Students engage in a creative project of making a paper koi pond meant to illustrate the type of life that can be found in the pond ecosystem. They build cultural appreciation for the Japanese by researching the use of the koi ponds.

Students read the novel, The Witch of Blackbird Pond. In groups, they conduct research using the Internet, encyclopedias, and books to gather information on an assigned colony. The projects are presented to the rest of the class.

Students research island formation, plot locations on a map and make an analysis of why some islands are formed where they are.