Have you ever heard of a Maglev train? Who would be crazy enough to think that exploring how a high-tech train little known in the United States works with a group of fourth-grade students would yield understandings about the properties of magnetism, force and motion, and inquiry science? Fortunately, the authors—a college methods professor and two elementary education students—were, and the hands-on exploration they developed and tested with their students was a resounding success. Their highly motivating learning adventure is described here.
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We know that when something is relevant to a student, the student is more motivated to learn and also more likely to remember. What could be more relevant than force and motion? The universe, like an eight-year-old, is in constant motion. Force and motion are awesome, complex, even ironic. Yet by the time we are in college, we have sucked the life out of force and motion. In this issue, we aim to breathe life back into Newton. So enjoy this packed issue and the discoveries it leads to. There’s no better time than now to get moving!
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This monthly feature contains facts and challenges for the science explorer.
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We all hope our classrooms don’t take on a circus-like atmosphere, but juggling can be an engaging way to introduce elementary physics to students. The very act of tossing and catching objects can help students to understand the basic physical principles involved in rotating a set of objects. This article suggests a variety of simple hands-on activities and demonstrations for introducing physical science concepts associated with juggling. In addition, students will learn the value of making predictions based on careful observations and repetitive findings—an essential characteristic of the scientific process.
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From well-designed series with colorful illustrations and easy-to-read Spanish texts for the very young, to exquisite publishers’ series with eye-catching, close-up photos about the world of animals, to clear explanations about basic concepts of energy and matter and more, these recently published science books in Spanish will encourage young Spanish-speaking scientists-to-be to observe, identify, describe, investigate, and perhaps even to explain phenomena.
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Are you looking for ways to effectively integrate—and assess—science and literacy learning? Try having your students create their own books! The Integrated Science Literacy Enactments (ISLE) approach to teaching and learning science is one way to develop students’ science understandings while simultaneously enhancing their communication skills. The ISLE approach engages young children in science through hands-on explorations and numerous literacy-oriented experiences. Each unit culminates in the writing and illustrating of an information book on a topic of students’ own choice. The book serves as a tool to assess student understandings developed throughout the unit and is the focus of this article.
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Each of these outstanding selections defies the traditional image of a child “curling up with a good book.” Yes, they can be a source of great personal reading, encouraging students of all ages to stretch their skills and their imagination as they interact with the printed page. But these journeys of the scientific imagination seldom end with the final chapter. They have the capacity to draw the reader out from that cozy seat and into the natural world—to observe, investigate, and continue the process of discovery that has characterized scientists from Aristotle to Hawking. The adventures begin here.
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Our students are not blank slates. They come to school with a wide range of experiences that have shaped their science understandings—reading books, watching TV, and playing video games. From many years of research about student science ideas, it is evident that student science misconceptions are prevalent, strongly held, and highly resistant to change. Here the authors describe some research-based strategies that science teachers can use to assess and address students’ misconceptions.
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The typical elementary school explanation of the difference between mass and weight goes something like the following: Mass is the amount of matter contained in an object. If you travel to the Moon, another planet, or anywhere far away from Earth, your mass doesn’t change. Weight is how hard Earth pulls on you. When you travel to the Moon or another planet, the pull of gravity changes, and so your weight changes. Although this explanation is correct, the author never found this definition to be satisfactory. Here he provides a much more complete explanation of the difference between mass and weight by explaining one of Newton’s famous laws of motion.
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Newton’s Laws seem simple and familiar. Despite their apparent simplicity, these laws are often misunderstood. In the following lesson, students will become better acquainted with Newton and his laws as they test what happens when a force is applied to an object. They will determine that a force either speeds an object or slows it down. Students will test what happens when a force is applied to an object. They will determine that a force either speeds an object up or slows it down. Students will document the speeding up of a toy car as they apply a constant push. They will then investigate the effects of friction on the car to see that forces can speed something up but they can also slow objects down.
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The community can be a powerful context and mini-laboratory for cultivating students’ common understandings of science and mathematics. On the island of Panay in the Philippines, the community was the starting place for a group of fifth- and sixth-grade students to explore simple machines in their daily lives. What students learned in the process became the basis for developing the set of culturally relevant lessons on simple machines described in this article. Each of the examples that follow features a simple machine found in the community, an explanation of how it works, a guiding-inquiry question, and a follow-up activity designed to foster students’ exploration of this question.
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Students of all ages are fascinated by the ups, downs, loops, and twists of roller coaster rides! What they may not realize is that there is a lot of science involved in making a roller coaster work. This month’s column puts students in the shoes of a roller coaster designer as they work in teams to create their own roller coasters.
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Objects in motion attract children. The following activity helps children explore the motion of bodies riding in a vehicle and safely demonstrates the answer to their questions, “Why do I need a seatbelt?” Children will enjoy moving the cup around, even if all they “see” is a cup rather than understanding it represents a car. They will understand that each time they suddenly stop the cup, the marble will roll out unless it is taped in, even if they do not yet understand that the same forces apply to passengers in a car.
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What would your students say if you told them they could lift you off the ground using a block and a board? Using a simple machine, they’ll find out they can, and they’ll learn about work, energy, and motion in the process! In addition, this integrated lesson gives students the opportunity to investigate variables while practicing measurement skills, using technology, and communicating their ideas. As with the other simple machines, studying levers provides students with an opportunity to apply their developing mathematical skills to problems with real-world application.
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