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If You Build it, They Will Learn: 17 Devices for Demonstrating Physical Science


By: Bruce Yeany
$19.96 - Member Price  
$24.95 - Nonmember Price

$25.95 - Member Price  
$32.44 - Nonmember Price
Details

Type of Product:NSTA Press Book (also see downloadable PDF version of this book)
Publication Date:1/1/2006
Pages:285
Stock Number:PB200X
ISBN:978-0-87355-267-7
Grade Level:Middle School, High School, Informal Education
Read Inside:Read a sample chapter: Inertia Block
Author Blog:
NSTA Recommends
Our reviewers—top-flight teachers and other outstanding science educators—have determined that this resource is among the best available supplements for science teaching.
[Read the full review]


Description

If You Build It, They Will Learn is the perfect do-it-yourself guide for physics teachers who want custom-made demonstration projects to use in their classrooms. Devices like Galileo’s Track, Coupled Pendulum, and Gum-Wrapper Thermostat will help you teach forces, energy, properties of matter, and much more. Best of all, you don’t need an engineering degree to assemble these devices. The book provides such detailed instructions that even novices can handle the necessary tasks and tools.

If You Build It is organized into two practical parts:
1. Step-by-step directions for producing 17 well-designed pieces of equipment that author Bruce Yeany has tested in his own classroom. Each set of instructions is illustrated with clear photos or drawings and includes a materials list.

2. Suggestions for how to teach with each piece of equipment. Yeany provides information to prepare students for the demonstration, ideas for the presentation itself, and interactive questions to verify that students are learning the physics concepts.

When you can’t find or afford high-quality equipment from a catalog… or wish you could make your gear bigger or smaller… or simply find it satisfying to use devices you’ve put together yourself, If You Build It has your solution. Developing your own demonstrations can even enrich your understanding of the physics concepts you wish to teach. The experience creates an environment rich in opportunities for observing and investigating. Teach physics your way with custom-made demos.

Ideas For Use

Additional Info

Science Discipline: (mouse over for full classification)
Analyzing data
Asking questions
Collecting data
Experimenting
Interpreting data
Measuring
Modeling
Observing
Scientific habits of mind
Intended User Role:High-School Educator, Middle-Level Educator, New Teacher, Teacher
Educational Issues:Achievement, Assessment of students, Classroom management, Informal education, Inquiry learning, Instructional materials, Learning theory, Professional development, Teacher content knowledge, Teacher preparation

Contents

Preface

Introduction
Why Build It?
Building the Device
Safety First
Common Construction Practices

Devices
1 Galileo’s Track
Instructional Information
Directions for Assembly

2 Can You Top This?
Instructional Information
Directions for Assembly—Wood Version
Directions for Assembly—Student Model

3 Inertia Block
Instructional Information
Directions for Assembly

4 Resonant Pendulums
Instructional Information
Directions for Assembly—Coupled Pendulum
Directions for Assembly—Wilberforce Pendulum Wood Model
Directions for Assembly—Wilberforce Pendulum Clay Ball Model

5 Hero’s Fountain
Instructional Information
Directions for Assembly

6 String Racers
Instructional Information
Directions for Assembly—Propellers
Directions for Assembly—Balloons

7 Solar Motor
Instructional Information
Directions for Assembly

8 Weigh Your Cans
Instructional Information
Directions for Assembly

9 Balanced Breakfast Box
Instructional Information
Directions for Assembly

10 Heavy Foam
Instructional Information
Directions for Assembly

11 Mystery Boxes
Instructional Information
Directions for Assembly—Wooden Box
Directions for Assembly—Cardboard Box

12 Balloon in a Bottle
Instructional Information
Directions for Assembly

13 Hot, Warm, or Cold?
Instructional Information
Directions for Assembly

14 What Color Is Inside?
Instructional Information
Directions for Assembly—Paint Can
Directions for Assembly—Cardboard Box

15 Gum Wrapper Thermostat
Instructional Information
Directions for Assembly

16 Simple Motor, Two-Coil Motor
Instructional Information
Directions for Assembly—Student Motors
Directions for Assembly—Two-Coil Motors

17 Lightbulbs
Instructional Information
Directions for Assembly—Filament Board
Directions for Assembly—Jelly Jar Lightbulb

Appendix A—Resources
Appendix B—Research Review


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National Standards Correlation

This resource has 10 correlations with the National Standards.  
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This resource has 10 correlations with the National Standards.  
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  • Science as Inquiry
    • Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
      • Ask a question about objects, organisms, and events in the environment.
      • Plan and conduct a simple investigation.
      • Employ simple equipment and tools to gather data and extend the senses.
      • Communicate investigations and explanations.
      • Design and conduct a scientific investigation.
      • Use appropriate tools and techniques to gather, analyze, and interpret data.
      • Develop descriptions, explanations, predictions, and models using evidence.
      • Think critically and logically to make the relationships between evidence and explanations.
  • Teaching Standards
    • Teachers of science guide and facilitate learning. In doing this, teachers
      • Encourage and model the skills of scientific inquiry, as well as the curiosity, openness to new ideas and data, and skepticism that characterize science.
    • Teachers provide students with the time, space, and resources needed to learn science.
      • Make the available science tools, materials, media, and technological resources accessible to students.


Published Reviews

“From gum-wrapper thermostats to string racers, these contraptions will add a hands-on element to physics lectures. The devices are easy to build and made from inexpensive materials. Information about the background necessary to understand the concepts explored, presentation suggestions, and follow-up questions are included.”
Curriculum Connections, School Library Journal, Spring 2007


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