Above & Below: Pond Unit Study, Hands-on Ideas, & Lapbook

Whether you study a pond in winter or summer, a pond unit study makes for a great hands-on science project. You can add in so many different nature topics.

There are just as many things that grow above a pond as there are that live below in a pond.

Pond Unit Study and Lapbook

Look at these resources that I gathered up for a pond unit study and then I have a nifty lapbook for you too. Like most all of my unit studies, I give you ideas for Prek to High school.

Ron’s pond scum. Neat site with pictures taken through a microscope.
Life in a drop of pond water.
Earth’s Kids – ponds and wetlands science.
A virtual pond dip.
Pond science.

Water holes to mini-pond lesson plan.
Who lives in a pond minibook.
At the pond for the littles.
Pond scum microorganisms.
Small pond creatures.

Pond water web.
Pond life identification.
Let’s visit a pond PreK lesson plan.
Pond animal life printout.
15 Swamp Craft & Activity Ideas.

Missouri pond handbook. Neat resource with lots of information.
Pond ecology.
Pond Theme Activities – Stem – Free Printables
What’s in this water.
Pond life theme for Prek.

Pond Hands-on Ideas

Plastic bag pond.
Explore a pond.
Tadpoles and frogs.
Free land and water form cards.
Wide mouthed frog craft printable.

Pond Sensory Bin.
Cattails craft.
Coffee filter lily pad.
Duck craft handprint.
Pond Dipping Spotter Form.

Pond And Stream Science Activities For Kids.
25 Water Hands-On Activities for Kids.

Above and Below in the Pond

Life in a Pond.
Nature Study: A Week at the Pond.
Identifying pond animals.
Life in a pond study guide.
Studying pond creatures.

Spring to life ponds teachers guide.
Learning Places Pond Unit.
Teachers Guide to Wetland Activities.
Beaver’s teachers guide.
Vernal Ponds: Seasonal Habitats for Wildlife. 

Cattail – this edible plant is also an excellent source of weaving material, tinder, and insect repellent.
The Pond Ecosystem.
The Food Chain in a Pond.
Macroinvertebrate Match-Up Cards.
Wetlands Ecosystem teacher’s guide.

When we did our unit study, I used one book that we had and one book that we wanted.

One book I have because it has easy hands-on activities. It’s the book Rivers, Ponds, and Lakes (Collins Nature Explorers) and the one I had to have is Pond Life: Revised and Updated (A Golden Guide from St. Martin’s Press) because it’s packed with so much information about pond life.

Together these two books made for a great pond study.I was SO pleased with this tiny little guide packed with a HUGE amount of information.

Literally, this guide could fit in a shirt pocket. It’s the perfect size to take to study a pond, stream, or other wetland area.Besides having colorful illustrations which are not goofy looking but perfect for the science-minded, it is chock-full of facts about plants and animals of the pond.The chapters like Characteristics of Water, Habitats, Food Webs, Observing and Collecting, and then Plants and Animals. The plants and animals sections are divided into groups along with pictures of each group.

I’m really pleased with this little guide Pond Life: Revised and Updated (A Golden Guide from St. Martin’s Press).

Then the second book, Rivers, Ponds, and Lakes (Collins Nature Explorers) is one I have and we used it to because it has fun outdoor activities.

A few of the activities are build your own backyard pond, use light to catch fish, and race snails.The chapters in this book are Freshwater habitats, Puddles, Ponds and Lakes, Rivers and Streams and Boggy, soggy swamps. We love the one above about collecting skins and mud tracking.

How to Test Pond Water – Older Kid Outdoor Science Lab

We loved reading and studying about pond life.

There are many fun things to do for younger kids, but one thing we did for an older kid for older kid to make it more of a lab is to use a water testing kit.

The water testing kit came with a mini notebook, a cool TDS meter, vials and test strips.It’s a great way for learning about the water and in your area and to do a lab with an older learner. You’ll want to find 4 different water sources. We used the ditch in the back of our house, the creek from the local park on our walk, bottled water, and tap water.The instructions are on the chart and it gives you an order in which to do the tests.

We checked each sample for chlorine/copper/nitrate/nitrite, then alkalinity/pH/hardness, and lastly the iron.

And yes I know sometimes you don’t have a pond you can get to, but you can get to your backyard for some science. You’ll love this fun hands-on science!

And another resource we love for nature studies are the NaturExplorers. Look at this one about ponds.

I think you’ll love this next free lapbook in my nature series which is about ponds.

 

How to Download the Lapbook.
It’s a Subscriber Only Gift.

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Look at these other links:

Seasonal Pond Study and Printables from Barbara at Handbook of Nature Study
Sensory Bin and Observation Notebooking Page from Jenny at Faith & Good Works
Pond Life Printable Pack from Emily at Table Life Blog
Aquatic Science Studies: 10 Activities for Teens from Eva at Eva Varga
Online Book Study about water cycle from Dachelle at Hide the Chocolate
STEAM Challenge – Does Water Ever Flow Up? from Erika at The Playful Scholar
Who Was?® What Was?® Where Is?® Book Series: Where is the Mississippi River? from Sharla at Minnesota Country Girl
River Exploration and Frog Catching from Thaleia at Something 2 Offer

You’ll love these other resources:

• Oceans Unit Study and Lapbook
• Super Seashore Watching Unit Study and Beach Lapbook
• Humboldt Who? Hands On to Understand Ocean Currents & Their Effect On The Galapagos Islands

Hugs and love ya,