LAKE WORTH, Florida—Grabbing the interest of second-graders at Coral Reef Elementary School with wiggly mealworms is easy. Keeping their close attention is even easier as students observe, record, and predict the daily changes in the rapidly-growing larvae. For years, teachers have been using mealworms to teach about the lifecycle. "What do you think they're going to become?" is a question guaranteed to hook students' interest and help them understand the process of metamorphosis.
Students make daily observations of the fast-growing larvae, and teacher DebbieTanner helps them record their raw data and create graphs on the classroom computers. Students measure the mealworms and develop associations, such as what's smaller or larger than a mealworm. Word processing software helps students record and read one another's observations. Tanner uses a large monitor on a presentation station to show students' work and allow students to share ideas. "I change fonts for each person's comments, which helps kids track what I'm writing," she explains.
Because this three-year-old school is designed to incorporate technology, Tanner adds a high-tech element to the mealworm project. "We are WIRED!" beams Tanner, ticking off the school's two computer labs plus a bank of computers for every classroom. The latest additions are presentation stations, "which are computers on carts with a really huge monitor," she explains. "They make classroom technology instruction easier." It helps students make the transition from visuals to text.
