The beach had seashells, crabs, sand, salt water, and birds. It was cold water. The weather was sunny and cloudy. We picked up seashells. There were waves coming up on the sand. There was a shark. We had fun.
Darlene Booker

At the Atlantic Ocean we saw some waves and seashells. We even saw some crab legs. We saw a boat and sand. It was cold.
Tenayah Govan

I went to the Atlantic Ocean. It was fun. We played in the sand. The ocean has dolphins and sharks in the water. We went to the bay. It was fun too. We looked at the bay and we came back to the school. We had to go home.
Shera Lawrence

Jeremiah Smith and Brittany Holt search for shells.

Racquel Sullivan of 208 learned all about whales.

At the beach I learned about killer whales and other whales. Trish Schuster said that the whale mouth is the same size as the back of our bus. Then Shamika asked how long is the bus, and I think she said 40 feet long. At the beach I learned about a plant called red clover. The red clover plant was pretty. I had fun running around in the sand and putting my feet in the water. I had fun putting sand on top of people. When Latifah put her feet in the water, she would yell. At the beach we had to collect shells and sand and dirt and water. Erica and Darnella and I built a volcano.

Alfred Booker and James Adams got swallowed by a shark.

Ellisha Wilson of 208 spotted fox tracks.

My beach excursion was grand! At the beach we learned about a plant called red clover. I saw some fox tracks in the sand. At the beach we learned about animals that live under water. We saw shark teeth and eyes. We saw a whole bunch of seashells. We learned a lot at the beach. It was fun.

The children in room 210 also discovered footprints and made some of their own.

I like the beach. When we got there I was so happy. There were prints in the sand. There were fox prints and bird prints. We saw waves in the water and we collected shells.
Caprice Wright

At the beach we had a lesson and we walked on a boardwalk. We went to the ocean and the sand was soft, and we made footprints in the sand. Then I collected shells and a crab shell. I found seaweed and the water made a big wave.
Michael Autrey

When we got to the beach I was glad. I had fun looking for shells. The sand felt soft. I saw waves and seaweed. In the sand I saw fox footprints, and I saw a seagull. I collected a lot of shells. Then we went to the museum for our lesson. We saw beach buggies. I had fun at Island Beach State Park.
Kimika Hughston

Jeremy Smith, Laseana Jones, Latasha McQueen, Jeremiah Smith, Branden Moy, Stephen Armstrong, Darlene Booker, Taliah Cheeseboro, and Latasha Jacobs standing in front of the Atlantic Ocean at Island Beach State Park, NJ.

When the children in room 210 brought their collections back to school, with the help of Pete Casey and a guidebook provided by the nature center at Island Beach, they identified the different types of shells. They also made "display cases" for the shells from their collections.

Kurtis Hall found an Atlantic slipper shell, a chestnut astarte, a skate egg case, and a bay scallop shell along with many Atlantic surf clam shells.

Christina Moore found a Blood Ark, an Eastern Oyster shell and also a skate egg case.

Michael Autrey found many clam shells. He also found seaweed and Bay Scallop shells, and Northern Quahog shells.

Omar Smith found Jingle shells, some sea lettuce, rock weed and Eastern Oyster shells.

Manny Davenport found the collar of a sand dollar.

Rooms 210 and 219 also collected lots of rocks from the beach. They used the tests that were learned earlier in the year to describe them. Please read the descriptions of our junior geologists.

My rock looks brown. My rock feels bumpy and smooth. The color of the streak is tan. It has a dull luster. I cannot scratch the rock with my fingernail. The penny scratches the rock, but it does not scratch a penny. It does not scratch glass. My rock is 10 millimeters long. It weighs 11 grams.
Emmanuel Davenport, 210

The color of my rock is tanish-brown. The rock feels bumpy. The luster of my rock is dull. The streak is colorless. The rock was scratched by a penny. The rock scratches glass. My rock is 10mm long. My rock weighs 6 grams.
Nikiya Pegues, 219

My rock is gray and tan. The rock feels smooth and hard. The luster of my rock is dull. My streak is colorless. My rock cannot be scratched by a fingernail. My rock can be scratched by a penny. My rock can scratch a penny. My rock can scratch glass. My rock is 8mm long. My rock weighs 5 grams.
Byron Watson, 219

Dominique Johnson of room 219 found a live clam on the beach.

Yesterday I went to the beach. I looked at tapes on the bus and ate lunch and snacks. I went on a tour and saw poison ivy and a lagoon. After that we had lunch and went to the beach. I found seashells and dead crabs. I found a real clam. My mom helped me find the seashells. I saw some sand crabs. When we got home, I put the seashells and the crab and the clam in the sink and washed them. Then I saw the clam's mouth open. I knew it was alive, so I put it in the sink and left him there over night. In the morning I took him to school and my friends saw him. I showed my teacher. I will put salt in the water, and then the clam will be happy.

Gerald Brown and Kurtis Hall examine a holly leaf.

Vilina Clea of room 219 tried to rescue a horseshoe crab.

What I did on the beach trip is I picked up some seashells. I buried my feet under the sand. I buried my teacher's feet too. Then I went to look for shells again with Nikiya and her mom. They found a horseshoe crab. We tried to put it back in the water. Then we found dead horseshoe crabs. We found sand crabs and crystal seashells too. We sort of got our feet wet, but I had fun.

Anthony Piper examines a bird that makes its home on Island Beach.

Jessica Hallager of 219 recounts her trip to the beach.

It took us two hours to get there. I sat next to Porsche. Mrs. Powell and Mrs. Dancy's class went too. Half of our class had to sit with Mrs. Dancy's class on the bus. Dane took off his sneakers and went to sleep. Mr. Rogers went with us. Mrs. Dancy's class went to the beach first. We had to get our lesson first. The teacher told us about sharks. She showed us shark teeth. Then we went on a tour. She showed us a holly tree. She showed us poison ivy. She showed us a berry bush. Then we waited for the bus. It did not come. The teacher took us by the bay. Then we saw a butterfly garden. Then the bus came. We went on another tour. Then we ate lunch. Then we went to the beach and collected shells. I ran out into the ocean to get a big shell. I found a bag of shells there too.

India El and her mother collect sand from the beach.