray and no baby salmon to be seen
Through the salmon in the classroom project, I was
ploratory learning activities, I was
anywhere in the tank. “What do
able to teach students in grades
you suppose happened to them?” I
able to teach students in grades K-6 core concepts
K-6 core concepts in both science
would respond.
in both science and social studies and integrate and social studies and integrate
Day after day the children
lessons in language arts, math, and visual arts,
lessons in language arts, math,
would peer curiously into the win-
dow of the tank. At first, the tank
thereby creating a multi-disciplinary salmon
and visual arts, thereby creating a
multi-disciplinary salmon educa-
would be frequented by almost education curriculum.
tion curriculum.
every student in the class. Then,
For example, in the process
over the ensuing weeks with no
of raising the salmon fry, students
activity to be seen, curiosity would begin to wane and the tank
learned not only about the salmon life cycle, but that all animals
would be visited by fewer and fewer students. Approximately
(including humans) have a life cycle. One way this was accom-
six weeks later, usually when a student strayed to the tank on a
plished was by having students cut out pictures from kid-friendly
trip to the water fountain or pencil sharpener, the class would
magazines of people in various stages of life (infant, toddler, child,
become startled by the cry, “I saw one! I saw a baby salmon!”
pre-teen, teen-ager, young adult, and so on) for use in making
With this, the entire class would race to the tank to have a look.
their own human life-cycle posters. In the process, students were
Sure enough, several salmon fry would be swimming about the
able to compare and contrast the salmon life cycle and the human
tank. Indeed, as their fatty deposits diminish, the fry “button up”
life cycle.
and emerge from their rocky hiding places in search of food. “It’s
Other important concepts learned during the salmon in the
classroom project included the water cycle,
wetlands and watersheds, estuaries, the
Northwest forest ecosystem, systems in na-
ture, interrelationships, the food web (partic-
ularly the key role salmon play), migration,
point and non-point sources of pollution,
steam ecology and restoration, commercial
fishing, animal habitats, and animal surviv-
al. Each one of these concepts was intro-
duced through constructivist methods utiliz-
ing different modalities to accommodate
different learning styles prior to using print
and media sources such as picture books,
posters, brochures, newspaper articles, and
videos. By learning these concepts students
were exposed to, and used in their everyday
language, a rich bank of technical vocabu-
lary for use in questioning and exploratory
inquiry dialogue. Additionally, through the
salmon in the classroom project my students
Third graders testing the nitrate level of Clear Creek.
(continued on next page)
Clearing - 2009 Compendium Edition http://www.clearingmagazine.org Page 15
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