Lake Investigation

Working Group:Early InquiryCountry:LatviaLanguages:EnglishAge of students (target group/s):6-12Contact person information:Inese Liepina This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Aija Staskevica from Vecumnieki Primary School carried out a research with 1st grade students. The objective was to learn the procedure of a research and its steps. They started planning together to find out what was necessary to perform a research. Students suggested that the name of the researcher and date of the research were important. Afterwards, children thought of topics they would like to study on a lake. The lake purity was one of them. So students made a guess – how clean is the lake? As the lake is used for swimming, many students obviously found it clean, although some knew that there was paper waste or plastic bottles in it. They prepared a worksheet for noting things down and for drawing their findings. At the bottom of the sheet, space for writing conclusions was left. The results were shocking even for the teacher – students found a refrigerator doors there! Children had a lot of work - both to write and draw. After the return to the classroom, they presented their findings and discussed how the litter got into the lake and what people can do to prevent the lake pollution.Strong points and opportunities:Early involvement of students in a research process Interest in the local surroundings Practical research Replicable for other schools and sitesLimitations:Time consuming, the activity requires more than one lesson A lake not far from the school is neededAdded value with regards to the 3 topics of the MASS project:WG2 early inquiry WG3 interesting, it involves practical activities connected to learners’ lifeAny prerequisites needed:A lake or a river near to the school