We had a few challenges to overcome; how could we catch them
and put them in the tank if the classroom is closed at lunchtime? Then someone suggested (was it Will K.?) that
we put the small plastic tank outside at the beginning of lunchtime, so that it
could be used for a short time, before bringing the bugs inside and putting
them in the big glass tank (not with the lizard, though...we have another
tank!)
Next the children considered what would happen to them once
we caught them. When we looked in Mary’s
little bug-catching tank, we saw that the butterfly someone had put in it the
day before had died. Did we really want
them to die? What were we catching them
for? What do they need to survive, apart
from the air that would be available through the grill holes?
Following this conversation, the tank was put out at
lunchtime as agreed. When we returned
after lunch, the container had become home to a very large number of insects,
thanks to the interest and industry of a group of 1MJ children! When we took it inside to look at them, it
became apparent that they could escape through the small grill holes...soon we
had a number of students carefully cradling the escapees, and taking them
outside to release!
We decided that we should release all of them, as we didn’t
want them to die or become loose in our neighbourhood! So we are left with some important questions
as we really do want to observe these interesting insects...
1.
What are
they?
2.
What do they need to eat?
3.
Why are there so many of them right now?
4.
Can we keep them alive if we know what food to
put in the tank with them?
If anyone can research these questions that would be a
marvellous help to the scientists of 1 MJ and the year one neighbourhood in
general.
Thank you, from 1MJ
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