My lesson included students making a model on the Earths' plate boundaries. Students colored in and analyzed a simple map with the continents, oceans and plate boundaries. Then students completed a map that they colored, cut apart, and glued to a tennis ball. Then students were required to construct sentences that they shared out using the globe to guide them. Next, as a class, we completed some of a Venn Diagram comparing and contrasting the difference between the flat map and the three dimensional globe map. Students then finished the Venn diagram in partners. To wrap up the lesson and access student learning students completed a 3-2-1, three things they learned, two questions they have, and one connection. They also completed a 4 question multiple choice assessment.
Students were engaged and loved coloring, cutting, gluing, and constructing their tennis ball globes. This three dimensional globe gave my English Learners a concrete visual representation of the Earth science concept, plate boundaries.
The hardest part of the lesson for students was when they had to apply the concept of ocean and continents to the map. At first students were not able to differentiate between which part to color blue for the oceans and which part to color for the land. Another difficult part of the lesson was when students worked in partners to finish the Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the flat map to the sphere map.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Natural Disasters
Studying natural disasters help students to understand what they are, the potential damage they can do, and how unpredictable they can be. It is also a chance to teach students how to relate to other people that have been affected by natural disasters and then ideally to get students thinking about what they can do to help people in need after a natural disaster. To get students to want to help others, I think first you need to teach the science behind what happened and get them to have a good understanding of the scientific content. Next move instruction into how it has affected the people in the region of the natural disaster. I think students need to see model teacher behavior by seeing the teacher concerned and helping the affected area. Discuss with students how good it feels to help someone and that giving away something to someone in need has a tremendous internal reward. My students are fourth graders and I think it is important that they know the reality of life about natural disasters in terms of how unpredictable they are. Natural disasters can happen anywhere at any time. It is a fine line because I do not want to scare students, yet I do want to expose them to what happens when an area is damaged due to a natural disaster. I would connect students to a community organization about relief efforts by having someone from the Red Cross come in and explain how people of all ages can help their organization. To take it to the next level, the class could brainstorm and decide on a plan that they could implement to help the area that has been affected by the natural disaster.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Ask A Scientist
I posted a question using Ask A Scientist and have not heard back yet. I am excited to see how the scientist answers because all the information that I have found on line states that there is not a consensus among the scientific community. My question is about what is special about the cells in the brain to cause consciousness.
I would use this website with students when they ask me a question that I don't know the answer to or if I would like them to find the answer to a specific question on their own. It is important that students know that when they don't know the answer to a question, they can research and find the information on line as well as use the Ask A Scientist web site as a resource. There is so much information available today that the main goal should not be to know it all, but to be able to find it.
I would use this website with students when they ask me a question that I don't know the answer to or if I would like them to find the answer to a specific question on their own. It is important that students know that when they don't know the answer to a question, they can research and find the information on line as well as use the Ask A Scientist web site as a resource. There is so much information available today that the main goal should not be to know it all, but to be able to find it.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Web Presentation Tools
The first presentation tool that I experimented with is the Prezi application. I thought the tutorial in our class resources helped me know what to do before I even tried it out. After I signed in and started a new presentation, it became clear right away how user friendly it is. There are tutorials to use and I was able to navigate easily and find out how to do what I wanted. I liked how it was easy to link words and pictures to one another and put them in a certain order. I particularly like how easy the editing wheel is in terms of movement, rotation, and sizing.
The next presentation tool that I explored is the raptivity presenter and this is from the webtools4u2use website. This is an application that adds interactivity with power points and I played around with how to set up panning cards. It was easy enough to follow, although I prefer the Prezi application.
I am exited to use and explore this website more because there is so much information on how to improve presentation slide shows and how to use slide shows to increase motivation and engagement with students.
The next presentation tool that I explored is the raptivity presenter and this is from the webtools4u2use website. This is an application that adds interactivity with power points and I played around with how to set up panning cards. It was easy enough to follow, although I prefer the Prezi application.
I am exited to use and explore this website more because there is so much information on how to improve presentation slide shows and how to use slide shows to increase motivation and engagement with students.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Periodic Table Internet Investigation
The content area of physical science that is my focus for my internet investigation is the periodic table. The periodic table of elements is a “big idea” that students need to understand in order to know what everything in the world is made up of. It is also the basic knowledge for more advanced chemistry. My online search relating to the periodic table was successful because I found many sites that would help students be proficient in the 21st-century.
I will start by listing four sites that I have already used.
Brain Pop has short 3-5 minute cartoons about specific scientific content with Tim and his robot friend Moby. These are perfect to get students excited and interested in science content. There is also a ten question multiple choice quiz that comes with each cartoon.
This is through the discovery channel and provides short clips of content as well as movies that are of various length. This is an excellent way to give students the visuals that they need to learn the science content. Many of the movies come with lesson plans to go with the content, clozed movie notes, or quizzes
I love this site, it has lesson plans, experiments, and short cartoon clips to teach scientific content. The kids really like this one.
This is a set of 36 element bingo cards, I have used this and the kids love it!
Here are some new ones that I found
This site gives me ideas of ways to support students understanding through inquiry activities as well as increasing student motivation and interest.
This site has games that teach the periodic table.
I really like this one because it provides the periodic table with actual photographs of each element and when you click on an element you get detailed information on that particular element.
Besides the ones that I already use often I would say that I like http://periodictable.com/ because I think it takes the abstract idea of an element and gives students an actual photograph of what that element looks like. This is an excellent 21st century tool in terms of looking up current information on line. One activity I would use with this website is to have students do a periodic table scavenger hunt using this website as their resource. This would be a great way to get students excited about the periodic table while helping them to become familiar with it. All of these web sites help prepare students to be scientifically literate citizens by teaching them science content, getting them excited and motivated about science, and having them use technology to learn.
Some difficulties that can occur are when my LCD projector bulb burns out or the internet is not available. The Brain Pop and the United Streaming sites are purchased by my district, so when the subscriptions are up, sometimes they are not available for some time.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Heat Transfer Inquiry
The materials that I used for this experiment are the following; four mugs, 4 rubber bands, a measuring cup, scissors, a ruler, a tea kettle, a candy thermometer, plastic wrap, aluminum foil, one dish towel, a piece of card stock paper, and a kitchen timer. I first filled the tea kettle with tap water and turned the burner on high heat. Then as the water was heating up, I got all my materials ready for the experiment. I cut the plastic wrap, aluminum foil, and dish towel using scissors and a ruler to a 11.5 inch by 8 inch piece so it would match the size of the card stock. I then found four rubber bands and four mugs that were exactly the same. I got four measuring cups and got them ready to fill to the half cup line. Once my tea kettle was whistling, I first poured the water into one of the mugs and measured the water temperature. It measured 210° F the first trial, 208° F the second trial, and 211° F on the third trial. I did this because I wanted to know the starting temperature before covering the hot water with various materials. I filled each measuring cup to the half cup mark and poured the hot water into the mug and then covered the top with a material and put a rubber band around it to hold the material on top. Once all four were covered and held down with the rubber band, I then set the kitchen timer for thirty minutes. After the thirty minutes were up, the timer went off, and I quickly removed each rubber band and the material, and then took the temperature of the water using the candy thermometer. I repeated this process for all the mugs and then recorded the temperatures of the water. I then did the experiment two more times to complete two more trials. Here is the data that I recorded.
aluminum foil | plastic wrap | card stock | towel |
120° F | 110° F | 105° F | 110° F |
122° F | 112° F | 105° F | 111° F |
123° F | 111° F | 104° F | 112° F |
There were some challenges that I experienced during my heat transfer guided inquiry experience. What didn't go so well was that it was a long and difficult process to get a thermometer that worked well for the experiment. I took the temperature of the water for each trial before I covered the mugs with the various materials. The first time I went to take the temperature of the hot water, it broke the thermometer that came in our science kit for this class. I think it was due to the drastic change of temperature and the heat expanded the liquid and broke the glass of the thermometer. It also could have been that it had a crack in it already. I had my daughter go to the store and pick up a thermometer at the grocery store. She came home with a digital thermometer. This one didn’t work because it did not measure temperatures that high. The next step was to go the grocery store myself and look at various food thermometers and see if one of those would work. I knew the thermometer needed to be able to measure high temperatures as well as show specific temperatures so my data would be accurate. I thought the candy thermometer would work the best and when I got back to my house to conduct the trials, I knew that it was the right choice.
To extend this experiment, I would challenge students to come up with a container that would keep the food warm for the longest amount of time. After the containers were made, I would pop some popcorn and have students test their containers.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Scientific Inquiry
I chose the following question. Which pendulum will come to rest more quickly-a lighter pendulum or a heavier pendulum? I used the string, 3 different size washers, scissors, the largest nail, and a ruler. I cut the string in half so that it would not be too long. I tied the string around the top of the nail and around the large washer. At first I tried to hold the long nail on the kitchen counter and realized right away that this would not work because the washer hit the kitchen cabinet. Instead I used a ruler that can be held in a three ring binder. I put the nail through the middle hole in the ruler and was now able to create a pendulum that did not hit anything. At the beginning of each trial, I held the washer that was attached to the string and held it parallel with the kitchen counter. The largest washer took a long time to come to a rest. The average of the three trials for the largest washer was nine minutes and ten seconds. Next I followed the same procedure with the medium washer and then the smallest washer. The medium washer only moved for an average of five minutes twenty-two seconds. The smallest washer was done moving on average at one minute thirty seconds.
Before conducting the experiment, I thought the largest washer would take the longest time to come to a rest. The reason why I thought this is because I thought the mass of the object would keep the momentum going longer. For example, it would take more energy and time to stop a freight train as opposed to stopping a motorcycle. In addition, I was thinking about Newton's third law, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. If the pendulum is heavier, it will swing higher than one that has less mass based on the equal and opposite reaction. I was correct in thinking that the heavier pendulum would take longer to come to a rest. I was, however, surprised by how long the largest washer took to come to a rest.
I thought using the same string, ruler, and nail went well in terms of keeping the variables consistent and only changing one variable, which was the three washers with different masses. What didn't go so well was that it was hard, if not impossible, to start the timer at the same time as I let go of the washer. This would have been easier to do with a partner to get my times more accurate. In addition, it was hard to hold the ruler in between my fingers on the kitchen counter without moving for so long. I tried to set it up differently so objects were holding the ruler up on the counter, but nothing seemed to work. I tried cans of V-8, books, full bottles of laundry detergent. The nail was too heavy and it would all fall forward. As I am writing this, I am thinking maybe, I should have tried a lighter nail!!!
To set this up for students, I think I would have them do the pendulum experiment based on mass similar to what I completed. To extend the experiment, I would have students use the same mass for the pendulum, but change the length of the string. I think to make the experiment engaging and fun, I would give students various objects and they would need to create a pendulum, similar to how our experiment was set up.
I would want students to learn that pendulums with less mass come to a rest faster than pendulums with a heavier mass.
Before conducting the experiment, I thought the largest washer would take the longest time to come to a rest. The reason why I thought this is because I thought the mass of the object would keep the momentum going longer. For example, it would take more energy and time to stop a freight train as opposed to stopping a motorcycle. In addition, I was thinking about Newton's third law, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. If the pendulum is heavier, it will swing higher than one that has less mass based on the equal and opposite reaction. I was correct in thinking that the heavier pendulum would take longer to come to a rest. I was, however, surprised by how long the largest washer took to come to a rest.
I thought using the same string, ruler, and nail went well in terms of keeping the variables consistent and only changing one variable, which was the three washers with different masses. What didn't go so well was that it was hard, if not impossible, to start the timer at the same time as I let go of the washer. This would have been easier to do with a partner to get my times more accurate. In addition, it was hard to hold the ruler in between my fingers on the kitchen counter without moving for so long. I tried to set it up differently so objects were holding the ruler up on the counter, but nothing seemed to work. I tried cans of V-8, books, full bottles of laundry detergent. The nail was too heavy and it would all fall forward. As I am writing this, I am thinking maybe, I should have tried a lighter nail!!!
To set this up for students, I think I would have them do the pendulum experiment based on mass similar to what I completed. To extend the experiment, I would have students use the same mass for the pendulum, but change the length of the string. I think to make the experiment engaging and fun, I would give students various objects and they would need to create a pendulum, similar to how our experiment was set up.
I would want students to learn that pendulums with less mass come to a rest faster than pendulums with a heavier mass.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Space and the Solar System Pre Assessment Lesson
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| This is an example of the pictures that students, in groups of four, are given to put in order from smallest to largest, nearest to farthest, and oldest to youngest. This was used as a pre assessment for our unit on Space and the Solar System. I wanted to become aware of any misconceptions about size, distance, and age that students had about the universe as well as activate prior knowledge. I always have a few students that have advanced knowledge because overall students are most interested and motivated about the topic of space. |
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| The next activity involves having students predict sizes and distances based on a two-inch scale. This helps students to visualize the sizes and distances spatially. The comparisons are made between the following: the Earth and the Moon, the Sun and the Earth, the Solar System and the Galaxy, the Galaxy and the Universe. For example, starting with the comparison between the Earth and the Moon, you hold up a two-inch Earth. Then ask students if the Earth was two inches, how big would the moon be at this scale? |
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| Here is an example of one group's work. This is the organizer where groups record their answers that place various objects from our universe in order based on size, distance, or age. In groups of four, students receive seven pictures that they will put in order. Each group comes to a a consensus on the order and should be able to explain why they choose the order that they did. They record this on the graphic organizer on your first idea. Then I use questioning prompts to guide students to a class consensus that is correct . This is the second idea where they record the order that the class came up with the teacher's guidance. |
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| All students complete a KWL chart so I can see where each student is on an individual basis. Students fill out the know and want to know at the beginning of the lesson. Then after activity one and two are completed, I have them fill out three new things that they learned. |
The lesson went really well. Based on the class discussions, group discussions, and completion of the KWL, I am able to move forward with my unit on Space in the Solar System with an idea of where students are. This was my main goal of the lesson. I now know which students are knowledgable on the concepts of size, distance, and age of objects in the Universe. I also know which students will need extra time or peer tutoring. I think students were positively influenced by the structured inquiry lesson because they were very enthusiastic and engaged and really liked the activity. This is not always the case in middle school science. I also noticed many of the KWL's had meaningful learned concepts in that column.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Polar Ice Caps Melting
What would happen if the polar ice caps melt?
Low lying areas such as the Florida Keys or Venice would be flooded and there would be property damage as well as migration of people and animals to higher ground. Another concern if the polar ice caps melt would be the threat to polar animals that depend on the environment to survive. Some species might become extinct or possibly some could adapt to a warmer climate.
Some Other Questions
1. What would happen to Greenland, a continent mostly covered in ice?
2. What can people do to prevent flooding in such places as Venice where there are many cultural treasures?
3. How far will the water level rise if all the polar ice caps melted?
Low lying areas such as the Florida Keys or Venice would be flooded and there would be property damage as well as migration of people and animals to higher ground. Another concern if the polar ice caps melt would be the threat to polar animals that depend on the environment to survive. Some species might become extinct or possibly some could adapt to a warmer climate.
Some Other Questions
1. What would happen to Greenland, a continent mostly covered in ice?
2. What can people do to prevent flooding in such places as Venice where there are many cultural treasures?
3. How far will the water level rise if all the polar ice caps melted?
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Week Two Reflection
The 8th grade concept that I used for my lesson template was Newton's three laws of motion. My anticipatory set was having the kids watch a Brain Pop on Isaac Newton and fill out a graphic organizer about Newton's life. Then students take a Brain Pop Quiz as a class. Then we went to ScienceSpot.com and took interactive notes on Newton's three laws. It includes moving examples that the kids enjoy. Check out the car that runs into the brick wall, that is their favorite.
Then I take out a tennis racket and a tennis ball. At this point, engagement is pretty high. Anytime I bring something from home that would not ordinarily be in a classroom, the kids get super excited wondering what I am going to do. Then I demonstrate Newton's three laws using motion, the tennis racket, and the tennis ball. I actually hit the ball towards students, they actually like this!
Students get into groups of 4 and they get to pick a piece of sports equipment from me. Each group gets a number from a hat that decides which order the groups get to pick. As a group they have to come up with movements from their sport that fit Newton's 1st, 2nd, and 3rd law. Then each group presents and the class gives them feedback in terms of did the movement they described fit the law they matched it up to.
Lastly and if there is time, I give each group a bag filled with miscellaneous objects. This time they have to use 4 of the objects together to demonstrate one of the laws. The group gets up, explains, and demonstrates the movement. When all groups have went, we vote on which group we liked the best.
I just did this lesson with my students a couple weeks ago. I debated on should I do a lesson I've already done this year or should I do one on the new unit we just started, Space and the Solar System. I have not seen the Five E's before this class. I like the template because it is specifically for teaching science successfully. It reminds you of all the components that you need to include to create an inquiry based lesson. We have a lesson plan template that we are required to follow at my school. It is not a good fit for science.
I was a little confused by the unifying themes in terms of where Newton's laws of motion fit in, but after I read them I put them where they made sense to me. This lesson template took me a lot longer than I thought it would.
Then I take out a tennis racket and a tennis ball. At this point, engagement is pretty high. Anytime I bring something from home that would not ordinarily be in a classroom, the kids get super excited wondering what I am going to do. Then I demonstrate Newton's three laws using motion, the tennis racket, and the tennis ball. I actually hit the ball towards students, they actually like this!
Students get into groups of 4 and they get to pick a piece of sports equipment from me. Each group gets a number from a hat that decides which order the groups get to pick. As a group they have to come up with movements from their sport that fit Newton's 1st, 2nd, and 3rd law. Then each group presents and the class gives them feedback in terms of did the movement they described fit the law they matched it up to.
Lastly and if there is time, I give each group a bag filled with miscellaneous objects. This time they have to use 4 of the objects together to demonstrate one of the laws. The group gets up, explains, and demonstrates the movement. When all groups have went, we vote on which group we liked the best.
I just did this lesson with my students a couple weeks ago. I debated on should I do a lesson I've already done this year or should I do one on the new unit we just started, Space and the Solar System. I have not seen the Five E's before this class. I like the template because it is specifically for teaching science successfully. It reminds you of all the components that you need to include to create an inquiry based lesson. We have a lesson plan template that we are required to follow at my school. It is not a good fit for science.
I was a little confused by the unifying themes in terms of where Newton's laws of motion fit in, but after I read them I put them where they made sense to me. This lesson template took me a lot longer than I thought it would.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
3-10-11
I am excited to have started this blog. This is new for me. My sister in law is getting her PHD from Columbia University and I know that she has to blog as part of some of her classes.
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