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Book Chapter
Discovering Sand and Sand Paintings
This activity blends social studies and art with math and science. First, students will explore the visible characteristics of sand, and then they will make Navajo-style sand paintings with paper, glue, and colored sand. In the process, they will hon...
Book Chapter
Heat Exchange in Air, Water, and Soil
The Earth is composed, at least at the surface, of soil/rock, water, and air. How do the heat exchange properties of these three very different substances compare, and what effect, if any, do they have on climate and weather? This activity represents...
Book Chapter
Developing a Model of the Earth’s Inner Structure
How much do your students know about the Earth’s interior? This activity will provide them with a hands-on experience, as well as with appropriate terms and concepts. Students discover what makes a good model as they first choose a fruit or vegetab...
Book Chapter
Investigating Perception and Illusion
For a motivating and baffling experience, try this investigation of perceptual illusions and their causes. It allows students to observe, analyze, and compare a variety of optical illusions, and also to create their own optical illusions with pencil,...
Book Chapter
Determining the Relationship Between Height and Hand Length
For a motivating and baffling experience, try this investigation of perceptual illusions and their causes. It allows students to observe, analyze, and compare a variety of optical illusions, and also to create their own optical illusions with pencil,...
Book Chapter
Exploring Cellular Shape Using Area
In this activity, students are challenged to maximize the area enclosed within the limited perimeter of a string “cell membrane,” using area formulas as they do so. This is an open-ended activity that will challenge groups of students to apply ma...
Book Chapter
Surveying Science and Mathematics on the Internet
In this activity, students will explore the internet for interesting science and mathematics websites. They will be guided by an activity sheet as they identify, summarize, analyze, reflect on, and compare websites. After reviewing their sites, stude...
Book Chapter
Please Pass the Pollen: Flowering Plants, Pollination, and Insect Pollinators
This high-interest activity provides an opportunity for students to learn more about the natural world while they hone their investigatory skills. In the activity, student groups investigate pollination, insect behavior, and flower structure. They wi...
Book Chapter
Examining Current Events in Science, Mathematics, and Technology
The national standards in science and mathematics call for these subjects to be taught from personal and social perspectives, thus strengthening students’ decision-making skills. Preeminent science educator Paul DeHart Hurd called for “a curricul...
Book Chapter
This activity is an exciting and highly interactive opportunity for students to exercise their creativity and design skills. Working in cooperative groups, students are challenged to explore the geometry of tower design and construction, first by exp...
Book Chapter
Designing and Constructing a Load-Bearing Structure
We rely on many structures to bear loads. Examples such as bridges, chairs, shelves, tall buildings, and even our own legs must support weight consistently and effectively. But where do the human-designed examples come from? Who designs these structu...
Book Chapter
Investigating the Pinhole Camera and Camera Obscura
In this activity, students explore the nature of light, including the fact that it travels in straight lines, by building and using two visual tools. The first is a simple pinhole camera—a box with a pinhole opening. The second is a camera obscura�...
Book Chapter
Recording Images Using a Simple Pinhole Camera
In this lesson, students develop and expand their observational skills and technological understanding by building and operating a pinhole camera. The interdisciplinary connections are in the realm of application in this motivating activity. The less...
Book Chapter
We see, use, and enjoy levers daily—in the operation of pliers, the action of a seesaw, or the beauty of an Alexander Calder mobile. In fact, parts of the human body are levers; think of the knee, elbow, and other joints as fulcrums, and the long b...
Book Chapter
This activity involves an exploration of density. Why does oil float on water? How does drain cleaner sink down into the clogged pipe right through standing water? These questions will be answered as students make a layered “parfait” of colored l...