Pond Observations are assessed with oral responses by students to teacher questions of inquiry. The teacher questions and student responses are recorded as anecdotal notes. Here is an example from pond field trip prior to restoration of the pond habitat:

Teacher: "What changes are you seeing and why?"
Students: "There are fewer mallard ducks and the island is getting smaller because of the muskrat burrows and the floods."
"The red osier dogwood and willow tree on the island are falling further into the water."
"The water is muddy and has nature litter like leaves and branches and people litter like pop cans and plastic bags."

Here is an example from pond field trip after habitat restoration:

Teacher: "What changes are you seeing and why?"
Students: "There are over 40 ducks in the pond! We know the water is cleaner. We collected macroinvertebrates that only live in clean water."
"They fixed the island and it's bigger and the red osier dogwood and willow aren't falling in the water anymore."
"The grass we planted on the island is growing and will be good camouflage for ducks!"

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• Ongoing Assessment