Red River Water Festival

Today was our very first field trip as 4th graders. Every student did great! We learned a ton about several water-related topics, so without further ado...here is what happened straight from the horse's mouth (we also learned what metaphors are this morning...)!!!

Prior to leaving...Mrs. Clarey needed to figure out how to use her new selfie stick (purchased specifically for field trips...). Wouldn't you love to be on a bus full of 64 excited fourth graders?

Station #1: Let the Cattail Out of the Bag

Written by --- Eric, Jake #2, Chuck, & Ava

At this station we learned about wetlands. Then we pulled animals out of a bag, and we figured out what they had to do with wetlands. Then she handed out things for us. We got in groups and then figured out what the things had to do with wetlands. And we wrote in our journals.

Station 2: The Life Box

Written by --- Katie, Petunia (aka: Zoe), Jaden, & Addie

The first thing we did was to decide if Boris (the plant), Petunia (aka: Zoe), and Fred (the rock) were alive or not. Then we learned about the 4 necessities of life. They are H2O, organic matter, air, and sunlight. We got to open a life box and study the things inside, and we got soybeans seeds. 

Station 3: One River, Many Voices

Written by --- Joey, David, Jake #1, & Ella

First a lady read us a poem about the Red River written by a girl who lived in Grand Forks. Then we learned about watersheds, floods, and droughts. Last we learned about using our natural resources. 

Station 4: Would You Drink This Water?

Written by --- Anya, Sofie, Jonathan, & Henry #1

We were at the station called Would you drink this water? We tried six different kinds of water. The first one was just tap water, the second was onion powder, then green food coloring, the fourth was mint flavoring, the fifth one was coffee creamer, and the sixth one was salt water. We learned about how important it is that we don't waste water.

Last stop...Mr. History himself!!!

Written by --- Jonah, Henry #2, & Fatima

12,000 years ago a glacier moved through the valley, which formed the river. Many years later a group of people that called themselves the Ojibwa move in somewhere in Minnesota. Then a group of men moved from France and married the women in Minnesota. They trapped beavers and sent them on riverboats, then onto ox carts to Saint Paul where they would be made into hats. The Dakota tribe came to our state and named it North Dakota. The railroad built a bridge over the Red River for the trains to go across, and the cities built up. 

And back in the classroom...the soybean seeds we received in The Life Box station have been "planted" using the 4 essential elements of life. Energy (sunlight), organic matter (present inside the seed), water (in the wet cotton ball), and air (entering the bags through a punched hole). Can't wait to watch what happens in those little bags!!!