Studying Mini Habitats Under Microscopes

The lesson began with a vocabulary exercise, with the students standing in a circle and picking up one of several science terms Mr. Yamane had laid on the floor.

Mr. Yamane first placed his word down and explained its meaning and then each student took turns placing their word down, explaining how it related to the other words.

After this warm-up, Mr. Yamane reviewed with the students how to prepare both dry and wet mount slides.

The students studied the dry organic samples they had brought from home and recorded their observations in their journals.

One part of the assignment involved documenting their findings digitally with their iPad cameras against the lens of the microscope.

They had to capture their best images at three different magnifications: 40x, 100x, and 400x, with the three strongest photos from each magnification compiled into a shared Google Slides presentation.

Once the initial dry samples were documented, the students used wet mount slides under their microscopes.

They took samples from mini habitats made of up lake water and plant life that they had been cultivating for about a month.

The students enjoyed the opportunity to work as scientists, studying their samples under the microscopes and recording their observations in their journals.