Shoreline Exploration with Grade 4

Sunny skies and the East Haven shoreline welcomed our fourth-graders as they explored the intertidal zone habitat at the beach home of Board of Trustees President Andrew Acquarulo and his wife Pam Acquarulo.

The students were accompanied by Lower School science teacher Emily Davies 2001 and fourth-grade teachers Emily Schimelman 2002 and Stephanie Riedel.

In science class, students have been studying the rocky shore intertidal zone habitat, which is the shoreline that is exposed to air at low tide and covered with seawater at high tide. The animals that live in the intertidal zone hold onto the rocks when the tide flows in and out. To get a closer look at the habitats, students put on their water shoes and grabbed their clipboards, buckets, and nets to partake in the hands-on learning activity, which included a scavenger hunt and the examination of the zonation of the species on the rocks; specifically barnacles, periwinkle snails, and crabs. 

“The students really enjoyed the trip,” said Mrs. Davies. “They got to put their classroom knowledge to the test as they spent time at the beach observing and identifying species up close and learning more about intertidal zones.”

Along with examining the intertidal zone habitats, students ventured into the open water to find out what other species are inhabiting the shoreline using a seine net. Pulling the net to shore, students and Mrs. Davies opened it to examine what was collected including fish, shrimp, and other sea creatures.

Before departing the beach, students saw migrating monarch butterflies sailing along the shore on their way to Mexico and a hunting osprey diving for fish.