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Victorville, CA

Trout Tales: An Interdisciplinary Journey Through the Life Cycle

Grant Amount

$19,541

Year Awarded

2025-2026

Project Coordinator

Paul Longshore

Grant Type

Team

Local Association

Victor Elementary Teachers Association

Focus Area

Science Technology Engineering, and Math

About the Project

Trout Tales: An Interdisciplinary Journey Through the Life Cycle is an inclusive, community-enriched STEM project for third-grade students at Galileo in the Victor Elementary School District. Students will embark on an interdisciplinary journey focused on the life cycle of the Rainbow Trout. Through hands-on science activities, physical education lessons, and language arts projects, students will strengthen their understanding of biology while improving their reading, writing, and technology skills. In partnership with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and local fishing clubs, students will hatch and care for Rainbow Trout eggs, culminating in a conservation-focused release at Mojave Narrows. The project also includes casting lessons, narrative and informational writing, stop-motion animation, and 3D modeling.
Designed to support all learners, this project blends academic rigor with environmental stewardship, equity, and real-world skill-building.

Meet the Project Coordinator

Paul Longshore

Paul Longshore is a California educator with 20+ years' experience at the K–12 and university levels. He currently teaches 3rd grade at a GATE, parent-choice school, mentoring new teachers, and presents statewide on motivation, tech innovation, inclusion, and gifted education.My inspiration came from a former student who invited me to visit the "Maker Space Classroom" he now teaches at a local junior college. The room buzzed with creativity—thirty 3D printers were actively producing products his students had designed and planned to market. He told me how much he had loved my class years ago and suggested that incorporating 3D printing could take my trout unit to the next level.

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