Trout in the Classroom – East 7th Grade
Perkiomen Valley Middle School East created a website to track their progress and learning through Trout in the Classroom.
Middle School East Trout Timeline
Mrs. Czapla’s and Mr. Kirsinger’s seventh-grade scientists recently participated in the exciting culmination of the Trout in the Classroom program by releasing trout into the Perkiomen Creek. Throughout the year, students raised trout from eggs while learning about ecosystems, water quality, watersheds, and environmental stewardship through hands-on experiences. The program helps students make meaningful connections between caring for the fish and protecting the health of local waterways.
Thank our community partners, Game Commission, Parks & Recreation, and Trout Unlimited, for sharing their time to enhance this experience for our scientists.
Middle School East seventh-grade students released trout fingerlings at Plank Road Park after studying cold-water ecosystems and the trout life cycle. During the trout release, students participated in various stations and games to reinforce what they learned in the classroom.
Stations:
- Macroinvertebrates: looking for critters living in the stream and discussing how identifying these macros helps us understand overall water quality.
- Water Chemistry & Water Quality Studies: measuring turbidity, pH, oxygen, nitrogen,
and temperature, and compare the natural environment to conditions in our manmade
environment in the classroom. - Riparian Stream Buffers: a conversation focusing on the importance of riparian buffers in stream health and how they prevent erosion and support aquatic life.
- Bats: a chat about these vital keystone species and how they help our environment with pollination, eating mosquitoes, and other pests.
- Fly Tying: learning the art of fly tying and understanding the craft of making effective lures for fly fishing.
- Fly Casting: learning the basic techniques and mechanics of fly casting.
- Pollination: a conversation about the importance of our native pollinator friends (bees and butterflies) and their significant role in helping keep our ecosystem healthy and thriving.
Games:
- Oh, Deer! Collect data, then create a graph of the results. This game teaches students the importance of limiting factors and carrying capacity in a healthy ecosystem.
- Echo-Location: This game teaches students how bats and other animals rely on
echolocation to hunt prey. - Predator-Prey: In an unscaled version of freeze tag, students will learn how an
imbalance in the number of predators or prey in an ecosystem can impact its
overall health.
A special thanks to Senator Tracy Pennycuick, Aqua PA, Green Lane Park, Montgomery County Conservation District, Pennsylvania Bat Rescue, and Trout Unlimited for making this day a success!
Trout eggs have arrived! They all made it safe and sound and right before a storm. The eggs will now acclimate themselves with their new home and the studies begin tomorrow!
Support Projects like Trout in the Classroom
Teachers don’t always have access to materials, technology, and other resources that can make the difference between a lesson that is forgotten the next day and one that lasts beyond graduation. That’s where you come in. Your contribution to the PVSD Foundation helps ensure that the Foundation can continue to support teachers in delivering enriching educational opportunities for all students when tax dollars and traditional revenue streams fall short.