Children possess a genuine curiosity for exploring the natural world around them. One third grade teacher capitalized on this inherent trait by leading her students on “A Geometric Scavenger Hunt.” The four-lesson inquiry investigation described in this article integrates mathematics and science. Among the students discoveries was the fact that geometry was no longer just an isolated concept in their math books; rather, it provided a tool that allowed them to examine their world in a completely different way.
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The connections of mathematics and science are both basic and complex. As the articles in this month’s issue attest, we can deepen student understanding of science and math through an explicit and thoughtful connection in our lessons.
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This monthly feature contains facts and challenges for the science explorer.
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How much popcorn will our classroom hold? This intriguing question sparked a terrific integrated science and math exploration that the author conducted with fifth-and sixth-grade students. In the process of finding the classroom’s volume, students developed science-process skills (e.g., developing a plan, measurement, collecting and interpreting data, prediction, inference, communication, and using number relationships) and applied mathematical process (determining an estimate, using benchmarks, measuring, mapping, etc.) in a meaningful way—getting an authentic glimpse of how these two subjects are inextricably linked.
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In this article, the learning progress of one fifth-grade student is examined with regard to the development of her graph interpretation skills as she participated in the Junior Science Institute (JSI), a two-week, science intensive summer camp in which participants engaged in microbiology research and application. By showcasing the student’s development of graph interpretation skills, the authors hope to make apparent some of the cognitive processes students may go through as they attempt to master this important inquiry skill and thus provide fellow teachers with insight as to how to more effectively develop these skills in their own students.
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Collecting data and analyzing the results of experiments is difficult for children. The authors found a surprising way to help their third graders make graphs and draw conclusions from their data: digital photographs. The pictures bridged the gap between an abstract graph and the plants it represented. With the support of the photos, students analyzed the results of their experiment and represented them graphically. In addition, children learned about plants according to state science standards while integrating the data analysis components of state math standards.
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Recent special education legislation such as the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) emphasizes the placement of students with mild disabilities in the general education classroom. Therefore, students with learning, behavior, and communicating disorders will typically be learning science from classroom teachers rather than in separate special education classes. They will be required to pass the same standardized science tests as the children without disabilities; however, many of their characteristics interfere with success in science. This article highlights instructional, study, and test-taking strategies useful in preparing all students, but particularly students with mild learning challenges, for success in science class and hopefully on high-stakes tests as well.
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Nowhere in our daily lives do we separate tasks into specific subjects before we take action. Yet in schools we continue to teach the various disciplines as separate areas of knowledge. What if school, like the real world, could be more connected? Connections between science and mathematics seem natural. Student learning should benefit when teachers make the connections between science and mathematics explicit, because science provides concrete examples of abstract mathematical ideas, and mathematics helps students achieve deep understanding of science concepts (McBride and Silverman 1991).
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Using error bars on graphs is a good way to help students see that, within the inherent uncertainty of the measurements due to the instruments used for measurement, the data points do, in fact, lie along the line that represents the linear relationship. The bottom line, though, is that the trends that lead to more exact relationships are not going to be obvious if all we do is connect the dots on graphs of collected data. You might end up with a drawing that looks vaguely like a bird or a snake, but not something of scientific value.
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Many children enjoy collecting items such as seashells, state quarters, and trading cards. Asking students to think about the ways in which similar items differ, how objects can be grouped by a common characteristic, and how groups can be subsets of a larger category leads to an understanding of fundamental mathematics and science concepts: sets, relationships, and representation of data. In the following lesson, students observe similarities and differences among leaves, consider ways in which leaves can be sorted, and group leaves of common properties into circular areas (Venn diagram).
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In the “Solar Sprint” activity, students design, test, and race a solar-powered car built with Legos. The use of ratios is incorporated to simulate the actual work of scientists and engineers. This method encourages fourth-grade students to think about multiple variables and stimulates their curiosity when an activity doesn’t come out as predicted. This activity also integrates the study of electricity and motion into a discussion of alternative energy sources and means of transportation.
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Just as words can tell a story, so can graphs. Pick up a newspaper or magazine and you will probably see several articles accompanied by graphs. Graphs are useful because they communicate information visually and can usually be read more quickly than the raw data from which they are made. This month’s lessons use the high-interest topic of zoo animals to teach students about using graphs to organize and communicate data. The featured trade books include Giraffe Graphs by Melissa Stewart and Tiger Math: Learning to Graph from a Baby Tiger by Ann Whitehead Nagda and Cindy Bickel.
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Math is not the only topic that will be discussed when young children are asked to care for and count “mealworms,” a type of insect larvae (just as caterpillars are the babies of butterflies, these larvae are babies of beetles). The following activity can take place over two months as the beetles undergo metamorphosis from larvae to adults. As the children care for and count the insects, they will make observations, think what defines an insect, begin to understand life cycles and life spans, and gain big vocabulary words that they love to know and use to feel like “real” scientists.
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The Radish Party inquiry is designed to teach the importance and relevance of soil organic matter to young students. In this investigation, students grow radishes in three different kinds of soils: sand, sand plus nutrients, and potting soil (soil that includes organic matter). The experience described here was conducted with first- and second-grade students, but the investigation can be adapted for students at other grade levels as well.
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