For the 2012-2013 school year, TLA provided grants to local schools to help with Science Education.
Here are some of the projects that TLA helped fund:
Central Lake Kindergarten
Shown on the attached picture is current kindergarten student Kortmon Vanniman, holding one of the magazines that was purchased with your grant money. This one is ‘National Geographic for Little Kids’. It is wonderful because the students are able to read much of it all by themselves. Kortmon, who is an outstanding reader, can read ALL of it by himself.
Three different magazine subscriptions were purchased. The other two will begin with the September 2013 issues.
Thank you again for your continued generosity…..
Have a wonderful summer in beautiful Northern Michigan!
Kari Groll
2nd Grade Field Trip to the Au Sable Institute
Kalkaska Birch Street School
Kalkaska 7th Grade Inland Seas Field Trip
I have integrated many of the Inland Seas Education Education activities into the beginning of the school year which starts the students thinking and helps introduce them to the Inquiry portion of the Grade Level Content Expectations. Having this trip at the beginning of the school year allows me to bring up lessons that they learned on the trip to help them better understand the concepts that are taught throughout the school year. Being on the water, getting samples of water, mud and living organisms brings science to life for the students and ignites their fire to learn about science.
Andy Henderson
7th Grade/Science
Kalkaska Middle School
Kalskaska Public Schools
Mancelona Middle School Inland Seas Field Trip
This year the sixth grade students of Mancelona Middle School attended the Inland Seas trip on Suttons Bay. The experience was one not soon to be forgotten by all. Although the weather was a little cold, the students were engaged with the science program on the ship and enjoyed learning about how cargo was moved around the great lakes using the power of the wind. The crew of the ship was extremely welcoming and the volunteers that taught science lessons were successful in engaging the students in various activities. The sixth grade teachers of Mancelona Middle School want to thank you for your involvement in broadening the experiences of our students. It would not be possible to attend trips like this without your generous help. We look forward to continuing our partnership for years to come.
Michael Southwell, Nikky Willison, Jes Avery-Helwig
6th Grade
Mancelona Middle School
Mancelona Public Schools
Mancelona Middle School 8th Grade Class
Mancelona Middle School’s 8th grade class is currently studying oceanography. We will be covering multiple topics and a few of these are ocean life food chain and web, animal adaptions, defense mechanisms, conservation of our oceans species and the effects of overfishing. We received a grant from the Three Lakes Association to buy squid for our 8th grade classrooms. Our students were able to dissect the squid Loligo Pealei, common name Longfin inshore squid. Before we dissected the squid students researched questions that they had about squid. While dissecting they were able to determine if their squid was Male or Female. They also had to label the internal anatomy of the squid and remove the ink sac and the gladius from the squid. We attempted to write with the squid ink but it did not work. Our students were able to learn about the classification of squid, anatomy, defense mechanisms, and adaptations to their environment. We will continue to incorporate our knowledge of the squid when we discuss fishing practices and how it effects various species in the ocean. We will also learn more about where the squid is in the ocean food chain.
Nikky Willison
6th and 8th grade science
Mancelona Middle School
Mancelona Middle School 6th Grade Class
Thanks to a generous grant from Three Lakes association, our 6th grade was able to dissect barn owl pellets. The students first had to make a powerpoint on barn owls, their habitat, mating habits, and why they have owl pellets. Owl pellets are essentially owl puke. Owl’s are unable to digest bones and fur so they throw up what they can’t digest. Students dissected the owl pellets and had to identify what kinds of animals their owl had eaten. Students also measured the skeletal remains and graphed their findings. This fits in with the Ecosystem unit that we had studied where we learned many things, including about predators and prey.
Nikky Willison
6th and 8th grade science
Mancelona Middle School