Splash goes the weasel

Five energized Sanford boys gave the weed weasel a toss into Number Two Pond. The weasel single-handedly (forkedly?) changed the boys' data collection experience.

They were immediately engaged by the active sampling, the hidden promise of unknown depths, and the challenge of throwing something as far as you can and making a splash.

They schemed together about technique:
"If you throw it like this, I bet..."
"We need to reel it in wicked slow so we can get the most weeds..."

There was healthy competition:
"Oh I can throw it farther than that..."

They told me how to design it better:
"I want it to be heavier so it sinks faster and drags more..."

Though beside-themselves-happy with the dripping ball of submersed plant ooze they dragged up - these tough boys didn't want anything to do with the weeds:
"Eeeewww..."
"I'm not touching that..."

I was able to get a few girls to help me pull apart the weed ball to find plants that were the same and those that were different so we could bring samples back to the classroom with us. The boys just wanted to throw it again.

And then everyone wanted to throw it:
"I want to throw it next!"

So, the weasel is a sure winner with seventh graders. Management of the tool will need some thought. Protocols will need some thought. Learning will need some thought. Plant fragmentation will need some thought.