Armuchee Elementary School, Floyd County Links: www.seer.org/pages/rural.html What butterflies are on campus? View our "Monarch Mania" model EIC unit (5 lessons plans for 4th grade students)! EIC Projects The EIC Team and their students hosted a luncheon for community partners. Students shared stories about their service learning activities, which include tagging migrating Monarch butterflies, reintroducing Lake Sturgeon into the Coosa River, mapping the Rome community, adopting a local stream, developing a pond, and planting gardens, one on the school campus and one at a nearby medical facility. Community partners were encouraged to support the school’s EIC efforts by making specific contributions of time and money. Click here for more information on the Georgia Department of Natural Resource’s reintroduction of Lake Sturgeon to the Coosa River Basin. Field Work EIC teachers Marilyn McLean and Ruth Pinson brought their lessons on lawmaking to life by taking their students to the Capitol during the legislative session. The students met with legislators and talked with them about a bill they helped write to designate the Green Tree Frog, Georgia's State Amphibian. Find out more about Armuchee's efforts -- Click here to read the article from Monday, March 8th's Atlanta-Journal Constitution. About Us Armuchee Elementary sits atop a hillside overlooking an increasingly busy highway. This northern end of Floyd County was once a wooded, rural community with a small airport as its main attraction. In the past ten years, the city of Rome has expanded into this area with the addition of a large shopping mall, fast food restaurants, new industries, medical facilities, and many new subdivisions. At this time, land is being cleared for a new community park and a church in close proximity to our school. Our students are watching their community change. As EIC educators, our challenge is to guide our students' awareness of how this rapid development affects the natural systems in our area, as well as the quality of life for the citizens of our community. Our desire to have students actively involved in their learning as they explore the interaction of the social and natural systems in their community led us to begin the year with an investigation into the flora and fauna present on our campus. As an initial unit of study, students wanted to learn more about the needs of the butterflies found on campus, and especially the beautiful Monarchs that began to migrate through our area. What started as a collaborative unit among the four EIC classes sparked such enthusiasm in our students, parents, and teachers that it soon became a school and community project. As teachers, we witnessed students developing good stewardship and conservation practices as a result of the planned lessons as well as their natural curiosity. Students planted butterfly gardens with both host and nectar plants in order to combat the loss of habitat taking place due to new development. Explorations of our school property, including wooded areas, playground, and a creek introduced students to the variety of flora and fauna already present in our area. Trips to Arrowhead Environmental Education Center served to further introduce students to native species. Student behavior was improved, as all students took an active part in learning. Parents became involved and gave positive feedback on their children's new increased enthusiasm for learning. As students began to voice concerns about the rapid loss of habitat, they became curious about their role in protecting the environment. Research was done to learn about the different ecosystems and the habitats found in each. The students learned about the legislative process, and are currently engaged in a project attempting to name the Green Tree Frog as the Georgia State Amphibian. They have learned that through naming animals as state symbols, those animals become protected by law. Students are also making plans to plant a butterfly garden for a neighboring nursing home, where they can share their knowledge about butterfly habitats with the residents. When our faculty paused to assess the success of our Monarch project, we were amazed at the range of standards already addressed. Students have witnessed life cycles, learned the function of body systems, and become aware of adaptations, protective coloration, and migration as they raised their butterflies. Technology skills have been sharpened through use of interactive web sites tracking Monarch migration routes. Students have raised, tagged, and released their own butterflies. Time lines, mapping, and research skills are being used by students at an earlier stage and more often than in previous years. Students witnessed the fragile beauty and symmetry in the patterns of butterfly wings. Measuring and recording data became a daily activity as caterpillars grew in classrooms. Students have written creatively as they imagined themselves as migrating butterflies, and used their geography skills to describe the areas flown over on their route to Mexico. Origami butterflies, artwork, and haikus appeared in the halls. Spanish phrases were learned in order to participate in the Symbolic Migration program of Journey North. Students have checked out more non-fiction books than ever before. Beginning the school year with this enthusiastic project has led to greater involvement in community-based investigations as the year has progressed. Classes are currently involved in an effort to explore and map the developments within a five-mile radius of our school. Through field trips, use of aerial maps, and interviewing residents, students are constructing a mural showing what natural and social systems are present in Armuchee now, and will expand the project to include a map of the community as it looked fifty years ago. In this way, students will be able to see how they can be involved in making decisions that will affect the future of their community. Throughout this year, students have discovered ways in which they can become good stewards of their environment. The Monarch project served to introduce our students and faculty to the EIC model. Through their enthusiasm for this initial project, they have developed the motivation necessary to continue learning and using that knowledge to make a positive impact in our community.