Vernal Pool

          On Wednesday before vacation, Larry Clarfield from the North Branch Nature Center came to school to talk to the fourth grade about vernal pools and their importance. Students learned what a vernal pool is, what animals live there and why animals migrate on the first warm rain after the snow is gone.  It is called the Big Night. Larry showed slides, they listened to the calls of Vermont frogs and they got to see a spotted salamander.

     The next day I read students the book called The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown.  We analyzed the structure of the poems and then students wrote their own poems about why vernal pools are important. They did an awesome job! Please read them below.

Vernal Pool Poem

By Payton and Carmen

The important thing about the vernal pool

Is that it keeps frogs and salamander safe.

Vernal pools come in the spring.

Fish like to eat the frog’s egg.

Frogs and salamanders lay their eggs in vernal pools.

A vernal pool will start as a puddle

And get bigger and bigger and bigger.

Frogs must hatch fast and leave

Soon the vernal pool will dry out

So if fish lived there they would die

‘cuz there wouldn’t be any more water but

The important thing about the vernal pool

Is that it keeps frogs and salamander safe.

Vernal Pool

By Jacob and Dylan

The important thing about the vernal pool

Is amphibians go there

Frogs lay their eggs there

It only comes in the spring

Fish can live there

It is home to many different animals

Some vernal pools last throughout the summer

It starts as a puddle and gets bigger but

The important thing about the vernal pool

Is amphibians go there

Vernal Pool Poem

By Ari

The important thing about the vernal pool

Is that it gives amphibians a home

It starts out as a small puddle

It gets bigger and bigger and bigger

Until the summer comes

And it dries out

On The Big Night frogs

And salamanders cross the road

To get to a vernal pool

Frogs lay their eggs there

So fish can not eat them

As the tadpoles grow into adults

The vernal pool dries up

And the frogs and salamanders leave but

The important thing about a vernal pool

Is that it gives amphibians a home.

Vernal Pool Poem

By Claire and Jordan

The important thing about the vernal pool

Is it’s only in the spring

It helps lots of amphibians for a place

To go on the Big Night

The Big Night is the first rain after

The snow has melted

The pools starts out really small

And gets bigger

Frogs lay their eggs there

‘cuz fish can’t eat the frog’s eggs

‘cuz there are no fish living there

If we didn’t’ have vernal pool

We wouldn’t have frogs

It’s a home to many eggs but

The important thing about the vernal pool

Is it’s only in the the spring

Vernal Pool

By Damian

The important thing about the vernal pool is

That amphibians go there to lay their eggs

Frogs go there to lay their eggs

It’s a home to lot of animals

Fish can not eat their eggs

Salamanders lay their eggs in a vernal pool

In the summer a vernal pool

Will dry up

Vernal pools are just big puddles

But the important thing about vernal pools is

That amphibians go there to lay their eggs.

Vernal Pools

By May and Olga

The important thing about the vernal pool

Is that frogs live in them

They lay their eggs in water

That doesn’t have fish

They only come once

Winter is over

Then the puddle dries up

There are lot of amphibians there but

The important thing about the vernal pool

Is that frogs live in them

Vernal Pool Poem

By Caroline

The important things about a vernal pool

Is that it gives amphibians a home

It starts out as a small puddle and

Gets bigger and bigger and bigger until

The summer comes and

It dries up

On The Big Night frogs and

Salamanders cross the road

To get to a vernal pool

Frogs lay their eggs there

So fish can not eat them

As the tadpoles grow into adults the

Vernal pool dries up and

The frogs leave

The important things about a vernal pool

Is that it gives amphibians a home