Science Super Star: Cindy Hukill
We spotlight Cindy Hukill, CRS Science Super Star honoree, who teaches at Brookfield Elementary in Oakland. Cindy built on her students' previous knowledge to expand their scientific methods.
April 6, 2020
We are thrilled to recognize Cindy Hukill, a 1st and 2nd Grade Teacher at Brookfield Elementary in Oakland, as a 2020 Science Super Star!
Cindy took her classroom through the lifecycle of insects. What started as a wide-ranging discussion of the differences in all animals, eventually focused on one living component of an ecosystem. Students were eager to share their prior knowledge about insects, and connect it to a lesson from the previous year in which they learned to distinguish among varying insects.
Buildng on this interest, she set up a station for students to observe larva change over their life-cycle. They watched as the larva transformed into small, and then larger, caterpillar, and then finally move into their chrysalis. Cindy notes that her students were intrigued by how quickly they grew and changed. They drew life cycle charts, and continued to wait to find if Painted Lady butterfies would emerge. Emerge they did and were released into the garden at Brookfield Village.
Since the students had some background knowledge of butterflies, she worked on expanding their thinking, by asking them to think of the effect the environment has on the life cycle process. Her class discussed that the insect would die if it became too cold, or if their chrysalis fell. Eventually, her students came to the conclusion that their own butterflies would not emerge, based on their knowledge of habitats. However, since the school implemented its own Urban Forest, students were able to observe other butterflies. Her class made sure to plant specific plants that ensure the survival of butterflies.
Cindy aimed to connect multiple subjects in her classroom, for an all encompassing learning experience. After teaching academic language to support the lesson, she also had books about insects on hand, for students to engage further with during silent reading.
Cindy has often witnessed the enormous impact science has on children, and uses one as an example:
| "One young lady has never had science in the classroom. This was the first time science was presented with a chart, in real life, and as an opportunity to watch it develop. She is from another country where these things are not happening. She is very excited to see and tell me daily what she notices." |