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Bronx Students Connect to the Science Standards with ACES
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Although they have just begun their animal investigations, Signals of Spring - ACES students at Wings Academy in the Bronx, NY, have already learned a lot!
Mrs. Wilson, a Biology and Chemistry teacher at Wings has brought the ACES program into her 11th and 12th grade Biology and Marine Biology classes. Mrs. Wilson's students have used ACES lessons to study a variety of topics including photosynthesis, food chains and webs, ocean circulation, needs of living things, pollution, watersheds, adaptations, and more.
Mr. David Mortimer, a student teacher from Teachers College, Columbia University also worked with the ACES classes at Wings. Mr. Mortimer explains, "The student's overall understanding of Marine Science, including social and political aspects has been greatly increased. The curriculum has also served well to reinforce other aspects of the NY State science curriculum such as some of the concepts covered in Living Environment."
One highlight of the year took place in February, when Wings students participated in the ACES National Water Study program and conducted water testing at two locations along the nearby Bronx River. Students investigated parameters such as temperature, pH, nitrate and phosphate content, and turbidity. Some students were surprised to find that the Bronx River is a quite healthy body of water!
Thanks to this experience, Wings students began to understand how human impacts on land greatly affect their local watershed. The students have created posters, cartoons, and advertisements to teach their peers about the pollution threats in the Bronx River watershed and beyond to the ocean. As a class, they conducted a 'Town Hall Meeting' to discuss how
pollution affects citizens and business owners. Mrs. Wilson explains that activities such as this 'real world' simulation. these are very important. She explains, "All in all, this ACES curriculum has increased student knowledge about the ocean, increased their interest in science and thus made them more likely to become science literate and participate in a democratic society."
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