By Kyna Pitula and Carmen Dufresne, Teachers, Pettingill Elementary School
“I like to stay in mixed forests, back yards, and parks. That is my habitat. I love Maine so much that I do not migrate. I stay here all year long. It’s a great place to live, but I have to watch out for my predators. They include the Cooper’s Hawk, Sharp-Shinned Hawk, and the Great Horned Owl,” writes Marilyse Danforth, fourth grader at Pettingill School, in her report about the Maine chickadee.
All students in Judi Albert’s and Carmen Dufresne’s classes completed reports about Maine animals as part of a science project aligned with the Maine Learning Results. “We learned a lot about the animals we researched,” said student Kristie Barter.
Each student gathered information and wrote a first-person report about an assigned Maine animal, describing the animal and its classification, mating habits, litter size, habitat, and diet. Students then drew and colored vivid, realistic pictures of their animals. They also performed a number of hands-on activities, such as dissecting an owl pellet to understand an animal’s role in the food chain, and making a terrarium to demonstrate how the Earth sustains life.
Art teacher Kyna Pitula developed one of the most exciting aspects of the project. She helped the students create an Animals of Maine quilt using a variety of art materials. First, the students redrew their assigned animals on a square piece of white paper with fabric crayons. After the drawings were transferred onto fabric using heat, students used “puffy” fabric paints to enhance the appearance of their drawings. Pitula’s mother, Cheryl Pitula, a retired Brewer elementary school teacher, sewed the painted squares into a quilt.
The quilt is unique. It showcases the fourth graders’ artistic abilities as well as their knowledge of Maine animals. Students were definitely enthused. “I was so anxious to see the quilt,” Aaron Delcourt exclaimed. “It is gorgeous! I did the snowshoe hare.”
“I was really interested to see the quilt. It was amazing, and it turned out not even close to what I imagined it would be like,” added Cassandra Dobbins.
The enthusiastic responses and reactions to the project by the fourth graders demonstrates that combining art with science is a fun way to learn. The quilt is currently on display at Pettingill School. It will be raffled off at the Art Show that will take place on May 12; call 795-4160 for more information. Proceeds will be used to finance fourth-grade field trips.
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