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It is always fun to get the students outside! But, this activity is more than a fun day outside! I liked the idea of having the students classify the species, then come back another time with a magnifying glass, or a ruler, or another tool to assist them in classifying.

Again, I would utilize this as a cross curriculum activity in science & writing. Writing in science provides the students the opportunity to express what they learned scientifically in a written expression. Studies show that this will prepare them for standardized test, NOT THAT I THINK WE SHOULD BE SO TEST ORIENTED!, but it is something that we need to be aware of.

Also. teachers are suppose to differentiate instruction and reading the students written work about their observations will show if they need some re-instruction. I recently read about using science journals & writing conferences as part of differentiated instruction . This activity seems simple, but it can be utilized for many different assessments.