Something Fishy is going on Around Here

Below is a work sample from the fishy activity

A Fishy Inquiry Lesson

Something Fishy is going on Around Here

For this week’s assignment, I revamped an old lesson from the past. My students have always enjoyed doing this activity.  This year however, I do have to “beef up” all my lessons because the students I have are really smart, do their work, and love learning. I have to challenge this group more than any group I have ever taught. Turning this activity into a structured inquiry lesson did the trick.

The activity basically uses colored craft sticks to represent alleles for fish scale color. We are able to tie predation, camouflage, population numbers, natural selection, genotypes, phenotypes, dominant and recessive traits, as well as harmful effects on an ecosystem all together. The students create a first generation of fish by blindly drawing two craft sticks, they record the genotype and phenotype of each pair pulled. They analyze the data and pull all fish that are not hidden by the green alga in the stream.  The other pairs of craft sticks are put back into the “gene pool” and the students draw again to create a second generation. Eventually a catastrophe takes place that destroys the alga and all the fish with the dominant green gene die.  The groups must analyze and draw conclusions throughout the activity and predict what will become of the stream due to the disaster.

My students love a challenge and do very well working in groups. When I allow them to choose their own groups they always migrate to the students who operate on their same level intellectually. They do so because they want to work with students that do not waste their time and will carry their own weight. I do not have to partner my “smarter” students with the “slower” ones.  This year’s crop LOVES that. They are free to fly as high as they are capable without being slowed down by others.  Group work allows me the freedom to differentiate by talking to individuals students as well as teams to use guided questions to move them along. The students struggling can get more guidance from me while those they understand quickly; can be given higher level questions to stretch their thinking.

As I worked with my students this week, I found most of the groups were able to follow the instructions and carry out the activity with ease. I witnessed many “light bulb” moments as certain concepts became clear because they could actually see what was happening to the gene pool.

The example I have linked are from gifted students, two of the most intelligent 7^th graders in the school.