A Visit to The Great Swamp

On two warm fall days, third graders from Matthew Paterson Elementary School walked across the road to the Patterson Environmental Park.

The park includes part of the Great Swamp, one of the largest freshwater wetlands in New York State and home to many species of wildlife. The students’ visit would allow them to see its ecological diversity up close.

“We finished the unit on animal classification in our reading program, Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA), so we added a trip to the Great Swamp for a hands-on extension,” Teacher Gina Boalt said. “I love this reading program; it is so rich in content.”   

Judging from their enthusiasm, the students were excited to put their new knowledge to the test.

“We just catch things like a frog, a venomous spider and probably a rare fish,” said Sophia, 8, a student in Catherine DeToma’s class. “I just caught a spider. It was red and yellow with a little bit of blue. We discover it and look at it but then we put it back and just leave it here.”

The Patterson Environmental Park, which includes a long winding path to the swamp’s edge is a great resource for students.

“We read about the adaptation of frogs and here we are looking at frogs,” said Teacher Jennifer Hunter.

Suddenly there was commotion at the water’s edge. A group of kids had caught a tadpole.

“We just learned about tadpoles yesterday,” DeToma said. “It’s part of the lifecycle. What do we call it when it grows into a frog?”

The group answered in unison: “Metamorphosis!”