In-class Activities for 1st-12th Grade Students

Discover the Flyway In-class Activities bring the wetlands to you. Based on our Discover the Flyway Field Trip program, these activities provide hands-on, inquiry-based outdoor science and social science for 1st through 12th grade classrooms.

For more information and to schedule a Discover the Flyway In-class Activity, contact Heidi Satter, Education Coordinator, hsatter@yolobasin.org

Grade Level In-class Activity Options

Program Name	Grade Levels	Program Length	Activity #1	Activity #2
Salmon in the Wetlands (science)	1st-2nd	1 hour	Salmon Senses	Wetland Pond Study
Birds of the Wetlands (science)	3rd-5th	1 hour	What Can I Eat With this Beak	Wetland Pond Study
Water Quality in the Wetlands (science)	6th-12th	1.5 hours	Water Quality Testing (one activity)
Patwin Life (social science)	3rd-4th	1 hour	Autumn: Acorn Season

In-class Activity Descriptions

Wetland Pond Study Activity (1st-5th)
Students collect water samples with live aquatic invertebrates to view, identify, and record. They discover how these animals survive by exploring their diet, movement, adaptations, interactions within the environment, life cycles, and tolerance levels to pollution.

Salmon Senses Activity (1st-2nd)
Students become fish, specifically, salmon, immersing themselves in a salmon’s life cycle and finding their way back to their birth river to continue this cycle.

Teacher Resources for Salmon Senses:
Salmon Senses Write-up

What Can I Eat with This Beak? Activity (3rd-5th)
Students research wetland bird biodiversity through two hands-on activities and record their findings about bird beaks and diet. They become wetland birds by using various props as beaks to “feed” on “wetland animals and plants” in and near a mock pond, experiencing co-existence and learning how water quality impacts bird biodiversity.

Teacher Resources for What Can I Eat with this Beak?:
What Can I Eat with This Beak Write-up
Worksheet

Water Quality Program (6th-12th)
Students discover threats to our water systems and the scientific tools and methods which are used to determine the health of our water. Working in small groups, students test water samples from Yolo Basin Foundation’s wetland ponds to determine and record pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, oxidation reduction potential, conductivity, total dissolved solids, salinity, and turbidity.

Teacher Resources for Water Quality Testing:
Water Quality Station Charts
Turbidity Background
Temperature Background
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Background
Salinity Background
pH Background
Oxidation/Reduction Potential (ORP) Background
Dissolved Oxygen (DO) Background
Conductivity Background

Patwin Life – Autumn Acorn Season (3rd Grade)
In an earlier time, the Central Valley contained enormous stands of oak trees The nut – or seed – of the oak tree, the acorn, provided an important food source for the Patwin who lived around the edges of the Yolo Basin. Students discover the steps and tools required to process this nutritious and storable native seed in this hands-on activity.

Program Details

• Discover the Flyway In-class Activities are offered on Wednesdays, September through May.
• 1st-5th grade level programs are 1 hour;  6th-12th grade programs are 1.5 hours.
• One to three classes of the same program can be offered per date.
• 1st – 5th grade science activities require the classroom teacher to lead one station. (Instructions and information for the teacher led activities are provided with the teacher resources above.)
• Due to materials and set-up, the program needs to be set-up in one location on the school campus. This could be in one classroom, the auditorium, library, or an outside field or covered area. Setting up all activities outside or one inside and one outside are both good options.
• A 15 minute re-set time is required between programs.
• Maximum number of students per program is one class size (up to 35 students).
• Minimum number of students per program is 10.
• The universal masking requirement for K-12 and Childcare settings ended March 11, 2022. The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) strongly recommends that individuals in these settings continue to mask in indoor settings.

Program Fees

Payments are due two weeks before the first scheduled program date.

Program costs per day:

1 Class: $200
2 Classes: $300
3 Classes: $350

Travel Fee: Schools or organizations located more than 25 miles away from the Yolo Basin Foundation office will be charged a travel fee of $0.60 per mile for each additional mile (round-trip).

Questions?

Contact Heidi Satter at hsatter@yolobasin.org.

Wild About Wetlands Kits

Wild About Wetlands Kits  are available to teachers to prepare students for their Discover the Flyway  program or to supplement wetland education.  Kits include activities and lessons with all materials provided. Teachers or other youth leaders can check out kits FOR TWO WEEKS.

We are also revising some of the activities to a virtual platform. Here is an example https://www.yolobasin.org/whoseskullisit/

Teachers must pick up and return kits at the Yolo Basin Foundation office.  To reserve a kit, email Corky Quirk at cquirk@yolobasin.org.