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A Microscopic World of Wonder

School: Santa Fe School for the Arts & Sciences

City/State: Santa Fe, NM

Grade(s): 5, 6

Format(s): Book: Nonfiction/Informational

Subject(s): English Language Arts, Health and Wellness, Science and Technology, Visual Arts

Project Overview

The 5th and 6th grade class at Sante Fe School for the Arts and Sciences created this book on the subject of microorganisms.

The initial inspiration for A Microscopic World of Wonder was to create a guide that would be seen by guests of the resort hotel where their research pond is located. The resort hotel was called Sunrise Springs. The school did a companion guide years before (also called Sunrise Springs) that described the larger creatures in this pond, and this time, the students wanted to educate people about the hidden creatures.

To start their investigation on microorganisms, students collected samples from the pond. The students analyzed the microorganisms under the microscope and found that they could document over 30 different species.

This book includes information on specific species of microorganisms: some found by students using a microscope and others found through research online and in books. Each page includes an illustration of the microorganism, scientific name and classification, a written description, information on the habitat and a few facts that are of interest to the author.  

The illustrations for this book were inspired by the late German biologist, Ernst Haeckel. The microorganisms were photographed and the illustrations were made using the photograph for reference. The students went through a critique and revision process for their drawings. 

How This Project Can Be Useful

  • Exceptional examples of scientific illustrations that went through multiple drafts.
  • The introduction, information on different types of microorganisms and essay on Ernst Haeckel help to orient the reader through contextual information.
  • The entry for each microorganism breaks down scientific information into clear descriptive language. For example, from the Spirogyra entry: “Spirogyra is a green algae that looks like long chains or ribbons at first glance. However, if you look at them closely under a microscope, you see they are more like long trains of many cars that are all alike. Each of these “cars” is a single cell."
  • The facts included with each entry are fun and reflect why students might find microorganisms interesting. For example from the Eutardigrade Hypsibus eutardigrade entry: “The Tardigrade can withstand extreme temperatures such as being frozen and also boiled. Scientists have sent Water Bears into space and they have lasted fifteen days."

Common Core State Standards

Standard Long Term Learning Target
WHST.6-8.2
  • EL has not created long-term learning targets for WHST standards.
WHST.6-8.4
  • EL has not created long-term learning targets for WHST standards.
WHST.6-8.7
  • EL has not created long-term learning targets for WHST standards.
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