The STEM Teacher Leadership Video Showcase features 3-minute videos submitted by teacher leaders and those engaged in creating teacher leadership programs. View their inspiring stories and make sure to leave a comment! Share on social media and "like" your favorites!Creating & Learning about the Wood Wide Web
In the school year of 21-22, after listening to several interviews with Dr. Suzanne Simard on her work with the mycorrhizal network (Wood Wide Web) and also reading her memoir called The Mother Tree, I was inspired to share this science with my elementary school students in the New Hartford Central School District, at one of the schools where I teach STEAM enrichment classes. This video describes how second-grade students from Bradley Elementary School participated in learning about the Wood Wide Web and then used their creative skills to make their own class model of a mycorrhizal network. It was a great experience for all to learn about how trees communicate with one another in the forest (with help from the Mother Tree), and how a student's contribution to a model creates an experiential learning activity that can have long-lasting effects on their understanding of science.
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Comments
Happy to be here to share our lesson
The day has come! This lesson on the Wood Wide Web (the mycorrhizal network beneath the forest floor) was a great experience for all of my students. I hope everyone here enjoys the video and, most importantly, investigates more about Dr Suzanne's Simard's research. Science is wonder-FULL and it's a joy to share the extraordinary discoveries to children.
Mycorrhizal Network
Thank you for your video! I love how this lesson brings students outside and thinking about nature. I will definitely be looking into reading this book. Thank you.
In reply to Mycorrhizal Network by Jennifer Donais
Awesome
Look at the interviews posted on this page and also on WNYC Radiolab 2015 show
From Tree to Shining Tree
https://radiolab.org/episodes/from-tree-to-shining-tree Jad & Robert made science so fun!
Thanks for checking in!
Wood wide web - more sciene
Wow - I loved your video and your success with the second graders. We have all been inspired by this discovery and the wonderful books about trees and the mycorrhizal network. I listened to Merlin Sheldrake narrating his own book and recommend it. In today's NY Times (Nov 7, 2022), there was an article regarding a disagreement regarding the wood wide web. It would be good to introduce this to students - are the fungi and trees being cooperative OR are they both being selfish but benefitting one another? How do we investigate that?
In reply to Wood wide web - more sciene by Arthur Eisenkraft
Merlin
I read Merlin’s book after reading this interview
httpsw://www.thesunmagazine.org/issues/545/hidden-worlds
And juicy controversy! 🙌 yes! Let’s unpack it and create more critical thinking about science 👍
thanks for watching and your comments!
In reply to Wood wide web - more sciene by Arthur Eisenkraft
Send link when you can
Btw: Send me that NY times link when you can
In reply to Send link when you can by Kathleen Donovan
ny times article link
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/07/science/trees-fungi-talking.html?smid=url-share
In reply to ny times article link by Arthur Eisenkraft
This is a great article…
This is a great article. Thank you for posting.
Dr Simard had brought up many on-going criticisms of the research on this fungal network in the interviews I listened to. This is why I always try to tell my students and others : research produces EVIDENCE not PROOF. We should always keep turning over rocks for more information 👍 science is awesome 😎
The Wood Wide Web-#JOY
It was joyful to watch your video! In addition to the two books mentioned, were grade level texts used as well? If so, it would be fantastic to know the titles.
In reply to The Wood Wide Web-#JOY by Wanda Bryant
Texts
The memoir is more for junior and senior high but are the trees talking book is definitely for ages 0-99! 😃
STEM and SEL!
The foundation of all learning is community. Thank you for building community with our 2nd graders and helping them to connect STEM concepts to nature!
In reply to STEM and SEL! by Sandra Towers-Halpin
thank you!
The second graders so enjoyed this lesson!
Love Trees
I love this activity for students. It is so important for them to know everything is connected and how humans disturb those connections in nature. Trees are one of my very favorite trees and I have always felt very connected to them.
In reply to Love Trees by Christine Girtain
tree love
Exactly. Definitely read Suzanne Simmard's memoir. You will love it. Her family has been in the foresting industry for years and her story is great to take in. The students enjoyed learning about the tree community in the forest.
In reply to Love Trees by Christine Girtain
tree love
Exactly. Definitely read Suzanne Simmard's memoir. You will love it. Her family has been in the foresting industry for years and her story is great to take in. The students enjoyed learning about the tree community in the forest.
spreading the word
Really enjoyed your video! Was wondering if you have had success spreading this activity (and the general ideas connected to it) to other teachers in your school or district? As I am interested in STEM teacher leadership, I'm interested to hear what were your successes and challenges? Thanks for the video!
In reply to spreading the word by Joni Falk
My classroom teacher…
My classroom teacher colleagues often have such strict curriculum pacing that it is very hard for them to introduce new concepts and lessons like this which is why they ask me to come in to do STEAM enrichment. That being said I did have a teacher who saw this video just yesterday and asked me to come and do this in her classroom so I am excited to do so. So, although they are eager to do more they are often unable to embrace new science topics because of trying to fit it all in. I feel fortunate to help them!
What a GREAT lesson!
Hi there!
I cannot WAIT to try this activity with my multi-age, neurodiverse Girl Scout troop! Thank you so much for sharing this lesson, and for helping teachers find the space and time to teach STEM in ways that are community-focused and nurturing. Our youngest learners need examples of cooperation in the natural world!
I have heard good things about Melvin Sheldrake's book, and I'm excited to read the article that Arthur posted.
Thanks for this snapshot of your practice!
:) Kirstin, who also has a video in this showcase
In reply to What a GREAT lesson! by Kirstin Milks
Thank you!
Kristin : thank you checking in!
email me at kdonovan@nhart.org and I can share a slide lesson deck with you!
thank you!
Hug a tree !!! What a…
Hug a tree !!! What a fantastic lesson and how students were able to differentiate by creating their own unique Lego solution - love it. I wonder if this could be used as an NGSS phenomenon for 3D learning ??
Doug
In reply to Hug a tree !!! What a… by Douglas Baltz
Great question!
Hmmmm --great question! I will have to check into that. Thank you for recognizing that!
Trees in the Forest are the Best Phenomenon
So much vocabulary and advanced organization, along with the inter-relations between organisms was brought up during this lesson! I can only imagine the kids NEEDING words to describe what they were observing.
Phenomenon should natural. Explaining how things really work. Problems lead solutions. The forest is a great place to show how the problems of "survival" are over come with the "mother tree" solution.
The inter-connectivity is the gem of this lesson. All of nature, science, is inter-connected.
In reply to Trees in the Forest are the Best Phenomenon by Andrew Frisch
Thank you! What a great…
Thank you! What a great response. I think these kids will never look at trees again the same way. They loved to know how they communicated and take care of one another.
in one of the i interviews I listened yo Dr Simard talked about the resistance she encountered bringing this cooperative model about nature instead of the one survival of the fittest. Does it take female eye and mindset to see this and be curious enough about it to be revealed? She had to keep doing the research to gain the evidence. Look at the interview links above.
Thanks for checking to watch!
This is so cool… I’m so…
This is so cool… I’m so impressed at how you thought outside of the box and connected nature with science and learning. I’m sure your students felt the same way. I love it!!
In reply to This is so cool… I’m so… by Caroline Donahue
Thank you! Like I said in…
Thank you! Like I said in another comment post, I don’t think they will look at the forest in the same way ever again. Mission accomplished!
Thank you!
Thank you for sharing your video! I also love the fact that you encourage recycling or reusing materials to make crafts to teach lessons. This really encourages students to be creative and use their critical thinking. I also use the same approach. :) Diana
Connecting to nature
This is an amazing experience for students to connect with nature, rather than learning about nature. I also love how a student took the experience further with Legos. I'll have to check out all of the resources you provided - thank you!
The connectedness that this…
The connectedness that this represents is so timely for right now, and exciting for me to think about for our NH school-- we have woods all around us! Thank you for bringing this to our attention, and investigating with such young learners. What a beautiful idea and question-- what happens below the surface of things?