the one with the last class day

Today was the last class day and we were to evaluate the class over the past semester.

I thought that this class went well. I now have several ideas to use in my future classrooms. There are many things I have also learned from this class, such a assessment through the 5E model, that will be beneficial to me in the future.

blog you later,
[andrea]

the one with the science fair

Today we helped judge the Beresford middle school science fair. I thought this was a great experience. We all received partners and were given between 2-12 projects to judge. We first went around and judged within the grade level, then got together with other judges who had the same topic and judged within the topics. It was very difficult pitting the 7th and 8th graders together because the 7th graders were required to participate and the 8th graders were allowed voluntary participation. The 8th graders projects were, of course, on a completely different level of intelligence. Instead of something like wind energy, students were including complex math problem and intriguing scientific research.

It was so interesting seeing all the creative ideas some of these students had. Some of the projects were, of course, not very good, but most of the kids were still excited to participate and tell about their projects. Then, of course, there were the kids who did not know much about their project but their board looked clean and amazing and it was apparent their mothers had done most of the work.

I think this was definitely a beneficial learning opportunity for future teachers!

blog you later,

[andrea]

the one with the final lesson plans

Today was a work day in class. Our science lesson plans are soon due. For these lesson plans we are to focus on one topic and one grade and integrate it with the lessons above and below our own. The topics were to fit in together, which was a bit difficult because our topic was not actually in the SD content standards so we had to stretch some off them a little bit to make the standards apply to our topic.

I thought that our lesson plan went well. We decided to have the students weigh pennies and, depending on the year, guess what the pennies were made of and why they were heavier or lighter.

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[andrea]

the one with the work day

We worked on our chapter 1-3 SAS quiz, the lesson plans, and some people still had to work on their PowerPoint assignments. My group only really had the lesson plan and the quiz to finish. It was nice having a work day to get some of our items finished and to ask some questions about what we were working on.


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[andrea]

the one with the potatoes

During class today we discussed the 5E model [engage. explain, explore, elaborate, and evaluate]. Then, after reading a packet about using the 5E model in the classroom, we were given the assignment to create our own experiment with the materials provided for us.

Activity: Designer Potatoes
Purpose: To get us thinking outside the box; to have us come up with unique experiments that incorporate the 5E model.
Materials:

• 3 bits of potato
• 3 plastic cups
• measuring spoons
• water
• salt
• stirring sticks
• paper [for students to evaluate and explain their findings]

The activity was confusing to my group at first [most of us have ADD and we weren't really sure what we were supposed to do because we may or may not have been paying attention], but once I reread what was going on, I pointed it out to my group and we had a fine time designing an experiment.

Our experiment:

• Cup 1: no water, no salt, potato bit.
• Cup 2: 5 cm water, 5mL salt, potato bit.
• Cup 3: 50mL water, 25mL salt, potato bit.

After messing around and putting way too much salt in cup 3 [there was about a centimeter of pure salt at the bottom of the cup], we noticed that the potato that had no contact with the salt or the water was turning brown and that the potato in cup 2 had turned nice and white. This was interesting, so we watched the potato in cup 3 and sure enough it was white after sitting in the salt for a while! Very interesting.

My own personal prediction about the experiment was that we were making mashed potatoes or just soaking the potatoes for Dr. E so she would have a delicious lunch later...

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[andrea]

the one with the discrepant events

We read an article about using discrepant events in science, "Engaging Science Students Through Discrepant Events," by Judy Jones. The article explains that "a discrepant event is one where the result is the opposite of what was expected." Meaning, students do not properly predict what the outcome of the experiment is. Because of their incorrect predictions, they must figure out what really happened and in the process they are learning more about science.

Jones describes the different activities she used in her class to provoke discussion. The one I enjoyed was the penny drop experiment. The students were to make predictions of how many drops of water could be placed on a penny. Most guess around 4 to 12. However, once students actually got to engage in the activity, some found they could fit around 100 on the penny! Jones even mentions how she uses the 5E model in her classroom, providing a definition of each stage [engage, explore, explain, elaborate/explain, evaluate].

I thought this was an interesting article. Unfortunately, her first link for a cat breeding experiment cost quite a bit of money to used, and the second link was broken. Other than that, I think that these experiments with discussions are a great way to get students thinking about science!

blog you later,
[andrea]

the one with the rocket launch

Today we watched one more presentation.

Britany finally got her wish. We took the class outside in the lovely weather and let them launch the rockets. They were pretty unimpressive at first, just reaching 2-3 feet in height and leaving a vinegary/baking soda mess on the ground. Then one of our classmates really shoved the cork in hard and his rocket shot into the air! It was awesome.

We took notes for the rest of the class period. The class was incredibly chatty today. Election day jitters/excitement? Perhaps. After class I exercised the heck out of my civic duties and voted.

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[andrea]

the one with the midterm projects pt. III

On the third day of presentations our science class gave to us:

1. Balloon Rockets: this is another project we did last time around. But still fun for kids. String, balloon, straw, tape. Guess how far the balloon will go!
2. Tornadoes: I always enjoy this fun activity. Two pop bottles taped together, with water inside, to create a tornado/funnel effect. We put a jellybean inside ours to make it more like a real tornado. Then the water started leaking out.
3. Solid/Liquid Mixture: I don't really remember what this one was.
4. Jellybeans vs. Tastebuds: this was fun but I didn't really know how we were supposed to use our different tastebuds to tell what the candy was. Britany liked the popcorn, but I don't think anyone else did. Next time, use Bertie Bots Beans [Harry Potter inspired jelly beans]! Those would exercise all of our tastebuds!
5. Light Sources: lamps, flashlights, flames, candles, anything to light the way.
6. And more Oobleck than we needed: more more more. Goodness.

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[andrea]

ps: Some of the flavors include Worm, Sausage, Soap, Sardine, Pickle, Boogey, Cinnamon, Cherry, Buttered Popcorn, Grass, Black Pepper, Rotten Egg, Vomit, Blueberry, Marshmallow, and Earwax.

the one with the midterm projects pt. II

We continued watching the science presentations today. The computer, sadly, was not working so the first group had to wait quite a while before the projector was finally working.

Projects presented today:

• Elephant Toothpaste: this was made with food coloring, dish soap, peroxide, and iodide.
• Bottle Rockets: a mixture created by baking soda dropped into a bottle of vinegar. My group presented today, and we had fun. I especially liked our video :)
• Oobleck: a mixture of baking soda and water. Last time we had this class there were around 5-7 people who presented this same project. It's cool, but it's getting old.
• Oil and Soap: first we dipped a bird feather into a cup of water, which the feather repelled. Then we dipped it into a cup of vegetable oil, which immediately stuck to the feather. It was sad seeing how birds can no longer fly with coated feathers after an oil spill.

blog you later,
[andrea]

the one with the midterm projects pt. I

Today we watched more midterm presentations. Some of the presentations included:

• Jello mixtures: jello powder and water, then we were given premade jello snacks. Yum!
• Sink or float: objects were dropped in the water and we had to see if they would sink or float.
• Animal habitats: the different habitats that animals may live in.
• Oil and water: oil and water do not mix well together! It was neat because we had red food dye in ours and it looked pretty cool, but creepy like blood.

Britany, Brianna, and I were supposed to present our midterm project [Baking Soda and Vinegar Bottle Rockets] but the class ran out of time.


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[andrea]

the one with the safety

Class was held in Dr. Reins' classroom. We used the laptops to do some researching on safety. Our focus was on safety and Internet safety in particular, the latter of which children should especially learn about due to the high increase of technology in schools.

For the general safety we had to look up three safety tips and write them on stars. I, of course, illustrated my safety tips, and so did several other students. The Internet safety was on a worksheet, and we had to access a couple of sites on the Internet to find the answers. However, being so Internet savvy I filled out the worksheet without use of the Internet.



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[andrea]

the one with the midterm discussion

During class we watched a video of how to upload a webcam video to Youtube. Those who had not yet finished their outlines for the midterm project worked on it.

My group was confused as to whether we were to start the story before or after. We also did not know what all had to be included in the midterm project. When asked, we were directed to look at the lesson plan outline which did not mention the video or story. We are not sure what to do...

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[andrea]

the one with the bottle rocket outline

Class was cancelled today, so Britany and I got together to work on our midterm outline. We decided to do baking soda and vinegar bottle rockets. They are actually made with film canisters, but because those are fairly hard to acquire in this time of digitalized cameras, we may instead use up our recycling and make plastic water bottle rockets.

blog you later,

[andrea]

the one with the mirrors

Activity: Mirror Writing

Purpose: To demonstrate a different way of communication that pushes one's mind to really think about what is being written.

Materials: Pencil, paper, mirror, notecard with a hole in the center.

I thought this activity was pretty fun, and I think the class also enjoyed it. It was so easy to write when the notecard wasn't attached to the pencil, but the Xs in particular were incredibly difficult to draw! My table was fine doing one of the lines, but we were having a hard time doing the second line, on account of the pencil not wanting to move that way!

This style of writing is actually how many students write on accident before they properly learn to write. The reversal of letters is quite typical among young children and dyslexics. However, this may actually feel more natural for people who are left handed, as it does not smear the ink.

I thought this activity was particularly interesting because one way students sometimes write notes to each other, so other people cannot read them as easily, is by using mirror writing. Leonardo DaVinci is an example of a famous historical figure who practised this type of writing, in order to keep his notes shrouded in an enigma of secrecy.

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[andrea]

the one with the black boxes that I never saw

There were a few people, including me, who missed class today because of the Rosebud Indian Reservation trip. So, I got the gist of the assignment from a few classmates.

Activity: Black Boxes
Purpose: Students must try to discover which shape is hiding in the virtual black box.

The activity came from the FOSS website. Though, once I went to the website, I could not open the link to start the activity. The students in class, however, took paper and wrote each group member's name on it. They then had to figure out what they each thought was contained inside the black boxes, then discuss their predictions and come to a consensus on the contents. Many groups incorrectly predicted what was inside the boxes, but that was because inside the boxes there were other shapes that messed up the perfect outside shape of the box. The class seemed to enjoy the activity.

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[andrea]

the one with the reading module online

For our online class, we worked on our reading module for the "Ready, Set, Science" chapters 3 and 4. Though time consuming, it was also interesting to read about the different experiments that the classes did.

Chapter 3 discussed what prior knowledge and experience each child brings to class and how to incorporate that into the classroom. We also learned about the four domains of knowledge and how important they are to the learning environment [RSS 38]:

• Simple mechanics of solid bounded objects
• Behaviors of psychological agents
• Actions and organization of living things
• Makeup and substance of materials

Chapter 4 discussed core concepts used in science, and how teachers can build on them [RSS 60]:

• Atomic-molecular theory of matter
• Evolutionary theory
• Cell theory
• Newtonian laws of force and motion

I thought they were both helpful in pointing out the important ways children have learned and how teachers can contribute to their future learning skills.

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[andrea]

the one with the online lecture

Class today was replaced by an online session held at 5 pm.

We instead listened to and watched an astronomy lecture. Though it was long long, it was also a bit interesting. I have taken a couple of astronomy courses [not to be confused with "astrology," which is the study of one's star sign and how the stars influence a person's life], so most of the information acted as a refresher.

Gas temperatures:

The progression of a star:

Useful websites:

http://compadre.org

http://nsdl.org: click K-12 audience page, download seminar resource list

I enjoyed the interactive aspects of the webseminar. We were able to listen as four different moderators spoke, view different diagrams and charts, watch video clips, ask questions, and interact with many other people. I think webseminars are a great way to incorporate a lot of technology and interactivity into a class. With the amount of technological knowledge most students already possess, I think something like this would be great for them!

blog you later,
[andrea]

the one with the acids

Activity: Acid Test
Purpose: To see the reactions of baking soda on different products of varying acidity.

The effects of Baking Soda and:

• Vinegar: It created quite a reaction and the syringe raised considerably.
• Water: The water dampened the baking soda.
• 50-50: Fairly predictable, seeing the results of the previous two. It sent the syringe about halfway up.
• Lime juice: Large reaction, gas almost to the top.
• Grape fruit: Not a very big reaction.
• Orange: Small-ish.
• Lemon: There was no lemon juice to test.

Observations:

• It was neat watching the syringe raise depending on the amount of gas released.
• The more acidic the liquid, the bigger the reaction that was created.
• More acidic liquids: vinegar, lime juice, white grapefruit juice, and pink grapefruit juice.
• The juice with baking soda reacted more because the acid was more concentrated, as compared to the larger surface area of the fruit.

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[andrea]

the one with the dog that ate everything

Activity: Food and Nutrition
We discussed food and nutrition for children. Starting off by playing "What's for Dinner," an interactive game of choices. Students must pick foods to create a meal that is both healthy and meets the calorie requirements. If wrong choices were made, the food had to be fed to a dog in the game, then it returned to the choices area.

Then we looked over the FOSS Food and Nutrition Pictorial Assessment, choosing a lunch from ten options. The packet included several other worksheets such as "What Food is it?," where students were to guess what a food was by its contents.

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[andrea]

the one with the safety game

During class we talked about the Scientific Content and Processes, and what it means to be proficient at science. We also discusses the four strands of learning.

The Four Strands of Learning:

• Understanding scientific explanations
• Generating scientific evidence
• Reflecting on scientific knowledge
• Participating productively in science

Activity: Safety Board Game
Designed with instructions such as, "Caught teacher without goggles. Take 2 tokens," the Safety Board game teaches children about science safety in a fun way. Players are penalized [by losing tokens] for landing on improper safety practices, and they are rewarded by landing on good deeds or actions. We decorated sample boards in class and then played them once we had one completed.

We also received a sample student safety contract/agreement. The students have to look it over with their parents, and both sign.

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[andrea]

the one with the theories

Teaching science within the curriculum is important. Without scientific knowledge, people are forced to take other peoples' word for it or come to their own incorrect conclusions. Science can be used as a way of getting ahead in life or it just makes one a better, more informed citizen. Students are fortunate because there is a new paradigm of teaching; a new way of thinking about science, students, and teaching.

Terms:

• Theory--as in "the theory of [electromagnetism]"
• Mechanics--as explanation that has undergone a lot of testing
• Working hypothesis--an applied theory without testing
• Hypothesis--contributes explanations
• Evidence--a body of data for observations, becomes the basis for a scientific claim

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[andrea]

the one with the temperature

Activity: Temperature Probe Response Time

Objectives:

• TI-84 graphing calculater
• Sensor with different units of meature
• Time graph data colletion parameters

Materials:

• Graphing calculator
• Vernier easy temp
• Easy temp data application
• Two 250 mL beakers
• Cold water with ice
• How water

This activity did not work for my group for a while. We could not figure out what was going on with the calculator. Even Dr. Ezrailson had troubles with the calculator. When we finally figured out what the information that we needed, we spilled the water. Twice.

The point of this activity was to measure the probe's response time between two different temperatures and how long it took for the temperature to level off between the two cups of water. Ours leveled off at around 60 seconds.

blog you later,
[andrea]