Mrs. Mack, West Milford, NJ

Oh, The Places We'll Go!
Margaret Mack
Gr. 4 Maple Road School
West Milford, NJ
School Website

Mack Pack Collaborative Poems

We decided to write about the wetlands at the West Milford Environmental Boardwalk located across the road from Maple Road School. The Mack Pack has officially “Adopted-A-Spot” and created a rock garden as a community service project. Last year’s class initiated the rock garden not only to beautify the sign at the entrance to the Boardwalk, but also to increase awareness of the importance of wetlands.

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Each year students work together to clear the ground, add their own special rocks at the edge the garden, and plant new flowers at the entrance to the Environmental Boardwalk. Frequent trips to the Environmental Center throughout the year provide hands-on learning experiences to discover the wonders of the wetlands.

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We read The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown and used her format in our writing.

Wetlands

The most important thing about a wetland is that it is wet.

The ground is mushy, gushy, and squishy.

Water, muck, mud, and green plants provide safe habitats and resting places for migrating birds and animals.

Algae coats ponds and marshes like a thick green blanket.

Colorful wildflowers peek between the tall green grass at bees, dragonflies, butterflies, spiders, grasshoppers, crickets, snakes, and turtles.

Red-winged blackbirds flit among the cattails and reeds.

Deer, black bears, and raccoons come to drink and feed.

But the most important thing about a wetland is that it is wet.

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Cattails

The most important thing about cattails is that they are brown.

Cattails are tall, slender, and fuzzy on top.

They grow in wetlands near marshes and ponds.

The part that looks like a hot dog is really thousands of tiny flowers clustered together.

Seeds float away in the wind as downy fluff.

But the most important thing about cattails is that they are brown.

Resource Links

Mrs. Mack’s email
Margaret.Mack@wmtps.org and mustang4@nji.com

SchoolNotes
http://www.schoolnotes.com/07480/mmack.html

School Website
http://www.mapleroadschool.nji.com/

(Ed. Note: Look what I found - don't miss this!)
Best Practices: NJ Regions Study by Mrs. Mack

Environmental Websites

http://www.ettc.net/bestpractices/school_
pages/pages_99_00/wmtps/related_resources.htm

http://www.wetland.org/kids/Kids.htm

http://www.nwi.fws.gov/

http://www.nwi.fws.gov/educator.htm

http://www.epa.gov/teachers/

http://www.epa.gov/OWOW/wetlands/vital/toc.html

http://www.epa.gov/kids/

Our Project Meets the New Jersey Core Content Curriculum Standards:

Cross-Content Workplace Readiness: All students will use technology, information, and other tools

#3.1 All students will speak for a variety of real purposes and audiences.

#3.3 All students will write in clear, concise, organized language that varies in content and form for different audiences and purposes.

#3.4 All students will read a variety of materials and text with comprehension and critical analysis.

#5.1 All students will learn to identify systems of interacting components and understand how their interactions combine to produce the overall behavior of the system.

#5.6 All students will gain an understanding of the structure, characteristics, and basic needs of organisms.

#5.7 All students will investigate the diversity of life.

#5.12 All students will develop an understanding of the environment as a system of interdependent components affected by human activity and natural phenomena