CHESTER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL'S fourth-grade class, led by Laura Biagi, transformed their classroom into an aquarium for their end-of-the-year activity "Under the Sea."
KAYLEY VOLKER (left), Tayden Hagen, Courtney Mathieu, Brady Wollmuth and Audri George were among the fifth-graders at Chester Elementary School participating in the creation of the "Chester Zoo." The activity was headed by Sarah Mersch and featured a variety of hand-crafted animals constructed from donated boxes.
CHESTER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL'S fourth-grade class, led by Laura Biagi, transformed their classroom into an aquarium for their end-of-the-year activity "Under the Sea."
Photo by Zac Zwaschka
KAYLEY VOLKER (left), Tayden Hagen, Courtney Mathieu, Brady Wollmuth and Audri George were among the fifth-graders at Chester Elementary School participating in the creation of the "Chester Zoo." The activity was headed by Sarah Mersch and featured a variety of hand-crafted animals constructed from donated boxes.
Making up snow days is never fun, but sometimes it’s an opportunity in disguise. Following the long winter, teachers around Lake County were forced to find creative ways to keep their students engaged for the final days of the year.
At Chester Elementary School, this problem was solved through two end-of-the-year activities, both of which saw students learning and creating simultaneously.
These projects were for Chester’s fifth- and fourth-grade classes, titled the “Chester Zoo” and “Under the Sea,” respectively, led by fifth-grade teacher Sarah Mersch and fourth-grade teacher Laura Biagi.
“We knew May was going to be long because of all the snow days, so we were wondering what we should do,” Biagi said.
The solution was to turn her classroom into an aquarium, complete with student-crafted animals, coral cut from pool noodles and a display on the effects of ocean pollution and more.
“They worked really hard, and they basically did it all themselves,” Biagi noted, adding that students began work on the project about a month ago. The displays are complete with facts about the various sea creatures, with younger students being able to visit the completed aquarium on Monday.
That same day, students were able to visit the “Chester Zoo,” which was created by Mersch’s fifth-graders. The zoo featured a variety of animals such as elephants, foxes and monkeys that students created from donated cardboard boxes.
“Each student got to pick an animal, and I gave them the choice of whether or not they wanted to work with a partner,” Mersch explained.
She added that this project coincided with their geometry unit and, in particular, their discussion of volume.
Like “Under the Sea,” the displays are adorned with information students gathered through in-class research. The “Chester Zoo” also highlights the animals’ length, width and height, as well as total volume.
This may be the first time either teacher has taken on such a project, but reactions from students were nothing but positive. Both Mersch and Biagi said that these activities will likely become a part of their yearly curriculum.
