This 10-week unit is a reference for science instructors leading middle-school students through an investigation of New Haven’s watersheds. Although these lessons capitalize on New Haven's natural resources, teachers in any geographic area may utilize them to encourage students to become citizen scientists in their local communities. This unit centers an ethic of care, the anti-bias, anti-racist educational framework that emphasizes relationships, reciprocity, and responsibility toward both people and place. I hope this unit inspires science educators to re-examine their practices and consistently deepen students’ sense of responsibility to the natural world.
As a science teacher at Elm City Montessori School, the city's first public Montessori program, I design and implement a two-year curriculum for seventh- and eighth-grade students. The program is aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards, the Montessori philosophy, and Anti-Racist, Anti-Biased pedagogy. At ECMS, we refer to our middle-school program as Erdkinder. Erdkinder derives from the German words Erde and Kinder and translates to children of the land. Dr. Montessori believed the land itself—in our case, from the West River adjacent to the school’s property to the top of West Rock—is our classroom and provides ample opportunities for scientific inquiry. Furthermore, Montessori pedagogy holds that these authentic learning spaces provide students with the opportunity to enact meaningful change in their communities.
Therefore, throughout this learning sequence, students will focus on the research question: How can we use observations, research, and scientific reasoning to help protect our rivers and watersheds?
Throughout this unit, students study the science of rivers to gain a deeper mastery of the first three steps of the scientific method:
1) making careful observations and identifying scientific problems,
2) conducting preliminary research using reliable scientific sources, and
3) developing evidence-based, testable hypotheses
Along the way, students will practice “thinking like scientists” by learning to ask investigable questions, collect fact-based observations, and use scientific reasoning to develop testable hypotheses. They will build a foundational knowledge of river science, including an understanding of the connection between topography and watershed formation; the water cycle; abiotic & biotic factors and their influence on river chemistry; biodiversity within rivers and along riparian ecosystems; and human impacts on freshwater ecosystems.
This unit culminates in the hands-on performance assessment titled New Haven Citizen Scientist River Investigation Proposal. During this final assessment, students will demonstrate an understanding of both scientific skills and content knowledge by designing an investigation focused on one local river—Mill River, Quinnipiac River, or West River—and the implications of its drainage into New Haven Harbor. Students will gather their observations, conduct background research, and develop a testable hypothesis to address an environmental issue of their choosing affecting New Haven’s watershed. As citizen scientists, students will have the option to either prepare a recording of their proposal or present it live during the New Haven River Science Symposium. The goal of the symposium is for students to share their ideas with family members, local scientists, and community partners, in hopes of inspiring future research projects. Students will leave with a deeper understanding of river ecology, confidence in the first three steps of scientific inquiry, and the knowledge that they can use science to make meaningful contributions to the New Haven community.
