For Educator Ideas, click here.

Our Town

ACTIVITY TYPE: Start of Year

Students learn more about their own community as they complete an online "biography" and about other communities in Maine as they compare their biography to those of the other communities participating in the program. This activity also serves to introduce students and teachers to the Vital Signs website and some of its GIS features as well as introducing the participating communities to each other.

Black Flies and Snowflakes

ACTIVITY TYPE: Start in Fall, Ongoing

Students learn to observe seasonal changes in their school and outdoor environment. Personal observation is supplemented with the use of the Vital Signs equipment to help students develop an awareness of seasonal impacts on the biological world.

Leafy Living

ACTIVITY TYPE: Macroinvertebrate Survey (Fall, Spring)
While this activity can potentially be condensed to several class periods, it is more appropriate as a longer-term science project.

By investigating aquatic ecology using Vital Signs hand held computers with Leaf Packs, students learn about decomposition and aquatic invertebrates and gain an appreciation for the link between lake or streamside forests and the waters' invertebrate inhabitants.

Look Both Ways

ACTIVITY TYPE: 1-2 Class Periods

Students will explore the differences between digital and analog tools as they are used to make scientific observations. The activity leads into appropriate use of new and emerging technologies.

Riparian Boot Dance

ACTIVITY TYPE: Minimum of 2-3 Class Periods. Potential for ongoing observational study.

Students will learn to use the basics of several scientific sampling techniques to make generalizations about their vital signs study area. Students will learn about the importance of sample size as they compare plots within and across Vital Signs study areas.

Town Meeting

ACTIVITY TYPE: 1-2 Class Periods

Students will apply their Vital Signs observations to a policy debate about an invented development proposal. They will study land use and will better understand the many points of view surrounding a land use decision. They will become more aware of connections between science and policy.

Educator Comments, Middle School

Ruth Maclean, King Middle School, Portland, Maine

• Getting middle school students to consistently complete entire field records that are appropriate for public use may take longer than you expect. This makes a good curriculum goal.
• Emphasize language arts, history, etc. when deploying Vital Signs. For example, stress the use of complete sentences and punctuation in all text observations.
   
  

Dana Mitchell, Beatrice-Rafferty Middle School, Perry, Maine
Habitat Monitoring in Intertidal Zones

Put out disks of different materials and see which disk gets covered with settling organisms first. Consider working with neighboring schools to monitor larger areas.

Educator Ideas, High School

Tom Duym, Deer Isle-Stonington High School
Marine Ecology, Marine Trades Projects

Stress individual projects and teach the use of Vital Signs tools on a one-to-one basis.

• Monitor temperature, DO, pH, and nitrogen levels in the habitat of a chosen marine organism. Stress anecdotal information. Use the GIS component of Vital Signs to map organism success.
• Study lobster stages outside of harvestable areas. Try to get students to understand where nursery grounds are. Try to answer the question, "Where do you put lobsters from a hatchery project?"
• Research the 1895-1902 America's Cups sailing vessels crewed by Deer Isle fishermen. Research where they lived, possible relations to current students, etc.
   
  

Matt Kamarck, Rangleley Lakes Regional School, Rangeley, Maine
Temperature Stratification in Lakes

Use the 100' temperature probe and cable to take temperature measurements at 5' increments. Graph the results. This activity is especially fun to do on a safely frozen lake. Make sure to keep batteries warm! Comparing across seasons is ideal.
 

Rolland Voisine, Stearns High School, Millinocket, Maine
Temperature Change, Specific Heat

Have students fill and cover each of 4 or more 1-gallon pickle jars with 4 inches or so of different materials. These might include water, sand, Styrofoam packing peanuts (not starch), and/or CO2 from vehicle exhaust. Cool everything in an ice bath then place outside in the sunshine. Have students measure changes in temperature in the air above the materials using the Vital Signs temperature probe or a thermometer. Check temperatures every minute for for 45 minutes and graph the results.
 

Educator Comments, Science Centers

Eric D'Aleo, Squam Lake Science Center, Holderness, New Hampshire

• Record information onsite so that students could see natural changes and trends through the course of a year. Do the same across years to look for longer term trends. Use Vital Signs to provide this information to the interested public (as the Lay Lakes Monitoring Project - LLMP).
• Survey water quality samples from various depths. Consider a full suite of water quality measurements including temperature, DO, pH, and water hardness. Multiple boats or measuring platforms can take measurements at different locations and/or depths.

Perrin Chick, Steve Engstrom, Seacoast Science Center, Rye, New Hampshire

• Consider near-shore use of Vital Signs as in salt marshes, touch tanks, etc.
• For short-term experiences, focus on the excitement of taking measurements.
• Use long term experiences as camps to study tidal cycles.
• Make sure all participants engage with a hands-on component.
• Consider finding help from university volunteers (as UNH Sea Grant docents) and high school volunteers and job shadows.