A tad excited about science

Students learn life cycle through tiny tadpoles

By Lisa Magers/CISD Community Services

Tadpole Mania swept through Coleman Elementary School in Cleburne on Wednesday with the arrival of packages labeled “Handle with Care,” “Open Immediately” and “It’s Alive!”

Elementary schools throughout Cleburne ISD have received tadpoles as third-graders prepare to jump into a science unit on the life cycle. But at Coleman, the arrival of the tadpoles is already metamorphosing into a frog frenzy.

“When we found out we were getting tadpoles, our campus chose to have a school-wide event to welcome them to Coleman,” Principal Kyle Boles said. “We have really focused on science this year as a campus and the addition of the science lab has allowed us to do some very remarkable things.”

In anticipation of the arrival of the future frogs, Boles began to hype the event with messages such as “the tadpoles ... coming soon” and “the tadpoles are almost here,” on the school marquee, building student excitement while letting parents and the community know a special activity was at hand.

“I even had the priest from my church call and ask me, ‘Who are these tadpoles, and when are they coming?’” Boles said. “We also had each grade level select a name for their tadpole.”

Welcome to Coleman

On Wednesday, 522 Coleman Colts lined the main hallway of the school, some wearing green construction paper “tadpole” hats, others carrying signs welcoming the newest members of the student body to the campus. Students and teachers cheered as Boles delivered water-filled plastic bags containing Princess, Dasher, Murphy, Bob, Sunset and Stewie to the science lab.

“We know this one is Bob, because be has the biggest head,” said Kaden Graves as he looked into a tank serving as home for three of the school’s six tadpoles. Bob is the official tadpole of the third-grade class.

“You get to watch them grow,” said classmate Conner Maples. “And when they’re growing, that’s pretty cool to watch.”

Although the tadpole project is part of the third-grade science curriculum, all students are involved in the activity and may make regular visits to the science lab to monitor the froggy metamorphosis.

“This project is open to all our students,” Boles said. “They can go into the lab as often as they want to check for any changes in the tadpoles. My main thing in doing all this was for it to be fun for the kids and to emphasize that this is a science lesson.”

With the move of the fifth-grade back to the elementary campuses this year, science labs were added to meet curriculum standards for that age group. All grades are using the labs, with some pretty exciting results, Boles said.

“With the addition of the lab, and the emphasis we have placed on science this year, you can see a difference in the children in how they are reacting to science,” Boles said. “They love the lab and seeing how science works. They know it’s a special place to observe and predict. Going to the science lab is a big deal.”

“And everyone can be a part of a special activity, like the third grade’s study of the life cycle relating to the tadpole,” Boles said. “Instead of eggs hatching in one classroom over there, or seeds growing into plants in another classroom, everyone can visit the lab and see all the neat experiments taking place. Knowledge is truly being shared.”

Science for the masses

Elementary teachers at Coleman and throughout the district are striving to instill the process of the scientific method — collecting data through observation and experimentation, formulating and testing a hypothesis — in all students, beginning at the kindergarten level.

“We’re trying even with the little ones to teach them to learn and use that scientific method, which can also apply to math and reading,” Boles said. “By the time these kindergarten and first-grade students get to the higher grades, they will hopefully understand and can really go in-depth in their learning.”

With the tadpoles tucked into their science lab habitats, homes are now being prepared for several more species. First-graders are about to study mealworms, which will eventually become beetles.

Second- and fourth-graders will experience the magic as the lowly larvae evolves into the beautiful butterfly. Fifth-graders will study hamsters, turtles or hermit crabs.

“We’re already making plans for a butterfly garden,” Boles said. “We want it to be a true hands-on experience for our students.”

In the meantime, it’s Tadpole Mania at Coleman — at least for another few weeks. Several of the bullfrog tadpoles are already showing signs of legs — indicating their age to be six to nine weeks. At 12 weeks, they will be classified as froglets with their full growth cycle complete at 16 weeks.

“We will probably need to have closing festivities like they do at the Olympics once the tadpoles are grown,” Boles said. “I’m thinking a release ceremony at the creek.”