Through a partnership with the Oak Brook Chapter of Trout Unlimited, select eighth-grade students from Grissom and Prairie View middle schools raised rainbow trout from eggs to fingerlings in a classroom tank. Students were responsible for caring for the fish and monitoring the tank's water quality daily. Guest speakers rounded out the unit by helping students learn about trout, their habitat, and humans' impact on the natural environment.
Both middle school projects culminated with a trip to Kankakee River State Park to release the trout. On the release trip, students compared the stream's water quality to the classroom tank and also surveyed the stream for the invertebrates they had learned about in the classroom.
