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Manipulating Contents & Containers, and representing 3-D objects in block play

By Peggy Ashbrook

Posted on 2016-07-29

It is so fascinating how obvious it is that children have different prior experiences, different developmental ages, and different interests when we teachers present them with a set of materials and don’t ask them to use them in a particular way! This post is a reflection on how two different sets of objects are used by preschool children ages 3-5 years. The experiences I describe are just the beginning of explorations into the relationship between “contents” and “containers,” and the way 2-D materials can represent 3-D structures.

Contents and containers

I had the pleasure of working with two classrooms on building with a variety of materials, a class of young-to-old three-year-olds and a mixed age classroom of just-four-year-olds to older five-year-olds. We teachers provided a set of “contents and containers” to both classes, inspired by presentations by Dr. Rosemary Geiken and Dr. Jill Uhlenberg (Geiken 2009).

The contents we used were balls of different sizes, film canisters, cotton balls, and lids from various jars and bottles. The containers were made-for-food-storage plastic tubs, recyclable oatmeal/coffee canisters and cans, plastic netting from fruit, plastic cups, and sections of drainage tubes. I chose these objects because they were easy to access and could fit together in more than one way. Our purpose was to observe the children to understand more about what interests them and their approach to new materials.

In both classrooms there was a variety of approaches: some children collected as many of the “contents” as they were able to, many explored the way the contents fit into the various containers and how the containers could open and close, some tried making a system to move the contents into and between the containers, and others used the objects to make sounds or as part of imaginative play. They encountered problems to struggle with and sometimes solve: there wasn’t enough room in the container for all the collected contents, an object got stuck inside a container, two containers got stuck together, and there weren’t enough of the coveted objects to satisfy all who wanted them.

We could see which children needed support to persist, and were able to use open-ended prompts (statements from teachers) to support children in trying alternative solutions. Over the weeks of using the materials the children began using them with other classroom materials, finding new purposes for both contents and containers, and new problems to solve. Beginning with a set of materials that could be used in many ways allowed us to really see what developed, because we didn’t have an expectation of how the children should use them. The play that sprang forth reminded me of the play that happens in workshops by Dr. Walter Drew (see video examples) and his work with co-authors Dr. Marcia Nell and Dr. Baji Rankin.

Using 2-D shapes to represent 3-D structures

When we do ask children to use materials in a particular way, their different prior experiences, different developmental ages, and different interests also become apparent. We can use this information to guide our lesson planning and discussions about children’s work.

A teacher shared her previous experience of making the 3-D unit block shape cross-sections in the medium of 2-D art foam with magnetic backing to be used on a radiator or white board. We made a set based on the blocks available in the classrooms and asked children to build with a small set of blocks and then represent their structure using the 2-D art foam blocks. We hope that children will later use the foam blocks to represent the 3-D structures they want to save and reflect on after the 3-D blocks are put away.

This was a new material for most of the children so we expected them to be mostly interested in using the art foam block shapes. A few children in both age groups created small wooden unit block shapes and then used the 2-D art foam shapes to represent the structure.

They looked back and forth between their unit block structure and their art foam block representation on the wall. A child who was trying to make a symmetrical structure with a triangle block on either side of a central rectangular block was frustrated by the lack of triangle blocks that faced both ways. It quickly became apparent that I had only made “right-handed” triangle blocks, sticking the magnetic backing to the triangles when they were all facing the same way! Luckily I had additional material and could correct this omission. But the situation allowed us to assess that the child was very aware of the direction of her triangle block.

Some children began building a long “train” of the 2-D art foam blocks and others wanted to see how many of the art foam blocks it took to cover a set of unit blocks lying on the floor. The idea of representing a 3-D block structure may become important another day if they want to save a particular structure to use the following day but space requirements don’t allow structures to stay up during nap time. A 2-D representation can help children remember what blocks they used so they can recreate the structure and perhaps redesign it.

It will be interesting to see if using the 2-D foam block shapes has any influence on whether childr
en choose to draw their 3-D wooden block structures on paper, and how easy it is for them to document and represent their structures in yet another medium.

Geiken, R., Uhlenberg, J., Uhlenberg, D, & York, C. (November 2009). Toddlers engaged in inquiry and problem solving: Promoting learning in science and math with spheres and cylinders. National Association for the Education of Young Children National Conference, Washington, DC Conference session

Drew, Walter F. and Baji Rankin. 2004. Promoting Creativity for Life Using Open-Ended Materials. Young Children July 2004

Nell, Marcia L., and Walter F. Drew, With Deborah E. Bush. 2013. From Play to Practice: Connecting Teachers’ Play to Children’s Learning. NAEYC

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Contents and containers

Wooden unit blocks and representing their use in early childhood education

By Peggy Ashbrook

Posted on 2016-07-27

Working with and reading about the work of other educators is inspiring. While observing or mentoring in different programs I am given an education and opportunity to reflect on my own practice.

The teachers in the Clarendon Child Care Center had been closely observing children’s block play and discussing it. The director introduced the Thinking Lens tool from Margie Carter and Deb Curtis’s The Visionary Director: A Handbook for Dreaming, Organizing, and Improvising in Your Center (Redleaf, 2009), and shared resources on fostering reflection and analysis. (See additional resources in TYC, and a single page resource from the ChildCareExchange.) The staff had also been reading about the use of blocks in The Block Book edited by Elisabeth S. Hirsch (NAEYC 1996) and about the early invention of wooden unit blocks and work on children’s play by Caroline Pratt.

(You can learn more about Pratt’s work in the article, “Learning From Caroline Pratt” by Petra Munro of Hendry Louisiana State University, discussing Caroline Pratt’s life and work through a review of Mary Hauser’s Learning from Children: The Life and Legacy of Caroline Pratt in the Journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Curriculum, Volume 4 February 2008.)

The staff synthesized their discussion and created a poster, based on the example by Charlotte Brody in The Block Book, to share with families: filling in their goals for using blocks and what children get out of block play, guided by the understanding they gained from reading Hirsch’s and Pratt’s work. Their work displayed in the poster was a powerful reminder to me to take children’s block play seriously while maintaining the joyful experience.

Some of my “visits” to other programs are through the shared internet. Mr. Peter of Mr. Noah’s Nursery School writes about his class’ experience of block play in “The Bliss of Blocks” on the blog, Gopher Ark – the art of early education.

What are your “ah ha!” moments of observing and fostering block play in your early childhood program?

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Working with and reading about the work of other educators is inspiring. While observing or mentoring in different programs I am given an education and opportunity to reflect on my own practice.

Once Upon an Earth Science Book

By Carole Hayward

Posted on 2016-07-26

Do your middle school or high school students have trouble comprehending scientific reading? If you answered yes, we’ve got just the book for you! Here’s another question: Are you ready to have some fun in your classroom? Yes, again? Well, Once Upon an Earth Science Book is hot off the press. This new book by Jodi Wheeler-Toppen includes 12 interdisciplinary activities designed to create confident readers.

Once Upon an Earth Science Book is designed for middle and high school Earth science teachers and supports the Next Generation Science Standards and the reading and writing portions of the Common Core State Standards.

Each lesson includes a specific reading comprehension strategy that teachers can introduce. Then, working in groups, students can read a passage, fill in gaps in prior knowledge, and model reading strategies for one another. Next, students engage with sense-making activities like writing prompts, journal entries and other assignments. The book includes ideas for assessments as well.

Reading topics include glaciers, ocean garbage patches, hurricanes, the solar system, seasons, energy, geological dating, mountains, plate tectonics, and more.

One exercise has students reading an article called “On the Tracks of a Dinosaur” and pairing it with a hands-on activity. Students will be told that they have been called in to interpret a new dinosaur trackway that has been found along a local river. Using reading exercises, observations, measurements, and discussions, students will formulate a hypothesis about what could make the stride length increase along the trackway. This lesson includes several activities designed to get students reading, thinking, and using their imagination.

The book has everything needed to build a well-thought out lesson that will interest, entertain, and teach students.

Check out the sample chapter “Continents on the Move.” In this chapter, students will learn about Alfred Wegener’s supporting evidence for the concept of continental drift.

This book is also available as an e-book.

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Focus on Physics: The Equilibrium Rule—A Personal Discovery

By sstuckey

Posted on 2016-07-25

Building an Understanding of Physical Principles

Figure 1. Burl and Paul on a scaffold.

Before college, I worked with master sign painter Burl Grey, who, like me, was passionate about science but didn’t study physics in high school. One day Burl asked which of the two ropes holding up our sign-painting scaffold (Figure 1) experienced more of the “stretching force” called tension. Burl twanged the rope near his end of the scaffold—like a guitar string—and I did the same with mine. Burl, who was heavier than me, reasoned that his rope should have more tension because it supported more weight. Hearing his rope twang at a higher pitch than mine reasonably confirmed that his rope experienced more tension.

Figure 2. Paul in middle of scaffold.

Would it affect the tensions, we wondered, if I walked to the middle of the scaffold, toward Burl (Figure 2)? Burl’s rope would support more weight and have greater tension, we reasoned, and tension in my rope should decrease accordingly. To exaggerate the point, if we both stood together at one extreme end of the scaffold and leaned outward, the opposite end of the scaffold should rise like a seesaw, its rope going limp with no tension at all (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Burl and Paul at left end, with the right end raised and the rope limp.

We agreed that my rope’s tension would decrease as I walked toward Burl—but would the decrease be compensated—exactly—by increased tension in Burl’s rope? If so, how would one rope “know” about changes in the other rope? The answer was beyond our understanding. I learned it only after leaving my sign-painting career for prep school, college, and graduate studies that immersed me in the world of physics.

The equilibrium rule
In my first physics class, I learned that things at rest, such as that scaffold, are in mechanical equilibrium. That is, all forces that act on it balance to zero. In mathematical notation, the equilibrium rule is ∑F = 0, with ∑ standing for “the sum of” and F for the forces that act on the object. In the case of Burl and me, our weights were 140 and 110 pounds, respectively (we didn’t talk newtons or kilograms back then). The weight of the scaffold was about 100 pounds. If we call the tensions in the ropes positive in direction (upward) and the weights negative (downward), then

∑F = Tension₁ + Tension₂
– 140 pounds – 110 pounds
– 100 pounds = 0.

Combining the weights of Burl, me, and the scaffold,

Tension₁ + Tension₂
– 350 pounds = 0.

Solving for tensions of both ropes,

Tension₁ + Tension₂ = 350 pounds.

Rope tensions must sum to 350 pounds (Figure 4). Can you see that

Figure 4. The upward forces minus the downward forces equals zero; ∑F = 0.

a gain in Tension₁ by, say, 50 pounds would mean a loss in Tension₂ of 50 pounds? To be in equilibrium, it has to be.

Consider another example (Figure 5). A 350-pound bear stands evenly on two weighing scales, each reading 175 pounds (half of 350).

Suppose the bear leans so that one scale reading increases by 50 pounds. This can’t happen unless the other scale reading decreases by

Figure 5. Bear standing on two bathroom scales.

50 pounds. Only then will the combined readings add to 350 pounds. Likewise for the the supporting ropes of the scaffold. A 50-pound gain in one rope can only occur if accompanied by a 50-pound loss in the other. The answer lies in the mathematics: ∑F = 0.

Classroom activity
Place the opposite ends of a long horizontal plank on two bathroom scales on the floor (Figure 6). The sum of the two scale readings equals the weight of the plank. If you move the scales to different positions, still supporting the

Figure 6. Board resting on two bathroom scales.

plank, the readings still add to equal the weight of the plank. How nice! Now have two people stand on the plank near each end (Figure 7). The weight readings increase. How much? Enough so that the sum

Figure 7. Same board with people standing at each end.

of the weight readings equal the weights of the people and the plank. Again, the upward support forces of the springs in the scales (like the ropes holding the scaffold) equal the combined downward weights. Or, stated another way, the upward support forces minus the combined downward weights equal zero. The system is in equilibrium—balancing to zero even when the two people assume different positions along the plank.

Interestingly, the equilibrium rule applies not just to objects at rest but whenever any object or system of objects is not accelerating. Hence, a bowling ball rolling at constant velocity is in equilibrium—a state of no change. The ball rolls down the lane without a change in motion until it hits the pins, whereupon a change in its motion disrupts equilibrium. We say that objects at rest are in static equilibrium; objects moving at constant velocity (without acceleration) are in dynamic equilibrium. Whether objects are at rest
or steadily traveling in a straight-line path, ∑F = 0.

So, if you’re in an airplane moving at constant velocity, you know from
the equilibrium rule that the thrust of the engines must be equal and opposite to the air resistance that the airplane undergoes as it collides

Figure 8. At constant velocity, thrust minus air resistance equals zero; ΣF = 0.

with air molecules in its path (Figure 8). Only then will the horizontal forces on the plane sum to zero. Dynamic equilibrium occurs only if ∑F = 0. How about that!

When Nellie Newton pushes her desk across the floor at constant velocity, the equilibrium rule tells you that the amount of friction between the bottom of the desk’s legs and the floor exactly equals

Figure 9. Nellie pushing desk across floor.

Nellie’s push (Figure 9). Your knowledge of the amount of friction is simply an example of dynamic equilibrium. Cheers to that, for there’s a lot more you know when you know the laws of nature.

The equilibrium rule provides a reasoned way to view all things, whether in static (balancing rocks, steel beams in building construction) or dynamic (airplanes, bowling balls) equilibrium. For both of these types of mechanical equilibrium, all acting forces always balance to zero. In your further study, look for different forms of equilibrium, such as rotational, thermal, and chemical equilibrium. Examples of equilibrium are evident everywhere.

Paul G. Hewitt (pghewitt@aol.com) is the author of the popular textbook Conceptual Physics, 12th edition, and coauthor with his daughter Leslie and nephew John Suchocki of Conceptual Physical Science, 6th edition.

On the web
Related tutorial screencasts from www.hewittdrewit.com: 1. Equilibrium Rule: http://bit.ly/1T8XYZM; 2. Equilibrium Problems: http://bit.ly/27aKofE

Editor’s Note

This article was originally published in the Summer 2016 issue of The Science Teacher journal from the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA).

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Building an Understanding of Physical Principles

Figure 1. Burl and Paul on a scaffold.

Ideas and information from NSTA's Summer K-12 journals

By Mary Bigelow

Posted on 2016-07-24

These issues are great additions to your summer reading list! Most of the lessons in these journals include a detailed chart connecting the lesson to the NGSS.

Science and Children – From Molecules to Organisms

The featured articles focus on developing a progression of learning for younger students.

Native Plants and Seeds, Oh My! – Using a plant found in the school garden (milkweed), this lesson includes several parts on the basics of plants and investigations with native plants. Photographs show students at work.
Who Is Your Champion? – With a focus on designs and models, students consider the question “What can we learn from plants and animals to help solve the problems we face in our lives?”
Stalk It Up to Integrated Learning – Plant parts as food is the basis for this set of learning activities.
Elementary Anatomy – Young students enjoy learning about themselves. This lesson for preschool students helps students learn about body parts they can’t see.

Learning About Plants With STEAM – This year-long project incorporates the arts and sciences, using plants in an outdoor garden as a focus.
Teaching Through Trade Books: The Purpose of Individual Parts and Processes – These two 5E lessons help K-2 and 3-5 students understand life cycles and the purposes of different parts of an organism.
Formative Assessment Probes: Big and Small Seeds – Probes such as this one can be used in developing student understanding of science and engineering practices.
The Early Years: Discovering Through Deconstruction – Students can learn from taking things apart to go from the whole to its parts. This lesson for young children deconstructs a fruit to learn about plant parts.
Making the Transition to Three-Dimensional Teaching – Using the EQuIP rubric can help evaluate resources and align them to the NGSS.
Science 101: Q: How Do We Distinguish Between Living and Nonliving Things? – This article for teachers has thoughts on this deceptively simple question.

For more on the content that provides a context for these projects and strategies see the SciLinks topics Butterflies, Characteristics of Living Things, Factors Affecting Plant Growth, Invasive Species, Life Cycles, Plants as Food, Plants with Seeds, Seed Germination, Structure of Seed Plants.

Continue for Science Scope and The Science Teacher

Science Scope – Science and Engineering Practices

As you read the articles, take note of how the learning activities address science and engineering practices:

Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering)
Developing and using models
Planning and carrying out investigations
Analyzing and interpreting data
Using mathematics and computational thinking
Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering)
Engaging in argument from evidence
Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information

Evaluating the Egg Drop: Using the EQuIp Rubric to Ensure Activities Meet the Next Generation Science Standards – See how a teacher updated a lesson to incorporate the three dimensions of NGSS, increasing student interest at the same time.
Tried and True: Falling in Style – This 5E lesson is a variation on the egg-drop investigation, in which students design and test parachutes while learning about air resistance and gravity.
WISEngineering Hydroponics: A Technology-Enhanced, Life Science Engineering Design Unit – Using the WISEngineering simulation, www.wisengineering.org students design a system for growing plants without soil. The article includes photographs of the projects and screenshots of the simulation.
Engineering Technology for the Digital World – Students are very familiar with technology, but do they understand how their devices work? This activity introduces them to the binary system as they build and text a circuit board.
Engineering Seltzer Rockets – Rather than expensive model rocket kits, students use simple materials to design and test rockets. This enables them to explore variables and conduct multiple tests.
Bone Tissue Engineering: An Interactive Engineering Design Module – To address a real-world situation, students become biomedical engineers as they design and test a cranial mesh implant
Teacher’s Toolkit: The New Standard in Technology Education: 3-D Design Class – Students get excited about using new technology, but the des
ign process is just as important as the technology. The authors note that “In order to benefit from 3-D printing technology in the classroom, students need to build a skill set in 3-D modeling” and include an outline of the process (see The Science Teacher for more on modeling.)

For more on the content that provides a context for these projects and strategies see the SciLinks topics Biomedical Engineer, Cellular Respiration, Force of Gravity, Forces and Motion, Hydroponics, Newton’s Laws, Photosynthesis, Skeletal System.

The Science Teacher – Systems and Models

Students and parents often have a misconception of scientific models. The editor notes that “art projects, physical replicas, posters, and diagrams are not really scientific models, although they can be valuable learning experiences. ….a true model must be useful to explain natural phenomena and make predictions.”

Crafting a Masterpiece – The author shares his experiences in using the EQuIP rubric to redesign lessons.
Modeling DNA – Among other activities in this 5E lesson, students position their bodies to create a DNA model; they also use other materials to illustrate the structure and function of DNA.
Explaining Ramps With Models – The authors described how this approach to learning resulted in more in-depth understanding. They include design strategies and photographs to illustrate student work.
Computer-Aided Drug Design – Computers have enhanced the modeling process. Find out how students took on the role of “medicinal chemist” and used software simulations focused on cancer drugs to see the relationship between chemistry and biology.
Simulating Life – This article looks at the emerging field of biomodeling. Students use simple materials (e.g., dice) and mathematics to analyze and predict bacteria movement.
Connecting the Visible World With the Invisible – Throughout the year, students created and used particulate diagrams to represent their knowledge of elements, mixtures, and compounds.
Science 2.0: Soaring in a Digital Ecosystem – The authors describe a taxonomy of technology processes: substitution, augmentation, modification, and redefinition. The latter two are part of how technology can transform a classroom.
Focus on Physics: The Equilibrium Rule—A Personal Discovery – Here’s a refresher on the topic, with illustrations and examples.

For more on the content that provides a context for these projects and strategies see the SciLinks topics Acceleration, Balanced and Unbalanced Forces, Compounds, DNA Structure and Function, Elements, Equilibrium, Mixtures, Motion, Velocity

Read more about Ideas and information from NSTA's Summer K-12 journals

These issues are great additions to your summer reading list! Most of the lessons in these journals include a detailed chart connecting the lesson to the NGSS.

Science and Children – From Molecules to Organisms

Soaring in a Digital Ecosystem

By sstuckey

Posted on 2016-07-21

This column regularly describes digital tools to help teachers make learning more personal and effective for all students. When these tools converge, they create a sort of digital ecosystem designed to make students more collaborative and innovative, skills essential for success in today’s world. But are your students truly using digital technology to its maximum benefit?

The SAMR model
Our efforts toward digital convergence are based on the Substitution Augmentation Modification Redefinition (SAMR) model (http://bit.ly/1mFgc1l) (see box), which leads to higher-order technology in the classroom. Used at a low level, technology merely serves as a substitution—for example, using a word processor instead of paper and pencil to write a conclusion.

The next level is augmentation, in which technology improves on a learning task similar to what students could do without the technology, such as using the formatting tools in a word processor to highlight areas of interest. Much of classroom technology falls into these two categories, including scientific probes and graphing calculators (www.desmos.com). Our goal is to move on to the next levels of technology use: modification and redefinition of student work to demonstrate understanding.

Getting to Modification and Redefinition
To help you look at your lessons through a SAMR lens, let’s put a sample activity—a traditional chemical reactions experiment—through the SAMR continuum. First, students might use technology to substitute for an analog tool, such as using an online stopwatch (e.g., www.online-stopwatch.com)—instead of an actual stopwatch to time a reaction. To compare the physical and chemical properties of compounds being used in their reactions, students might substitute online reference guides (e.g., www.webelements.com, www.chemicalelements.com) for the paper periodic tables crammed into their backpacks or binders.

The next step up, augmentation, includes tools that give students time to analyze data rather than merely collecting it. Examples include using graphing software (e.g., https://plot.ly/plot, www.onlinecharttool.com and www.chartle.net) and data-collecting probes (such as those found at www.pasco.com and www.vernier.com) to quickly gather data about the chemical reactions so students can focus on describing the reorganization of matter in their products to evidence learning.

Traditionally, we may have asked students to complete a worksheet with data tables and analysis questions, a task that could be substituted by an online Google Doc or Form. But now we can modify this task—advancing to the next level—by asking students to create a podcast (using, for example, http://vocaroo.com) that describes what they saw as the chemical reaction occurred. We could also ask them to video (using, for example, www.wevideo.com or www.magisto.com) what they saw, narrating in voiceover how bonds are breaking and new ones are being formed. With the right device, they could even mark up that video (using, for example, www.coachmyvideo.mobi or www.coachseye.com). Turning in such an assignment could be as simple as sharing a URL or dropping a file into a shared folder (e.g., https://apps.google.com, www.dropbox.com).
But why not completely redefine how student work is assessed and evaluated by asking students to critique each other’s work (https://voicethread.com) and extend the thinking of the student who created it? This type of collaboration and discussion, previously only available in text-based discussion boards, allows students to build and grow their learning network and share their innovative products with peers in a meaningful way.

Conclusion
Digital convergence really means increased engagement and higher-order thinking in our students. Look at the technology available in your own classroom and ask whether students are using it to reach new heights in their learning.

Ben Smith (ben@edtechinnovators.com) is a physics teacher in Red Lion, Pennsylvania; and Jared Mader (jared@edtechinnovators.com) is the director of technology for the Lincoln Intermediate Unit in New Oxford, Pennsylvania. They conduct teacher workshops on technology in the classroom nationwide.

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The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.