Thornapple Kellogg — Spring is salmon-release season for Michigan schools, including at Lee Elementary, where third-graders participated for the first time.
Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources’ Salmon in the Classroom program provides supplies and support for third- through twelfth-grade classrooms across the state to raise and release young Chinook salmon into approved waterways. More than 30,000 Michigan students learn about the cycle of life from their classroom guests every year, according to the Michigan DNR.
Third-grader Ari Barnett explained how thousands of sac frys — baby salmon — are hatched from eggs.
“They’re called sac frys because they still have their sacs attached to them after they hatch,” Ari said. “I thought they were just babies and then they grew up, but there are a lot of different stages.”
The young salmon lived in Ben Sleeman’s classroom for a few months until they were mature enough to be released. During that time, his third-graders learned how to care for the fish by feeding them and cleaning their water tank.
“We’re at the youngest age group for this program, so for them it’s been a lot about how to maintain the tank and observing the fish,” Sleeman said. “A lot of the science focused on starting the tank, testing samples to maintain water quality and working through that process.”
Several students chose names for the fish and identified ways to tell them apart. Blindy, for example, swam as if he could not see where he was going; Speedy was named because he swam fast; Tiny, the littlest; and Banana Bread and Banana Bob, because third-graders are creative.
Brinley Ybema said she enjoyed walking into her classroom every morning and watching the fish swim around in the tank.
Added Grace Colavincenzo, “They chase each other like they’re playing tag.”
In addition to learning about the fish, the third-graders attempted to teach the fish a thing or two about being a kid.
“I tried to teach them a bunch of tricks: back flips and front flips, but they don’t listen to me,” Allie Glassi said.
Ari added: “We got to watch them grow up, but they still can’t even do a cartwheel.”
Learning the Circle of Life
Unfortunately, as the students learned, most of the sac frys do not survive. Sleeman’s class started with 150 eggs, and 52 survived to be released into the Rogue River in Rockford.
“We were losing a fish or two a day in the beginning and having the conversation about why salmon lay so many eggs, survival rates and the circle of life,” he said.
Students each released two salmon into the river after whispering last-minute advice into the containers, Sleeman said.
Other than having to dispel his class’ misconception that salmon poop out of their mouths, Sleeman called their first year raising salmon a success.
“I enjoyed this project and the amount of discussion and interest it garnered from other students in the building,” he said. “With the first experience under my belt, I feel like there are things that I would like to add to the overall experience next year that will hopefully make it even more impactful for more students at Lee.”
Read more from Thornapple Kellogg:
• Motion, and magnets and maps, oh my!
• Thornapple Kellogg chooses new superintendent
