A social media site such as this can be useful in many ways. Pinterest is a great tool to use in classrooms and can be utilized in several different ways. You can find lesson plans, activities, videos, websites, etc. to use for students. The students could create their own Pinterest account and save specific pins related to the subject being studied. The student could even find a project on Pinterest and complete the project to turn in.
I myself had a Pinterest based lesson to complete. The assignment was create an assignment for the grade we plan to teach in the future while using Pinterest as an aid. We were to make a board and save pins to it that related to our subject are we chose. I chose an ecosystem based on frameworks for fourth grade life science. Below is a link to the project I created from a collaboration of pins that I found.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4ZTCzx8KquhMEpoRGx6TkU4eEk/edit?usp=sharing
Here is the actual project that I completed.
Materials Needed:
- 3 empty and clear 2-liter bottles
- clear packing tape
- aquarium gravel (or fine, rinsed pea gravel)
- water
- de-chlorinator (optional)
- rubber band
- 4-inch square piece of netting (I used pantyhose)
- soil
- mustard, rye or alfalfa seeds
- fish, snails or other aquatic life (i added ghost shrimp)
- elodea or other aquarium plants
- crickets, pill bugs or earthworms
- a couple dead leaves or small sticks
1. Create a picture/diagram representation of the following procedures.
2. Cut the top off of the first clear bottle (make sure the labels are removed, you'll need the bottles clear so the sunlight can get through). Don't cut it too short, just cut off the spout so you have enough of a bowl left over to fill with water. This will be your "bottom floor."
3. Cut the top and the bottom off of the second clear bottle, making a clear cylinder that will eventually link the two other sections together.
4. Cut the bottom off of the third clear bottle and save it. You will reattach the bottom with tape later. This will be your "top floor."
5. In the bottom floor (the one you cut up in Step 1) put an inch of aquarium gravel, add your aquatic plant, and fill it with water. Make sure it's treated with de-chlorinator to take out the chlorine or, if you do not have any, you can set out the water in a shallow pan for 24 hours and the chlorine will evaporate. (Label the gravel and plant from this step in the diagram)
6. Place your guests in their new home. You will each add two guppies (fish), three snails, and one ghost shrimp. (Label all of you guest in the diagram)
7. Now fill your top floor. Place the piece of netting or pantyhose over the neck of the bottle and secure it with the rubber band. With the bottle upside-down and the bottom off fill with about an inch of gravel then with a couple inches of soil and plant your choice of seeds. Alfalfa, rye or mustard work well and are easily found in health food stores. (Label the gravel, soil, and seeds.
8. Choose your top floor guests. You can use pill bugs, earthworm, or crickets. Let them loose among the grass seeds and throw in a few dead leaves and a stick or two for decomposition. (Label all of your guest and any sticks or leaves used)
9. Return the bottom to your top floor as a final lid to your ecosystem. Secure it with packing tape. Be sure to make the edges of the lid fit inside of the bottle to prevent moisture leaking out.
10. Place in a spot to where sunlight can easily reach the ecosystem.
