WATERVILLE, Washington - In the broad fields that stretch toward the horizon in this Columbia Basin region, the land is just right for at least two purposes: growing dry land wheat and providing habitat for short-horned lizards. Waterville Elementary School, enrolling 300 children from this rural farming community, has become a hub for learning more about the connection between the reptiles and the land they share with farmers.

Veteran teachers Cathi Nelson and Diane Petersen teamed up a few years ago to design a hands-on, integrated project that would enable students to meet state benchmarks in social studies, math, writing, reading, communication, and science, while also providing them with a solid understanding of how to use technology to gather and analyze data.

Students plotted lizard locations documented on the farmers' lands

Using the scientific method, students in second and fourth grades began their research with a series of questions: What does a short-horned lizard—also known as a horny toad—eat? When is the best time to see a short-horned lizard? Why do the lizards live in this region of dry land wheat farms?

Karen Dvornich, a research biologist from the University of Washington, invited the students to use their curiosity to become the state's leading short-horned lizard experts. The lizards are common, but their numbers have been in decline in recent years. Researchers are eager to learn more about them.

"As a result, in the 1999-2000 school year, students, teachers, farmers, and scientists began a collaborative, experimental, in-depth study to answer these and other questions," relate the teachers. Students first designed a protocol for gathering field data, then invited willing farmers to a meeting to learn how they could participate in the research project. The students' data-gathering methods included a laminated card that farmers could hang on their tractors. "During the summer," the teachers explain, "farmers recorded all sightings of short-horned lizards as they tilled, planted, and tended their wheat crops."

That information provided the raw material for students to use the next fall. The teachers explain: "Teams of students and farmers met at school to graph results, and to pinpoint sightings on Douglas County topographic maps." Listening to the conversations, teachers overheard students and farmers drawing conclusions and using vocabulary drawn from the field of cartography.

One farmer arrived at school with an unexpected gift: two live horny toads. The second-grade class adopted them—not only as pets, but as laboratory specimens. They conducted a food-preference study during the fall months and kept daily data about what and how much the lizards ate. They also studied the lizards during the winter months to learn about animal hibernation in a man-made habitat.

"They used the data to generate graphs—all kinds of graphs!" the teachers relate. As they analyzed the computer-generated graphs, students "discovered the essential elements of a graph." Essential learning in other areas soared, as well. "Reading for information was ongoing, and classes met regularly for scientific discussion. The thinking and questioning amazed everyone," the teachers admit.

Then students posed a new question: How do we share this information with others? Students settled on a Web site as the best way to bring their research to others. The teachers watched them organize themselves into a well-oiled team in the school's computer lab. "Students began to recognize where their particular skills and interests would fit into the Web site project, and soon all parts were spoken for." Students finalized their graphs and text, and sent them electronically to the University of Washington, which hosts the site.

The lizard project has given students many opportunities to use the tools of technology to conduct and disseminate their research. They use digital cameras, handheld computers, spreadsheet software, and mapping software. Teachers Nelson and Petersen explain: "Students plot each sighting on county Geographic Information Systems (GIS) maps, which have the farmers' lands marked on them. They can then do queries and print out layouts for individual farmers. Finally, students create graphs and write short interpretations and send those, along with pictures, to the UW Web site where our project is featured."

From the teachers' perspective, the project has provided an ideal integration of technology in the classroom. "This is the place for technology in their lives—as tools for learning. They use technologies to record, sort, manage, interpret, and share data in a meaningful way."

More meaning comes from the human interactions that are a natural result of the project. The teachers admit, "We're overcome with emotion every time we see our classrooms filled with farmers in their overalls and caps, and our little kids with their tousled hair, working as equal partners." The elementary students also work alongside researchers from the University of Washington, and have presented their findings to state groups, scientific conventions, and the local Soil Conservation District board. "These students are taken seriously because they know what they're doing, and they collect good data."

The teachers, who have won awards for their environmental education efforts, describe the project as "a wonderful example of how community members, using consistent data collection procedures and terminology, can learn together and are better prepared to discuss environmental issues with planners."

The project site: www.fish.washington.edu/naturemapping*