DISAPPEARING LAKE: NATURE'S MAGIC IN DENALI NATIONAL PARK: ACTIVITIES FOR TEACHERS
1. Language Arts: reading and listening2. Writing Activities: Creating stories and poems about the animals of Disappearing LakeAfter reading Disappearing Lake to students, focus on the beginning of the story. Reread the first page:
"In a wooded valley, the snow begins to melt. Sparkling beads of water trickle together, growing into rivulets, brooks, and streams. They speak to you in the language of water."
Water terms: rivulet, brook, stream: Have a discussion with your class about these terms. What is a rivulet? Is it bigger or smaller than a brook? Are there rivulets on the playground? What happens to the rivulets? Where do they go? Do they feed into a big puddle or brook, do they evaporate on the playground, so they seep into the ground? Is there a brook or a stream in your area? Can youthink of other terms that describe the movement of water?(creek, river) Where do the brooks or streams in your area go? Do they feed into a river, or a lake? If they feed into a lake, is it a permanent or temporary lake?
Outdoor activity: In the spring have students explore their playground or nearby park. Can they find a rivulet and follow it? Is there a brook or stream that you can explore as a class? What is the source of flowing water, and where does the water go? Have students listen to the language of water.
Water poems: the language of water: What is the language of water? Have students think of as many sounds words as they can which describe the language of water. Write them on the board. Words such as gurgle, trickle, swish, plip, plop, drip, drop, bubble, roar. Students who are writing can create water poems that describe a brook, stream or river in your area, with emphasis on the sounds. Teachers may want to consider doing this as an outdoor activity, or play a nature tape with water sounds in the classroom while students write.
Animal viewpoint stories: List all of the animals that live in or near Disappearing Lake. Have each student pick one of the animals and write a story about Disappearing Lake from the viewpoint of that animal. Suggest that students describe the animal's habitat and life cycle as part of the story. Older students can use the Field Notes in back of book for additional information about their animal, or refer to other library sources. Here is a list of animals that are partof the Disappearing Lake story:
Mystery "Who am I?" poems: write all the names of animals in Disappearing Lake on tags, then have students draw an animal out of hat. Students can then write a mystery poem or Haiku about the animal, without using name. Students can read poems and their classmates can guess which animal they have described. Or poems can be posted with a "pop up"at bottom of page that names the mystery animal.
Class book about animals of Disappearing Lake: Create a book about the animals of Disappearing Lake. Each student can choose an animal from the story. Younger students can illustrate their animal and write the animal's name. Older students can illustrate their animal, and write a paragraph that describes the animal's characteristics and life cycle. This same project can focus on a vernal lake near your school or community.
Journaling: Discover a vernal lake or pond in your area and visit it with your class on a field trip. Have students bring journals and write about the lake's environment, using all of their senses.
3. Science Activities: After students read Disappearing Lake, discuss the idea of trying to locate a vernal lake or pond in your area. Perhaps some students have seen one in their neighborhood or near their community.
Discover a vernal pond or lake! Contact a local fish and wildlife resource person and find out if there is a temporary lake or pond in your area. Plan at least two or three field trips to the site so that students can watch the progression of a changing lake environment. Have students make a journal to record their discoveries.
Creatures in the lake: Bring a net, a few sorting trays, some jars and some magnifying glasses. Take some water samples from shallow and deeper areas (wear mud boots). Put samples in sorting trays and have students identify the different creatures: insect larvae, fairy shrimp, water beetles, etc. Use a field guide such as "Pond Life", one of the field books from the Golden Guide series.
Students can draw their favorite discovery in their journal. Bring back lake samples to your classroom.Invite an entomologist to lunch: Contact a local entomologist who is familiar with aquatic life. Invite him/her to your classroom, or on your field trip. Borrow a few microscopes and look at lake samples. How many different species of life can you identify as a class? Ask the entomologist about the life cycles of these creatures. What happens to the creatures when the vernal lake disappears? Are these creatures a food source for other animals?
Web of Life Project: Have students create a class book that documents the different animal species that live in or near the vernal lake in your area. Older students can each pick a species to study and write about. Younger students can illustrate the animal of their choice. At the beginning of the book create a web with the lake in the center. Show how life forms are connected to one another. If you can't find a vernal lake or pond in your area, then do this same activity using Disappearing Lake as your virtual reality lake.
Plant and Animal Kingdom: List all the life forms in Disappearing Lake using the text and field notes. Older students can divide the life forms into kingdom, phyla, class, order, family, genus and species. Younger students can divide forms into simple categories: plants, animals, birds, mammals, insects, crustaceans. Discuss the importance of all living things and the concept of biodiversity. This same activity can be used when your class discovers their own vernal lake.
Shrimp Eggs Project: Purchase some brine shrimp eggs through an education supplier and grow them in your classroom. Discuss the life cycle of the fairy shrimp in Disappearing Lake, and the fact that during Alaska's long cold winter there are millions upon millions of frozen eggs beneath the snow that will come to life in the spring!
START WRITING! KEEP WRITING! HAVE FUN CREATING!
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Debbie S. Miller debbiesmiller@hotmail.com