Weathering

The lesson that I taught was about weathering. Then students observed the physical characteristics of a piece of chalk and small container of water. The students then placed the chalk the container. They place the lid on the container and shook the container for a total of four minutes. The students then made an observation of the chalk and water’s physical appearance. We discussed the changes that occurred to the chalk and water. Then they were instructed to answers follow-up questions that related to the activity.The use of my model worked great for me as well as my students. The triumphs of the lesson were that my students were engaged during the lesson and made a connection to how models assist scientists learn about the world around them. The challenge of the lesson was that students were not able to answer all of the follow-up questions with out assistance. Students had a difficult time explaining how the model was similar and different to the actual process. I know with more exposure to models, my students will eventually be able to explain the similarities and differences between models and what they represent.

Natural Disasters

I think that the best way to develop scientifically-literate and compassionate students is by exposing them to events that has occurred in the past, present and possible events of the future. When I teach my students about processes that shape the Earth, I have my students do research about natural disasters. Students research the cause of the disaster, the devastation that it caused and how they can help the survivors. My students are able to make connections with the information that they are learning because I connect their research to events that have occurred in their life time.

My students learn about community organizations that assist victims after a disaster when they complete their research on natural disaster. My students learn that they are not too small to help someone who is less fortunate than them. After the earthquake that devastated Haiti in 2010, my school partnered with a local organization to collect clothes for the survivors of the quake. Students brought in new and old clothes to send to the survivors of the earthquake. They were able to help children thousands of miles away by giving some of what they had to others that did not have.

Ask A Scientist

There has been no response to the question that I posted.

Web 2.0 Tools

Technology is a component that I am working on infusing in my lessons. I do have a Smart board in my room which is great for my students and me to use during lessons. However, I want my students to be aware of the technology that they can use to present projects, homework and create things for themselves.

The two Web 2.0 tools that I viewed were Google sites and Prezi. To create a presentation using Google sites you can either upload an exiting presentation from Microsoft PowerPoint or create one on line. There was a great tutorial of step by step directions to create a presentation. There is no fee for using Google sites and it is accessible form answer that has Internet. You can add videos, pictures to your presentation, however the site is not yet compatible with Microsoft PowerPoint 2007. It is a reliable tool to use because your work will be stored online, unless of course someone hacks into the system.

Prezi is the second tool that I viewed. Just like Google sites it is also reliable and can be accessed from anywhere that has an Internet connection. you can also add pictures or videos to your presentation. The tutorial gives great step by step directions and offers examples of presentations that were previously created. The cost of use for Prezi varies from free to about $6.00 dollars a month. Once you view the tutorial, Prezi is very easy to use.

I personal like Prezi and will be using it for the class project. I think it will grab students' attention because the set up is different from PowerPoint presentation. I like the fact that it is one page and page is structured based on the creator's vision. If you are use to using PowerPoint I think that Prezi will be a great way for yo to step outside of the box and explore a new way of doing Presentations.

21st-Century Topics and Tools

The specific area of physical science that I selected was Energy. The most powerful web addresses that I found were as follows:

 http://www.getintoenergy.com/  

 http://www.ferc.gov/students/index.htm

I think that these tools will help my students in becoming scientifically literate students because offers students great resources, interaction and background knowledge on the different careers available in energy. The get in to energy website has videos that describe different carriers in the energy field. It also has interactive games that that relate to a specific job in the energy industry. It also provides students with great background knowledge and various resources that they can use to find out more information about energy. It also list contest that students can participate in which will allow them to share information that they gather for their activity.  One of the websites that I researched gave a great lesson on that I could implement in my classroom along with utilizing the get into energy website. The lesson covers the different forms of energy, energy transformation and the flow of energy in a system. When students are finished with the various stations, I would have them view the videos on the get into energy website. They would then have to identify the career that they found most interesting and explain why they would venture into that career. These tools would help students stay engaged in the activity because the tools are interactive and  student friendly.

Here are some other websites that found to be interesting:

http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/links/index.php?pagetype=energyed#energy

http://www.energy.gov/sciencetech/workforcedev.htm

http://www.need.org/needhopdf/Science%20of%20Energy.pdf

http://www.thegateway.org/

http://www.ferc.gov/careers/why-ferc.asp

http://www.uwsp.edu/cnr/wcee/keep/StudentInvolvement/EnergyCareers/career.htm

http://www.getwise.org/

http://www.energyhog.org/

http://www.ferc.gov/students/index.htm

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/kids/

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=kids.kids_index

Exploring Heat Transfer

     

The materials I selected to test in this experiment were aluminum foil, a face cloth, construction paper and cardboard. I hypothesized that the cardboard would be the best insulator because it is thicker than the other materials being tested. I believe that the thickness of the cardboard will cause it to trap the heat in the cup and allow the water to stay hot the longest.          After allowing the hot water to remain in each cup for thirty minutes, I checked the temperature in each cup and realized that my hypothesis was wrong the material that served as the best insulator was the face cloth.

            If I were to do this experiment with my fifth grade students I would definitely complete it in a whole group setting. Allowing my students to work with boiling hot water would cause some safety issues. To prevent my students from being injured I would conduct the experiment and allow my students to watch, ask and answer questions.

             Other items that I could test would be hot chocolate, pudding or oatmeal. I think that solid substances will stay hotter longer than liquids because the particles in solids are closely packed which will cause the heat to stay in the substance longer.

            I would want my students to learn that certain materials insulates heat better that others. The type of material that they select to store hot chocolate will affect how long the hot chocolate stays hot. I also want them to make connections about how insulators are used in their homes, clothing and other materials that they use in their daily lives.

How does the steepness of a slope and mass affect a collision outcome?

I used a composition book as the ramp, text books for the height of the slope, square counters from the math kit as the collision objects, four quarters to increase the mass of the car, a ruler to measure distance and the yellow car from the activity kit provided. First I place the composition book on a textbook to create the ramp. I then mark a line about five inches away from the bottom of the ramp. I then placed the square math counters on the line in stacks of two. Next I placed the yellow car to the top of the ramp and released the car. I measure the distance that the square counters moved and recorded my data. After that, I stacked two textbooks on top of each other to increase the slope of the ramp. Then I taped four quarters on the top of the car to increase the mass of the car. I repeated the same steps that I completed with the yellow car without the quarters.

My results were as follows:

car without quarters (slope 1.5 inches)

1^st trial 3.25inches, 2^nd trial 3.25 inches and 3^rd trial 3.25 inches

car with 4 quarters (slope 1.5 inches)

1^st trial 6.25 inches, 2^nd trial 7.0 inches and 3^rd trial 6 inches

car without quarters (slope 3.75 inches)

1^st trial 4.25 inches, 2^nd trial 6.25 inches and 3^rd trial 6.75 inches

car with 4 quarters (slope 3.75 inches)

1st trial 7.25 inches, 2^nd trial 12.0 inches, 3^rd trial 11.0 inches

The results supported my hypothesis. I thought that the mass and steepness of the slope would affect the outcome of the collision. In the activity the car with quarters pushed the squares the further than the car without the quarters. When the car traveled down the slope of 3.75 inches it pushed the squares further than when it traveled down the slope of 1.5 inches.

            The only challenged that I faced when completing this activity was figuring out the amount of counters to use. First I used one counter and it worked fine when I use one textbook. When I added the quarters to the car it ran over the math counters, so I decided to use two counters and stack them one on top of the other. I redid the experiment form the beginning and collected new data. I was able to successfully complete the activity using the stacked counters.

            To get a different outcome I could change the weight of the object at the bottom of the ramp or I could conduct the experiment on a different surface. I could also change the distance of the object at the bottom of the ramp.  

            I could set up the same experiment that I completed for my students the only difference will be that I provide them with the procedures to follow when completing the experiment. The fact that the students get to use toy cars will definitely grab their interest. The activity will be relevant to their lives because they will learn that the speed and mass of vehicle determines the impact of collision in an accident.

Inquiry Lesson

In the samples students are exploring with the skewer and balloon. Students are trying to find a way to puncture the balloon without popping it. In the written work students recorded the procedures they took to puncture the balloon with out popping it, the amount of trials, objects that are made with polymers and a brief descripion of each trial and an answer to one of the questions asked after puncturing the balloon. Their learning was positively ifluenced by structured inquiry becasue they were engaged through out the whole lesson and were able to demonstrate their understanding of using the scientific method to solve a problem.

Melting Ice Caps

If the polar caps were to melt I think it would cause flooding in the regions where polar ice caps are located. Animals and people that reside in the region where polar ice are located will also be affected. Animals will lose their habitats which will cause them to find a new habitat or become extinct. The surrounding land will be affected because the excess amounts of water may cause erosion of soil, which will hinder farmers from growing crops and herbivores from receiving the energy they needs to survive. The only question that I have is the following: Does air pollution have any affect on the rate at which the polar ice caps are melting?

5E's Strategy

The 5E’s Strategy was helpful for creating my lesson. It was a little confusing for me at first because I have never implemented that strategy in my lesson plans. The process was very different from how I plan my lessons because the lesson plans that I use in my classroom are credit by science department. The lesson plans that I use does incorporated some of the 5E’s strategy. The issue that I need to address is differentiating instruction for my diverse learners. This is a problem for me because 95% of my students have no background knowledge in science.  So unlike reading and math, my students are not at different levels of science. They are all for the most part entering my class with little or no science background. However I still make a priority to monitor my ELL and ESE students to ensure that they comprehend the concepts that are being taught in class.

Elementary Science

Students will not master the strands that are being taught in school unless teachers help students develop a love for science.