In kindergarten and first grade science, a big focus is on observations using all senses, but this activity can be utilized in the middle and upper elementary school grades as well and modified accordingly.  With the fiddler crabs, we are asking students to observe and concentrate on what they are seeing and look beyond just naming the animal.



We ask them questions like:

• What are you noticing about the fiddler crabs?
• How do they react to environmental changes such as light, darkness and temperature?
• What are the reasons for their behaviors?
• What questions come to mind as you are observing?
• What are some experiments that you can create based on these observations?

To help with observations and charting what they notice, we used a basic ethogram** (download available by clicking here) to chart behaviors like sleeping, eating, and moving.  We then used different colored lightbulbs, flashlights, and other tools to change the environment and measure variables like temperature and light.  Students can use the chart to note what they are observing and what questions they might have about the crabs’ behavior and what changes to the environment might impact their behavior.  Follow up with a class discussion to allow students to share their observations with one another.  Depending on grade, students can graph the data they are collecting, as well.