Elementary School Teachers
- New to Splash
What teachers and students say
about Splash
"This is a great field trip to encourage
students to be involved in their community. A super program. All my
parents were excited. What could be better?!"
--5th grade teacher from Earl Legette, Fair
Oaks, San Juan Unified
"What a great educational experience -
the students dove right into this high quality curriculum and
absorbed not only facts, but a true understanding of a local
ecosystem."
--5th grade teacher from Golden Empire,
Sacramento, Sacramento City Unified
"The best thing about 5th grade is
learning about the vernal pools."
--student from Peter J. Shields, Rancho
Cordova, Folsom Cordova Unified
"I love teaching Splash! The field trip
to the vernal pools is the best fifth grade experience in the
Sacramento region, and my students always love it!"
--5th grade teacher from Robla Elementary,
Sacramento, Robla Unified
"Splash is an excellent way to promote
content literacy and integrates the science standards with the
language arts standards. The combination of reading, raising fairy
shrimp, and the hands-on field trip makes for an exciting and
meaningful experience."
--4th grade teacher from Gold River DC,
Gold River, San Juan Unified
"Well organized, fun,
educational."
--5th grade teacher from Caleb Greenwood,
River Park, Sacramento City Unified
Sacramento Splash is a free, hands-on science
program offered to 5th grade teachers in the City and County of
Sacramento. Life in Our Watershed: Investigating Vernal Pools
lets 5th graders explore the diversity of life supported by vernal
pools, a rare wetland habitat unique to California.
Splash teachers, once accepted into the
program, are obligated to:
- Attend a four-hour Training Session, held
in the fall,
- Complete at least Lessons One through Eight
(requires minimum of 10 hours of class time) prior to a February
or March field trip
- Complete at least Lessons One through Ten
(requires minimum of 14 hours of class time), prior to an April
field trip.
- Prepare for field trip:
- Schedule a date using the on-line
reservation form at www.sacsplash.org/calendar.
- Recruit a minimum of 3 adult
chaperones. (Please notify Splash staff in advance of your
field trip if this is not possible.)
- On the day of the field trip, make sure
that:
- Students arrive with nametags and are
divided into the three designated color groups.
- Students are sufficiently prepared to
communicate their knowledge of basic watershed concepts and
vernal pool ecology.
- Students are prepared to be the class
expert on their critter and/or flower.
- Teacher provides hands-on help handling
student behavior issues.
- Assess students' performance at the end of
the unit.
Please note: Teachers who bring
an inadequately prepared class on a Splash field trip will not be
invited to participate in the Splash Program next year.
What Teachers Receive
It all starts with a 10-minute video as The
Mystery of Vernal Pools reveals the story of this unique
wetland in our watershed. Teachers also receive a Teacher's Manual,
complete with color overheads to bring the beauty of the vernal
pools into the classroom. The curriculum is divided into 13 lessons,
with activities designed to build skills in science, language, and
math. An 80-page binder of color fact sheets allows each student to
become the class expert on one animal and plant. The entire
curriculum is also available on CD.
Outside of Sacramento County
Funding is limited to residents of Sacramento
County; unfortunately, teachers outside of Sacramento County are not
eligible for a guided field trip. Nonetheless, you are encouraged to
utilize the Splash materials via this web site and/or you may order
a CD-ROM of the curriculum. After teaching the Splash unit to your students, you may
want to lead a field trip to any of the vernal pools in the
area. Additionally, the Sacramento Valley chapter of the California
Native Plant Society provides free weekend tours of
Mather vernal pools. You may encourage your students to attend, or use the guided
tour as a training source for you to lead your own field trip.
For more information on the current
and planned Splash curriculum, please contact info@sacsplash.org.
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