| Title | MICROWORLDS- the study of the microscope |
| Insects | Specimen A- Bumble Bee, Specimen B-broken flies, Specimen C-flattened spider, specimen D- Lady Bug, specimen E- mosquito |
| Description | Our 5th grade curriculum in Milford, CT involves a unit of study called Microworlds. It involves the study of microscopes. We start our unit by discussing what magnification is and the naked eye. Then we move into using a hands lens and teaching the children how tools need to be transparent and have some form of curve to magnify an object. This includes filling a glass jar with water, using geometrical objects like the sphere, etc. We then lead up to using a simple microscope that the children sketch and prepare slides and observe newspaper pieces and select items from a science kid and items that the children bring in from home. We then use electronic microsopes in the classroom. The children now know know the smaller the fioeld of view, the greater the magnification. I hope to culminate this unit by giving the children an opportunity to see the specimens with your equipment with the use of the computer. They are excited to mail the specimens and view them from the computer. I was turned on to this bugscope project because I used it last year with our technology department. It was around this time last year when we observed your sample specimens with a group of 5th grade teaches in Milford. The kids get excited when I tell them the specimens wil be sent to a university and this is a nice real world application for them. I will share my experiences with your program with other 5th grade teachers in my school building. My class of students is in a middle-class community where the population in predominatly white. I do have a student from a nearby city that is in my classroom through a state initiated program. I have 21 students with different abilities and interests. Thank you for the opportunity to partake in this experiment and observation. |
