What does camp have to do with SOLs? Amelon student success story

Curriculum: Science
Grades: 4-9
Contributed by: Mr. Richard Pulliam

Holiday Lake 4-H Educational Center offers Natural Resource Education programs for over 2000 school students during the school year. Amelon
Elementary students from Amherst County recently completed an overnight camp and that incuded work toward SOLs as reported by staff writer Meg
Hibbert in the Amherst New Era progress:

"This is probably one of the grossest things I've ever done, probably one of the best things we've done in school," said Amelon fourth-grader Ethan Wells, gingerly plucking the jawbone of a white-footed mouse out of the owl pellet he held with a pair fo tweezers.

"It's thow-up , but it's been sanitized," added Colton Brooks, explaining exactly what the owl pellets were that the students were dissecting to identify sources in a food chain.

The fact that an owl had swallowed its dinner whole, then regurgitated the bones and skin didn't bother Andew Boydoh.

"I'm measuring the length and width of the pellet in centimeters," he said, "then circumference."

He matched the tiny bones with drawings on a data sheet provided by Sally Statham, a Longwood College master's degree student in environmental studies.

Andrew, Ethan, Colton and 69 of their classmates were immersed in hands-on Standards of Learning environmental science classes at Holiday Lake 4-H Educational Center in Appomattox County. The experience was part of an innovative day-and-night learning experience during an overnight field trip
March 30-31.

At times, the students had not only hands-on experience, but were happily up to their elbows in gooey, messy natural science. That was especially true when dip-netting small fish, freshwater shrimp and giant water beetles from the lake and digging in compost for earthworms and other invertebrates.

The trip more than met their teachers' expectations and the SOL objectives, Amelon teachers said. The objectives included developing an awareness and
appreciation of the natural environment, basic scientific analysis and observational skills, and learning about stewardship and current environmental issues facing society today.

"The kids really learned, judging from their responses to the post-test they were given on Wednesday afternoon before they returned to school," teacher
Derek Daley said afterwards. All the students were tested on their environmental knowledge before the trip.

"There was a considerable lack of knowledge in environmental areas before they went," explained Terry Abston, who prepared the lessons. She is the
4-H Center's natural resources coordinator and is trained in SOLs.

"That is to be expected,, because none of these kids have had an opprotunity to go out and don't know what to look for in the environment," she added.
"The teachers are very well versed in the science aspect, but don't have the outdoor knowledge. That's where the SOLs are steering the schools."

"This was even better than what we imagined," teacher Teresa Belcher said, standing a safe distance away from student Jarrett Layne, who was holding a
water spider in his bare hands for a photograph before releasing it back into the lake.

"It's been unbelievable the background knowledge that came back when the students were answering questions in the classes," Belcher continued. "I've
been so pleased."

"It was the best experience we've ever had," echoed teacher Nancy Henson. "They just learned so much."

"It was wonderful. I would do it again tomorrow," added teacher Cindy Layne. "We've already made a request to do it next year."