Students will launch the salt marsh stewardship investigation by observing a local marsh with community partners, recording sensory evidence and questions, and beginning a project journal they will use across the project. They will practice asking and answering questions from field observations and informational sources, learn how to sort observations from wonders, and co-create shared expectations for teamwork and careful evidence collection.

Students will investigate a salt marsh mystery by observing a marsh or boat-site phenomenon, studying artifacts and short informational sources, and sorting what they notice from what they wonder. In partners and teams, they will ask questions, use text features and visuals to gather clues, connect habitat needs to stewardship actions, and co-create a focused investigable question with a simple hypothesis they can test in the next phase.

Students will co-design a clear evidence-collection plan for investigating salt marsh questions by using text features, author purpose, sequencing, and journal tools. They will practice choosing useful sources, planning observation steps, refining hypotheses with peer feedback, and preparing to gather trustworthy evidence from books, videos, artifacts, and marsh observations.

Students will gather and organize evidence about salt marsh plants, animals, artifacts, and human stewardship by using field sketches, labeled notes, partner sources, and sequenced records in their project journals. They will work in teams to document observations carefully, compare information from print and non-print sources, and revise their records after peer feedback so their evidence is clear, accurate, and ready for pattern analysis in the next phase.

Students will sort and compare their salt marsh evidence, look for patterns and exceptions, and use charts, drawings, and talk moves to explain what their evidence shows about habitat diversity and marsh care. They will test whether their hypothesis still fits the evidence, revise their explanations after peer feedback, and prepare stronger informational ideas for the next phase.

Students will turn their marsh evidence into clear informational writing and exhibition pieces, use peer feedback to strengthen accuracy and clarity, and prepare team gallery walk materials that explain stewardship findings, limits, and next questions.

Students will present their salt marsh stewardship findings to families and community partners, use peer and visitor feedback to strengthen how they explain evidence, and reflect on how their teamwork and understanding of marsh care changed across the project.