Booker students flip for turtles

Emma Booker Elementary Schools students had a little flip in curriculum the past few weeks.

During the third-, fourth- and fifth-grade science classes, students learned about turtles courtesy of the Longboat Key Turtle Watch.

Ann Tannen, a volunteer who also works as a reading tutor at Booker, brought the idea to Booker staff. During the science classes, Turtle Watch volunteers discussed sea turtles and their nesting habits with the students.

The sessions started with an introduction to turtles and two videos, one of which shows a mother sea turtle laying the nest and another is of a nest hatching.

The sessions included information that Turtle Watch volunteers share at their public nest excavations, Turtle Watch President Tim Thurman said.

After the presentations, the classes split into groups to visit various activity stations.

“It’s amazing how eager they were,” Thurman said of students. “We were worried they’d be bored, but they’re so energetic.”

As the students learned more about turtles, the more intrigued they became. By the end of the session, they were turtle pros.

One of the break-out stations involved a quiz, and it’s safe to say the students aced it.

They never got tripped up when they were asked how many eggs are in a nest (100-120), how many times a mother sea turtle nests each season (four to eight times) or how old a turtle is when she starts nesting (25).

At the end of each classroom session, volunteers gave students an activity book so they could continue learning turtle facts at home.