Predicting Matter Moves at the Class Pet Corner

A Prediction Board Beside the Pet Corner

Beside their classroom pet corner, fifth graders keep a prediction board. Their guinea pig, Pip, eats hay and other foods supplied by the teacher. Sometimes the teacher adds washed, pesticide-free dandelion leaves. The class also grows dandelions in pots. Students notice missing pieces after Pip eats leaves, and the teacher removes droppings during regular pet care. Students do not handle animal waste.

The class wants to connect these observations to matter moving through a larger system. Their information cards explain that plants use matter from air and water to make food. Roots also take in small amounts of nutrients from soil. Animals use food matter to build their bodies and keep them working. Animals release matter in waste and into the air. Fungi and bacteria use dead material and waste as food. These decomposers grow and release matter into soil, water, and air. Sunlight supplies energy, not matter.

Imani suggests using counters to follow small portions of matter. The board has five boxes: Environment, Plants, Animal, Dead Material/Waste, and Decomposers. Environment includes air, water, and soil. A counter represents a small portion of matter being tracked. It does not represent a whole organism or a measured number of grams. The board follows selected matter, not every bit of matter in the classroom.

Before a round begins, students record the counters in each box. They then move counters along labeled arrows. An arrow points from the source of matter to its receiver. Students move existing counters instead of creating new ones. The transfer record lists every move made during this round. Moving counters is a model activity; the class does not feed waste to Pip or grow decomposers in the classroom.

The class plans to use the board to ask what might happen next. They know the board leaves out some real pathways, including matter that animals release into the air. It also combines air, water, and soil in one box. The graph shows where the tracked counters ended this round. A box can have the same number at the beginning and end even when counters moved through it. Students must check the transfer record as well as the graph before explaining or changing the model.