Is Lake Merritt Worth 198 Million Dollars?
School: Lighthouse Community Charter School
City/State: Oakland, CA
Grade(s): 6
Format(s): Report: Science
Subject(s): Mathematics, Science and Technology, Social Studies
Project Overview
6th grade students from the Lighthouse Community Charter School, in Oakland, California, created this report which shows their answer to the question: “What do the dissolved oxygen levels tell us about the water quality of Lake Merritt?”
Students explored this specific question as a way to collect information about the proposed 198 million dollar bond issue up for a vote that aimed to clean and protect the Lake Merritt, an urban lake in Oakland. Students studied the history of the lake, its recreational and aesthetic value and its overall health. To get a sense of how local people felt about the bond issue, students interviewed people from around the lake to find out if they supported the bond issue and why.
As an indicator of the lake’s water quality, students measured dissolved oxygen repeatedly at different sites over the course of nine weeks. Students worked with local experts, including the lake’s “keeper” and a scientist who taught them how to measure dissolved oxygen.
Each student prepared an individual report – what is shown here is one student’s report. This report focuses on her study of dissolved oxygen and background information about the lake.
How This Project Can Be Useful
- Highlights students engaging in a collaborative expedition, but demonstration of learning is done individually
- Highlights an engaging, local project through which students learned about local ecological and political issues
- Shows students in an urban setting doing environmental research
- A project with multiple fieldwork experiences
- Product format allows students to show multiple types of content knowledge including procedural, historical, and scientific information
- The several photos at the end helps to orient the reader to the nature of the tasks students engaged in
Common Core State Standards
| Standard | Long Term Learning Target |
|---|---|
| L.6.6 |
|