This past week, the 5th grade class joined up with the 3rd and 4th graders for the science hike. This activity provided several benefits to students. As the name of the hike implies, one of the goals of the hike was to provide students with an opportunity to research, plan, an implement a scientific investigation in nature. Students met twice prior to the hike to review the scientific process and work collaboratively with a group of peers to plan, gather material, and implement an investigation. All three grades will be studying an aspect of biology this year, and these studies provide an introduction to each grade level’s units of study.

One of the other benefits was the social benefit. Students worked in mixed age groups with students they weren’t previously very familiar with. This created connections across grade levels that may not have otherwise happened.

The hike itself was somewhat of an analogy for the year. Students will face challenges throughout the year. However, persistence, perseverance, and determination pays off in life.

The gallery below contains photos from both of the preparation and the hike itself.