By admin
Posted on 2012-05-21
Polyethelene. Most people would be hard pressed to NOT to have some in their possession at any given moment. This chance discovery has completely revolutionized the “stuff” in our lives over the last 65 years. Let students discover how by using the assets in this lesson package, part of the “Chemistry Now” series created by the partnership of NBC Learn, NSF, and NSTA.
Use the video Chance Discoveries: Polyethylene in your chemistry or physical science course when discussing monomers and polymers. Or use it along with the other videos and materials in the package to spark debates in your environmental science class or emphasize the history of science. One video on the Pacific garbage patch that first aired in 2007 provides background for 2012 news releases on the same subject.
And don’t forget your teammates and colleagues in other disciplines. With plastic’s connection to the economics of WWII, develop a cross-curricular project using these assets as a springboard.
However you decide to incorporate them in your instruction, let us know how it worked out!
—Judy Elgin Jensen
Photo of art installation made of plastic collected on beaches near Nye Beach, Oregon by Maureen Moca.
Video: “Chance Discoveries: Polyethylene,” tells how three different chemists in two countries over more than 30 years happened to make a white, waxy substance during lab experiments that, once recognized as potentially useful and developed, became polyethylene—the most common plastic in the world.
Video: In the news report “Water Fight: bottled vs. Tap,” environmentalists urge people to drink tap water from refillable containers instead of disposable plastic bottles.
Video: In the news report “In the Bag: Are Paper or Plastic Bags Better for the Environment?” the pros and cons of each are described.
Video: The news report “Discarded: Nondegradable Plastic a Hazard to Marine Life” describes the so-called Pacific garbage dump and the impact of discarded and nondegradable plastics on marine life.
Video: The 1945 General Electric filmstrip “The Kingdom of Plastics” uses the graphics and descriptions of the day to explain the chemistry of plastics and their importance in WWII and the future.
Middle school lesson: This lesson guides students in making their own polymers.
High school lesson: In this lesson, students conduct an investigation about polymers.
You can use the following form to e-mail us edited versions of the lesson plans:
[contact-form 2 “ChemNow]
Polyethelene. Most people would be hard pressed to NOT to have some in their possession at any given moment. This chance discovery has completely revolutionized the “stuff” in our lives over the last 65 years.
By admin
Posted on 2012-05-17
You’re the goalie. You’re padded down in an extra 10 kg of gear. You know the puck is “over there” somewhere. Then you catch it with your eye, screaming at you from the blue line. But before you really see it, your arm is already moving your glove into position. SMACK!!! The frozen hunk of rubber hits your glove. SAVE!!!
While reaction time is critical in many sports, defending the goal from a puck speeding toward you at 120 kph or more requires especially quick reflexes. NHL goalies have lots of equipment designed to help stop pucks, but their most valuable tool is their brain. Use this lesson package, developed by NBC Learn in partnership with NSTA and NSF to heighten students’ understanding of reflexes as they explore their own.
Remember, after you view the video and use the lessons, we’d love to hear from you about how they worked.
—Judy Elgin Jensen
Photo of goalie in action by Les Stockton
Video: “Reflexes & Reaction Time” explains what sparks the nerve impulses that travel to the limbs, allowing the goalie to see and react quickly enough to make a save.
Middle school lesson: In this lesson, students explore reflexes and other stimulus-response reactions and design and investigate reflex reaction time.
High school lesson: In this lesson, students investigate reaction time and hypothesize how distractions impact their results.
You can use the following form to e-mail us edited versions of the lesson plans:
[contact-form 2 “ChemNow]
You’re the goalie. You’re padded down in an extra 10 kg of gear. You know the puck is “over there” somewhere. Then you catch it with your eye, screaming at you from the blue line. But before you really see it, your arm is already moving your glove into position. SMACK!!! The frozen hunk of rubber hits your glove. SAVE!!!
By Mary Bigelow
Posted on 2012-05-15
Studying Science Teaching and Learning Through Drawings
I came across this fascinating study via a tweet the other day. I read many traditional research studies (both quantitative and qualitative) but this one caught my attention because it used drawings as a way of communicating and data collecting. According to the authors (a team form the University of Maryland and other institutions), the study examines “how the science teaching identity of the teacher interns/teachers changed over time” based on their internship experiences. Rather than a traditional questionnaire or observations, this study used drawings as evidence, along with interviews and written responses. Periodically through the study, the teacher-participants responded to two prompts: Draw Yourself Teaching Science and Draw Your Students Learning Science.
The methodology and the scoring rubric are provided. What’s really interesting are the examples of drawings at the rubric levels and how they represent different levels of the teacher’s self-image and reflections on the teaching and learning processes and the roles of teachers and students in these processes.
Another part of the website is the section for “Educators” with ideas on how the process can be used for lesson plans, action research, and professional development.
This project focused on teaching and learning in science. You may already be familiar with instruments in which students draw pictures to represent their conceptions and misconceptions about scientists and their work: Draw a Scientist Test (Wikipedia description), Who’s the Scientist, The Scientists and Artist in All.
Graphic: http://drawntoscience.org/index.html
By admin
Posted on 2012-05-15
NHL hockey is a game of numbers—statistics that is. Fans may cheer on a team because of where they’re from, their team mascot, or the atmosphere of the stadium. Fans may like a certain player because of how hard he hits, how fast he skates, or how cute he is. But until you delve into the statistics of the players and the team overall, it’s impossible to tell who’s better.
Statistics are one way scientists, and hockey fans, can be objective about their conclusions. The numbers don’t lie. Unless, of course, you happen to have the same opinion as Mark Twain, who in his autobiography noted that there are “lies, damned lies, and statistics.”
One thing that’s not a lie is the excitement this series of lesson packages will bring to your instruction! Although we have no statistics to back that up, take our word for it. For sure, NSTA, NBC Learn, and NSF wouldn’t lie to you. Get together with your team or colleagues in other departments and use The Science of NHL Hockey as a focus for end-of-year projects that can be independent of the dates you have to turn in textbooks and library access. Remember, the Stanley Cup playoffs are in full swing during May every year. Plenty of statistics to work with there!
—Judy Elgin Jensen
Photo of NHL infographic by Darren Barefoot.
Video: “Statistics & Averages” shows that being a top goalie in the NHL takes more than quick reflexes and nerves of steel, it also requires a firm grip on the numbers—namely, the key averages and statistics of goaltending.
Middle school lesson: In this lesson, students explore numerical and nonnumerical data and design an investigation to find out more.
High school lesson: In this lesson, students will design and carry out an investigation to collect a set of data and find the mean, median, mode, and range of a set of data.
You can use the following form to e-mail us edited versions of the lesson plans:
[contact-form 2 “ChemNow]
NHL hockey is a game of numbers—statistics that is. Fans may cheer on a team because of where they’re from, their team mascot, or the atmosphere of the stadium. Fans may like a certain player because of how hard he hits, how fast he skates, or how cute he is. But until you delve into the statistics of the players and the team overall, it’s impossible to tell who’s better.
By admin
Posted on 2012-05-14
Think autumn leaves.
OK, sing along now … The falling leeeeaves drift by the windoooow. The autumn leeeeaves of red and goooold …
OK, maybe not!
Instead, explore why the autumn leaves are red and gold. Use the video Chemistry of Changing Leaves as an introduction to plant leaves and pigments or to connect life and space science in a discussion of Earth’s seasons. The video is just one of the “Chemistry Now” series, in which NSTA and NBC Learn have teamed with NSF to create lessons related to common objects in our world and the changes they undergo every day.
Other videos in this NBC Learn collection (linked below) include a 21st Century Chemist profile and historical and modern NBC News profiles on plant research and Sweden’s goal to become fossil fuel free by 2020. After you view the videos and try the lessons, please leave comments below each posting about how well the materials worked in real-world classrooms.
And if you can’t get those first two lines of that song out of your head, do an Internet search for Nat King Cole Autumn Leaves … smoooooooth!
—Judy Elgin Jensen
Photo of autumn leaves in Dundee, New York by Barbara Miers
Video: “Chemistry of Changing Leaves,” explains the role of the pigment molecule chlorophyll when tree foliage in northern areas changes in autumn from green to shades of yellow, orange and red.
Video: In this 21st Century Chemist profile, “”Green” NC State Chemist Looks for Cleaner, Safer Fuel Process,” North Carolina State University chemist Dr. Elon Ison explains his research on catalysts that could be used to make alternative fuels.
Middle school lesson: This lesson guides students in observing pigments in leaves.
High school lesson: In this lesson, students conduct a chromatography investigation using leaf pigments.
You can use the following form to e-mail us edited versions of the lesson plans:
[contact-form 2 “ChemNow]
Think autumn leaves.
OK, sing along now … The falling leeeeaves drift by the windoooow. The autumn leeeeaves of red and goooold …
OK, maybe not!
By Peggy Ashbrook
Posted on 2012-05-12
In our mid-Atlantic spring we can have temperatures in the 50s or in the 80s, rain or shine. The activities the children have been involved in center around the weather.
We planted peas and radishes, measured their growth, examined the pea flowers, and are waiting for the harvest. The radishes may be too spicy for many children’s taste so they will say “I don’t like it yet” but most will enjoy the slightly sweet crunch of a sugar snap pea pod. Always check for allergies—it is surprising how many plants can be a problem for one or more children.
This spring there was a large broccolis plant that had grown all winter long and produced many seed pods. When it was dry I brought it into the classroom and the children used scissors to cut it apart, opening the pods to see the seeds.
Books to go with planting seeds or gardening, an incomplete list because there are too many worthy books to list them all:
A traditional call and response song, such as “John the Rabbit: or “Ol’ John Rabbit” which can be heard on Mike and Peggy Seeger’s American Folksongs for Children
Oh, John the rabbit yes, ma’am
Had a mighty bad habit yes, ma’am
Of jumpin’ in my garden yes, ma’am
And eating my peas yes, ma’am
He ate my tomatoes yes, ma’am
and my sweet potatoes yes, ma’am
And if I live yes, ma’am
To see next fall yes, ma’am
Maybe I won’t yes, ma’am
Garden at all! Yes, ma’am!
The amount of rain that falls can be measured in inches that accumulate in any container with nearly straight sides. We switched to a “real” scientific rain gauge because it has numbers on it already and can easily attach to a post. The children draw in the amount of collected rain on a template and compare it to previous days. They are beginning to connect the presence of low grey clouds with rain. This younger sibling is lucky to have a parent who knows puddle-stomping experience is more important than muddy clothes (and to have another pair of shoes at home).
Books: again, an incomplete list because there are too many worthy books to list them all.
I brought “laundry” to school for the children to wash on a hot day. When the laundry was dry we talked about where the water went. When one child said, “It went away,” I asked, “Where could it have gone?” Evaporation is a concept that the children will understand better once they begin to learn about atoms.
While we’re outside observing clouds and tending the plants, children often find “bugs” and other small creatures. We go looking for more little animals. Be aware that entomologists group only some insects in the “true bugs” category.
You can write your own version of “Going on a Bug Hunt.”
We’re Going On A Bug Hunt
(Adapted from Michael Rosen’s version of a traditional chant. Children repeat every line after the teacher.)
We’re going on a bug hunt,
We’re gonna catch a big one,
What a beautiful day,
We’re not scared.
Oh oh!
Grass,
Long, wavy, grass.
We can’t go over it,
We can’t go under it,
We’ve gotta go through it!
Swishy swashy, swishy swashy.
Look, it’s a grasshopper!
We’re going on a bug hunt,
We’re gonna catch a big one,
What a beautiful day,
We’re not scared.
Oh oh!
Mud,
Thick, oozy mud.
We can’t go over it,
We can’t go under it,
We’ve gotta go through it!
Squelch squelch, squelch squelch
Look, it’s a mayfly nymph!
We’re going on a bug hunt,
We’re gonna catch a big one,
What a beautiful day,
We’re not scared.
Oh oh!
A river,
A deep, cold river.
We can’t go over it,
We can’t go under it,
We’ve gotta go through it!
Splish splosh, splish splosh.
Look, it’s a dragonfly!
We’re going on a bug hunt,
We’re gonna catch a big one,
What a beautiful day,
We’re not scared.
Oh oh!
A forest,
A big, dark forest.
We can’t go over it,
We can’t go under it,
We’ve gotta go through it!
Stumble trip, stumble trip.
Look, it’s a jumping spider!
We’re going on a bug hunt,
We’re gonna catch a big one,
What a beautiful day,
We’re not scared.
Oh oh!
A cave,
A cool, dark cave.
We can’t go over it,
We can’t go under it,
We’ve gotta go through it!
Tiptoe, tiptoe.
Look, it’s a cave cricket!
We’re going on a bug hunt,
We’re gonna catch a big one,
What a beautiful day,
We’re not scared.
Oh oh!
A neighborhood,
A grassy, tree-filled neighborhood.
We can’t go over it,
We can’t go under it,
We’ve gotta go through it!
Skippetty, skip, skip.
Look, it’s a wooly BEAR (caterpillar of the Isabella Tiger Moth)
(Say this section very quickly.)
OH NO IT’S A BEAR!!!
Quick!
Through the cave, tiptoe, tiptoe,
Through the forest, stumble trip, stumble trip,
Through the river, splish splosh, splish spolosh,
Through the mud, squelch squelch, squelch squelch,
Through the grass, swishy swashy, swishy swashy.
Through the neighborhood, skippetty, skip, skip.
Run to the house, run up the stairs,
Oh oh forgot to shut the door!
Run back downstairs, shut the door,
Run back up, to the bedroom,
Jump into bed, pull up the covers,
WE ARE NEVER GOING ON A BUG HUNT AGAIN!!
WAIT! It was a wooly bear, a moth caterpillar, not a big bear!
(You can listen to a sample of Lorraine Bayes saying the traditional chant at Songs For Teaching.)
Books, an incomplete list, to pair with searching for small animals such as insects, spiders, and roly-polies.
I hope that spring weather has provided new science exploration opportunities for your students,
Peggy
In our mid-Atlantic spring we can have temperatures in the 50s or in the 80s, rain or shine. The activities the children have been involved in center around the weather.
By admin
Posted on 2012-05-11
Tired of discussing projectile motion in terms of bullets and cannonballs? Launch into the Science of NHL Hockey, where hockey pucks follow the same parabolic path as they shoot through the air and fall into the back corner of the goal, just out of the goalie’s reach. A phantom-cam captures the spinning puck at 10,000 frames per second, or about 160 times faster than the human eye can see. Don’t blink or you’ll miss it!
Projectile Motion is one of ten lesson packages developed by NBC Learn, in partnership with NSF and NSTA. Show the Science of NHL Hockey video Newton’s Three Laws of Motion as a “bell-ringer” to remind students of why objects move as they do. Then scoot them right into Projectile Motion. THEN, let us know what you think!
—Judy Elgin Jensen
Sledge hockey player preparing for a wrist shot by Mariska Richters
Video:
“Projectile Motion” shows how a wrist shot is a perfect example of the phenomenon, as well as describing angular and linear motion.
Middle school lesson: In this lesson, students explore two dimensional motion, linear and angular velocity, and a projectile’s path.
High school lesson: In this lesson, students design and carry out investigations about two dimensional motion, linear and angular velocity, and projectile motion.
You can use the following form to e-mail us edited versions of the lesson plans:
[contact-form 2 “ChemNow]
Tired of discussing projectile motion in terms of bullets and cannonballs? Launch into the Science of NHL Hockey, where hockey pucks follow the same parabolic path as they shoot through the air and fall into the back corner of the goal, just out of the goalie’s reach. A phantom-cam captures the spinning puck at 10,000 frames per second, or about 160 times faster than the human eye can see.
By admin
Posted on 2012-05-10
The Sylvia Shugrue Award for Elementary school teachers honors one elementary school teacher who creates and makes use of interdisciplinary, inquiry-based lesson plans. To qualify, teachers submit a lesson plan with fully referenced sources of information and any relevant National Science Education Standards and benchmarks found in The Atlas of Science Literacy. Since the award’s debut in 2007, NSTA has recognized six teachers (we made two awards the first year… the submissions were THAT good). We haven’t posted the lesson plans, however, so this post is an effort to rectify that shortcoming. Please click through and have a look at the winning entries, and let us know what you think in the comments area below.
2007 Winners
Jennifer Sinsel
Fifth-Grade Science Teacher
Wichita Collegiate School
Wichita, Kansas
In Sinsel’s Smart Consumers unit, students investigate the quality of household products through hands-on activities and inquiry projects that allow them to apply the concepts and skills about which they are learning. Sinsel then works with her colleagues to create interdisciplinary connections that fulfill standards in other subjects. Her students write a Consumer Reports-style article in language arts class, for example, and create spreadsheets in math class. Her principal writes, “Jennifer does all the extra projects and discovery activities that students crave…As soon as she gets one project perfected, it becomes part of the curriculum, and she immediately begins to create the next unit.”
Have a look at Sinsel’s winning lesson plan, which looks at examples of the marketing messages kids see when they watch television, and how teachers can use the tube to spark scientific inquiry in the classroom.
Peggy Carlisle
Open Doors Teacher
Pecan Park Elementary School
Jackson, Mississippi
In her Open Doors program, Carlisle brings science to life for her inner-city students through hands-on, inquiry-based activities and with funding from the many grants she has received. She uses her classroom as a haven for many fascinating creatures housed in aquariums and terrariums; students are able to observe snails, chameleons, and other wonders of nature that also motivate them to read and write about the science they are learning. Interwoven in their studies have been poems to recite and create, figurines to mold, books to publish, and amazing facts and trivia to impress parents with. “There is not a child who leaves her classroom without a love of science,” says a colleague. “It is no surprise that some of her fourth-grade students’ writing scores are among the highest in the district.”
Carlisle’s winning lesson plan looks at the structures of aquatic creatures.
2008
Jennifer Thompson
K-1 Science Teacher
Gastineau Elementary School
Juneau, Alaska
Thompson created Ramps and Marbles: An Inquiry Into the Physics of Motion for Young Children, an interdisciplinary unit that introduces science process skills to young students. Students construct ramps on which they roll marbles; they make predictions, discussion them with other students, write about and draw pictures of their observations, and count marble rolls. This unit succeeds in exciting students about learning physical science because Thompson “puts the best into practice in her classroom,” observes her principal.
Thompson’s winning lesson explores the physics of motion with an inquiry activity using ramps and marbles. It includes examples of student work.
2009
Richard Tabor
Amerman Elementary School
Northville, Michigan
Tabor encourages young scientists to apply process skills to learn through discovery and experimentation. He designed a Solar Sprint activity to challenge them to consider multiple variables, integrate math, and develop technological applications. He has presented workshops to colleagues at his school and to teachers from several educational organizations and shared his ideas through state and national publications.
In Tabor’s winning lesson, students design and build their own solar powered LEGO cars, the goal being to design the most efficient car.
2010
Cathy Kindem
Cedar Park STEM Elementary School
Apple Valley, Minnesota
Kindem’s leadership has not only inspired the students to be engaged in science learning, but the work classroom teachers do with science has been transformed. Her work has provided the staff with the content, teaching strategies and most importantly the willingness to be innovative. Kindem has convinced classroom teachers that it is beneficial to go beyond the “boxed” curriculum and to move students’ understanding to important science concepts. She is leading the way for successful implementation of the new standards for not only her school, but for the district and the state.
Here is Kindem’s winning lesson, which examines the types of plants living in the gardens and how they are alike and differ.
2011
Melissa Collins
John P. Freeman Optional School
Memphis,Tennessee
Elementary teacher
A Presidential Awardee and National Board-certified teacher, Collins has served on or spearheaded committees to engage parents and community members, so they can learn from and assist with experiments, evaluate students’ work, and share their expertise. She helped develop a “night out with science and math” and hosted a health fair at her school. She also created a Physics Carnival that has helped many disadvantaged students understand the physics of carnival rides.
She provides her students with field experiences; for example, when learning about sound, she arranged for her students to interview a musician. She encourages her students to think of themselves as scientists and ensures that they understand safety regulations.
Her principal says she “motivates K-8 students to participate in science fairs, plant gardens, and take nature walks to observe living and nonliving things. She takes the initiative to ensure students’ success.”
Have a look at Collins’ winning lesson and some examples of student work. In the course of the lesson, students are expected to create an instrument that produces a sound. The instruments will be: a tambourine, sand blocks, maracas, a drum, and a guitar. To motivate students, they can bring items from home.
2012
Sergio de Alba
RM Miano Elementary School
Los Banos, California
Elementary teacher
De Alba has received many awards, including the Amgen Award for Science Teaching Excellence and the Entomological Society of America Foundation President’s Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Primary Education. His love for science has inspired him to create schoolwide programs that help students succeed in school and in life. For example, his inquiry-based Arachnid Mania research program has enabled thousands of students to learn the science behind arachnids. His Outdoor Science Lab Gardens provide students of all grade levels with hands-on lessons on plant science, history, math, and language arts. And his “Doctor Is In” club affords the school’s top science students a vision of a future in medicine.
“His extraordinary drive and dedication to the success of the youth of Los Banos is unparalleled,” declares his principal. By the end of his first year at his school, “he was able to raise the $35,000 required to create the first of his 12 outdoor science labs and had singlehandedly developed a research program that inspired 15 teachers to adopt…Though our district does not have the budget to pay him for his extra efforts, he has maintained and continues his programs because he believes in what he is doing. Throughout the years, he has found great success with getting local businesses to help his causes. He has won many grants that have helped to create the infrastructure of his programs, and when other funds are needed, he pays for many things out of his own pocket.”
Give de Alba’s lesson a try. It also includes some samples of student work, through which students show a basic foundation of how plants change (adapt) to increase their chances of survival and continued success.
The Sylvia Shugrue Award for Elementary school teachers honors one elementary school teacher who creates and makes use of interdisciplinary, inquiry-based lesson plans. To qualify, teachers submit a lesson plan with fully referenced sources of information and any relevant National Science Education Standards and benchmarks found in The Atlas of Science Literacy. Since the award’s debut in 2007, NSTA has recognized six teachers (we made two awards the first year… the submissions were THAT good).