Square of Life Pond

Grade 4A

This is the pond at Bowdoin Central School which is part of our study for Square of Life.

Each group was given a square meter to observe. The students counted the number of organisms and non-living things in their square.

Some students are counting the organisms. Some are recording or sketching what they found. They found feathers, leaves, flowers, spiders, grass, and a beetle. Still other students made a map of their square meter.

This person is sketching their Square of Life. Since this square meter is closer to the water's edge, it has different organisms such as cattails and arrowheads, bullrushes and water striders.

Students are using a field guide to identify a plant they found in their square meter.

The field guides are very helpful in identfying plants. In this square we found lots of mud and wet moss and some weeds we couldn't identify.

This is a Square of Life in the woods near the pond but away from the water's edge. Students were recording and sketching their square meter. They observed hemlock trees, acorns, moss, flying ants, and leaves and sticks.

This student is mapping her square. She found a lot of leaves, moss, centipedes, sticks, and fly larvae.

In this bucket of water from the pond we saw water striders, snails, and water boatmen (also called back swimmers). The back swimmers propel themselves with an oar-like motion of their long back legs. They breathe using hair fringes that reach above the water and break the water tension.