JoinScience fairs
By Mary Bigelow
Posted on 2011-11-19
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As I read this issue, I really identified with What Students Really Think About Doing Research, but in a slightly different context. I was affiliated with a professional development workshop a few summers ago, and as the culminating event, teachers were expected to conduct a research project and present it to the group. The teachers went through the same feelings as the students in this study in terms of reluctance (Why do we have to do this? I’d rather spend time making lesson plans.) and difficulty in topic selection (although in the interest of time, teachers were given a list of suggestions). The university faculty offered support and after the complaining was over, the teachers really got involved. The course finale was each team presenting their findings to the group. Afterwards, most of the teachers agreed that this was an outstanding experience (many had never been involved in a science fair as a student and a few had never conducted original research before). They were justifiably very proud of their accomplishments and took the display boards back to their schools to show their students what they did.
The author of The Science Fair: A New Look at an Old Tradition describes science fairs from two other perspectives: as a professor of science education and as a parent. He offers several suggestions for making science fairs a meaningful experience: using modeling and long-term preparation with students, training for teachers and judges, recognizing that not all research is experimental, differentiating between projects completed in a laboratory setting and those completed at home or in school, identifying the role of parents, and providing opportunities for teamwork.
Regardless of the science fair format, it can be difficult for students to get started (or even to think about participating). Students Inspiring Students describes the Archimedes Initiative, http://www.archimedesinitiative.org/an online tool with video segments designed to help students choose a topic and conduct research. The site also includes video interviews with students as they describe their projects. Would these students be role models for yours? The Art of Scientific Ideas looks at “problem finding” with strategies for students and teachers based on the notion of creativity and thinking outside of the box.
What do judges look for in science fair projects? Inside the Science Fair: The Judge’s Perspective describes the results of a survey of science fair judges. Their suggestions and recommendations are summarized in the form of a Q&A session: What makes the top projects stand out? How important are the display boards and oral presentations? What characteristics are important for student participation? If students work with scientists or in professional labs, how does that affect the judging?
The author of Using Inquiry to Break the Language Barrier offers suggestions on how to modify science fair requirements to help ELL students be successful. Using pendulums as a common denominator, students were guided through the research process. Would these suggestions be appropriate for other students? [SciLinks: Pendulums]
NSTA’s MsMentor blog also addressed a question about science fairs and SciLinks inlcudes a list of websites with many ideas for both traditional and nontraditional projects. For example, Science Buddies has a “topic selection wizard” that guides students through the process of selecting and fine tuning a topic. This site has sections and resources for both students and teachers.
Many colleagues have shared excellent ideas for traditional and alternative science projects in NSTA journals, such as the December 2007 issue of Science and Children and the March 2004 issue of Science Scope. These articles are also good resources for secondary teachers, especially if your students are science fair novices or if you want some fresh ideas. The articles have timelines, rubrics describing high quality projects, and suggestions for helping students who may have few resources at home. They also describe online science fairs, science expos, multimedia presentations, themed projects, mini-conferences, and other nontraditional “fairs.” To save time, I’ve assembled a shared collection of NSTA resources on Science Fairs and Alternatives in the NSTA Learning Center.
Don’t forget to look at the Connections for this issue (November 2011). Even if the article does not quite fit with your lesson agenda, this resource has ideas for handouts, background information sheets, data sheets, rubrics, etc.
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Intergenerational science activities
By Mary Bigelow
Posted on 2011-11-17
My school is planning an Intergenerational Day, in which students invite grandparents or other guests to attend school for part of the day. We’re also inviting residents of a local retirement community. I’d like to participate with my fifth grade science classes, but I want our guests to be more than spectators. Do you have any suggestions for appropriate activities?
—Stacy, Dayton, Ohio
The high school where I taught had a similar event every year. In addition to lunch in the cafeteria with the students and a mini-concert by the band, the guests spent two or three periods in the classrooms. They enjoyed being around the students, and it was an opportunity for them to see what goes on in school beyond what they learn from the media.
The goal should be to get students and guests to interact with each other during the time they’re together in your classroom. Fifth-graders could certainly assume some responsibility for planning activities, giving them ownership in the day.
Rather than seating your guests in the back of the room, include them in small group discussions or activities with students. For logistical and safety reasons, you may want to avoid activities that require goggles or other safety equipment. Check out NSTA’s journal Science & Children for activity ideas. Or you could ask the students investigations they have already done would be interesting to share with the guests. Students could be the facilitators and guide their guests through the investigation.
For example, some activities fifth graders and guests could do together include
- Using microscopes or hand lenses to look at objects.
- Classifying objects such as rocks, shells, or leaves.
- Exploring factors that could influence the distance objects such as marbles or toy cars travel down a ramp (e.g., length of the ramp, angle of the ramp, weight of the object, surface of the ramp)
Your guests may be interested in how students are using technology. Does your classroom have an interactive white board? Your guests may have seen these boards used on television and might be curious about how they work. You could ask students to demonstrate how to interact and provide opportunities for the guests to experience “board time.”
Students could teach their guests about other technologies such as science probes or iPads. If you have an electronic response system (i.e., clickers), you and your students could prepare a survey, game, or other activity that gives the guests a chance to use them. Your and your students could demonstrate video conferencing (such as Skype) with students and guests in another classroom or another school.
Students could also share how they contribute to a class wiki or blog and invite the guests to contribute. Students and guests could work together with online simulations or with tools such as Glogster to create posters or Edmodo to communicate.
Interviews could be a low-tech activity. Brainstorm ahead of time with your students to prepare questions such as “What inventions or advancements in science do you think have had major effects on our lives?” “What was it like when you studied science in school?” “What was your favorite science topic?” “What is/was your job and how does it involve science?” “Do any of your hobbies include scientific topics?” Students could take notes and summarize their findings.
Afterward, ask students to describe the day and what they learned from interacting with the guests. Perhaps you’ll identify some people in the community willing to volunteer as tutors or mentors for your school or to share their life experiences in more detail.
My school is planning an Intergenerational Day, in which students invite grandparents or other guests to attend school for part of the day. We’re also inviting residents of a local retirement community. I’d like to participate with my fifth grade science classes, but I want our guests to be more than spectators. Do you have any suggestions for appropriate activities?
—Stacy, Dayton, Ohio
Science the "write" way
By Claire Reinburg
Posted on 2011-11-17
Why write in science class? As Jodi Wheeler-Toppen, editor of the new NSTA Press book Science the “Write” Way, notes in her Introduction, “there are many reasons to have our students write, but the one that is most powerful for me is simple: Writing helps students learn.” Scientists write their observations and analyses and publish their work. Students can reap the same benefits that scientists do from writing, including connecting prior knowledge to new findings, organizing their ideas, and uncovering questions for further study. The November issue of NSTA’s Book Beat offers numerous resources for broadening your approach to incorporating writing in your classroom.
In this issue of Book Beat, you’ll find freebie chapters from How to Write to Learn Science, 2nd Edition; Science the “Write” Way; and Lecture-Free Teaching. Strategies and tips for teachers of English learners are included in free-chapter downloads from Science for English Language Learners and Teaching Science to English Language Learners.
Why write in science class?
Early childhood teachers respond to request for resources on Earth and Life Science
By Peggy Ashbrook
Posted on 2011-11-15
Children observe and document seasonal changes as they begin to learn how living organisms respond to their environment.
Do you have resources for early childhood teachers who are struggling to teach earth science or life science concepts? Especially for teachers who understand that young children need to be physically involved with their learning but not simply making a craft project to take home? Teachers who responded to this NSTA members’ email list request suggested:
•Young children really do well with observation techniques. Get them talking and discussing what they see using their senses. Make a chart with the senses and document verbiage they use in short words/phrases about an object/topic. Go outside and explore their environment with hand-lens, let them get their hands dirty. Let them bring items from home that would add to the discussion. Let them draw what they observe (this helps with fine motor coordination). Let them use a BROCK microscope, my first graders loved to take them out to recess. They are VERY durable. Make screens with varying grids to shake [sort] out dirt. ASK them what THEY want to learn about. Open the world of science for them and you’ll have life-long learners in no time! Graph [the number of] objects they bring in or find outside. Get them thinking what else could they use the object for. Have them draw/trace an object say, scissors, then have them draw them as something else. Deb Wilson, Retired Primary Teacher, Executive Director for STOM (Science Teachers of Missouri).
• Being able to use the outdoors as your classroom is a real plus. Humans begin to make sense of their world by using their 5 senses, so take advantage of investigating it, especially the tiny minute organisms. Most children are so ready to go outside…running, playing, etc., but how many children go outside to observe and investigate? I take a bag of science tools outside with me: hand lenses, binoculars, small “collection” jars, rulers, identification books, nature journals, pencils, and my camera. Encourage the children to “take in” the textures – tree bark, leaves, rocks, soil; the sights: get on their knees and look for tiny insects and bits of nature that have interesting color, shapes, texture, smells; look up in the trees and the sky; go on a listening walk and identify natural and man-made sounds; plant a small garden so the children can experience plant life cycles and the interdependence of plants and animals. If you have access to a digital microscope, bring some of the nature inside so your children can look even closer (see attachment). Hope this gives you some more ideas. The experiences that I am talking about can be enjoyed by all children. Asking leading inquiry based questions might result in projects. Gail Laubenthal, Pre-K teacher, Austin, Texas
• Here are some life science learning activities. Some may be considered “arts and crafts” because they are required to draw or assemble, but these are legitimate science (and motor) skills that young students need to learn. Describing and depicting what they observe is an early building block to later inquiry. Specific to elementary life science: camouflage as a selective advantage, animal behavior and observation and recording skills, studying pollination and seed dispersal adaptations, parts of the plant with a Plant Party and using Hidden Pictures to search for and name animals and plants that live in various habitats around the world. Sheri Amsel Science Coordinator, Exploring Nature Educational Resource, Wild Science Professional Development, www.exploringnature.org
Children plant seeds to begin learning about life cycles.
Here are my two cents about these resources–a few books that I found especially helpful in teaching about life cycles and flower-fruit-seed formation in plants, and a rich discussion and listing of resources on an NSTA Learning Communities forum.
From Seed to Plant (Rookie Read About Science Series) by Alan Fowler. 2001. Childrens Press.
Nature Close-Ups: Seeds and Seedlings by Elaine Pascoe. 1999. Blackbirch Press.
Plant Secrets by Emily Goodman, illustrated by Phyllis L. Tildes. 2009. Charlesbridge.
Seeds by Ken Robbins. 2005. Atheneum Books.
Ten Seeds by Ruth Brown. 2001. Knopf Books.
Examining rocks up close to see small textural features.
And a couple about earth science concept of rock formation:
Materials, Materials, Materials: Rock by Chris Oxlade. 2002. Heinemann.
Rocks: Hard, Soft, Smooth, and Rough by Natalie M. Rosinsky. 2003. Picture Window Books.
See more resources on teaching earth science to young children, at the NSTA Learning Center Elementary Science forum, Earth Science Ideas for Kindergarten
Rock on! (groan) Peggy
Children observe and document seasonal changes as they begin to learn how living organisms respond to their environment.
Science stories
By Mary Bigelow
Posted on 2011-11-14
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For me, the most interesting part of TV’s Antiques Roadshow is not how much the objects are worth but the stories behind the objects. The owners ask questions and tell the appraisers what they know about the objects—where they came from, how long they’ve owned them, and often a bit of family history and personal memories. The appraisers then describe what they know, including how they researched the background. And sometimes, the conversations raise more questions than they answer. Asking questions, observing, fact-finding, drawing conclusions, asking more questions—sounds like science to me!
Who doesn’t enjoy a story, whether a book, movie, conversation, or TV program? Science as a Mystery Story introduces this issue’s theme of science stories—discovering the why and how of events and sharing the stories.
Children are naturally curious about their surroundings, but it seems that schools don’t always capitalize on that. The author of A Sixth Sense suggests ways to engage students in learning about their surroundings, including modeling and sharing your own science-related hobbies and avocations (e.g., gardening, nature-related art or photography, fishing/hunting, birdwatching, rock collecting, electronics, cooking). Do you have non-textbooks or other items on your desk that reflect your interests? What about a quick Monday morning story such as “I saw some interesting rock formations this weekend…” or “I visited a really interesting exhibit related to our topic at the museum yesterday with my family…”
“What should I write about?” is a question we hear from students. This issue has many suggestions for topics and situations that engage students in writing about science. I had an Investigation Station in my classroom, but I like how the authors use the center and related activities for student writing. The authors provide suggestions (including the students’ idea of bringing in items themselves) and examples of student work.
Although the title Prairie Stories refers to a particular environment, the activities described in the article (creating trading cards, writing “A Day in the Life of…”, and creating a web of life) and the rubric provided could be adapted to any location. [SciLinks: Biomes, Ecosystems]
Webcams typically stream video with no narration, providing a wonderful opportunity for student discussion and writing. The author of WebCam Stories includes a list of webcam sites (and many zoos and environmental organizations have them, too). The example in the article is about an owl nest webcam. Whoo Eats What? has a related lesson on owl pellets. [SciLinks: Birds]
It’s hard to find a voice in writing, but in Book Bag Buddies, students write from the point of view of their favorite stuffed animal, which becomes a character in the story. The authors include a description of their writing project, including an outline of the lessons, a rubric, and examples of student work. For older students, would a class mascot serve the same purpose?
A science notebook can be a collection of handouts and assignments, or it can be a story of a student’s learning experiences and reflections. The authors of ‘Twas the Start of Science Notebooking describe the latter approach in which the notebook becomes more of a student portfolio than a teacher-structured archive. And a student is never too young to keep a notebook. Nurturing the Child Scientist illustrates how kindergarten students kept a notebook of their observations throughout the school year. I imagine that the teacher, students, and parents would see a lot of growth as the year progressed.
Listening and speaking are also important in story-telling. Reading Stories, Making Predictions illustrates how to use a read-aloud with young children to make predictions based on what was read and their previous knowledge. (Are students ever too old for a read-aloud by the teacher?) The authors of Talk Strategies provide an excellent visual that describes several strategies for promoting oral communication (i.e., talking) during science activities. They relate each strategy to a component of the 5E learning cycle.
Science investigations can be stories in and of themselves. Why do you lose AM radio reception when you go under an overpass? has ideas for illustrating this [SciLinks: Electromagnetic Waves]. And Knowledge Is Power provides resources and suggestions for helping students learn about the relationship between nutrition and type II diabetes. [SciLinks: Nutrition, Diabetes]
And check out more Connections for this issue (November 2011). Even if the article does not quite fit with your lesson agenda, there are ideas for handouts, background information sheets, data sheets, rubrics, and other resources.
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Science and engineering that helped win a war: Reflections on Veterans Day
By Claire Reinburg
Posted on 2011-11-14
Being part of a military family, Veterans Day holds special significance for me. Members of my family have served in the Coast Guard, Navy, and Army. Wherever I am on Veterans Day, I seek out a way to reflect on the sacrifices and accomplishments of the men and women who serve in our armed forces. This year I had occasion to visit The National WWII Museum while in New Orleans for the National Science Teachers Association area conference. The scope of the exhibition galleries in this 11-year-old museum is overwhelming; the curators and historians took care to present an overview of the war in all theatres, with special emphasis on the amphibious invasions or D-Days. Moving from gallery to gallery, visitors see large-scale illustrations of battles across continents side by side with small objects soldiers carried and brought home, such as the metallic “cricket” clickers paratroopers used to signal one another in the French countryside. A soldier’s bullet-punctured helmet is displayed not far from a pocket Bible, carried by a Marine into battle in the Solomon Islands. In one gallery that focused on the war effort at home, I saw my reasons for being in New Orleans and at the museum come together in a compelling look at science and engineering that helped win World War II.
The exhibit supplies a summary of “Some Wartime Scientific and Technical Advances” that included the Jeep, high-octane gasoline, Teflon, synthetic cortisone, the electron microscope, and M&M’s. Penicillin, discovered and developed in 1928, was moved into mass production during the war, a boon to battlefield medicine. An engineering marvel that contributed greatly to the U.S.’s ability to ferry troops efficiently from sea to land was the Higgins landing craft, invented by Andrew Jackson Higgins of New Orleans. Higgins Industries and its affiliates manufactured more than 20,000 of these boats, which facilitated swifter landings of troops and equipment around the world. General Dwight Eisenhower is said to have called Higgins “the man who won the war for us.”
Another feature of this gallery is discussion of the extensive programs of conservation, salvage, and recycling the American public participated in to aid the war effort. In addition to adhering to rationing programs, Americans delivered tin foil, metal, used cooking oil, and nylon stockings to collection centers. These salvaged materials could be repurposed into shells, parachutes, and explosives. A gallery sign notes the salvage yields of some household items: 30,000 razor blades could yield 50 .30-caliber machine guns. And 30 lipstick cases could yield 20 ammunition cartridges.
As I moved through the museum, gaining a deeper understanding of World War II, I reflected on the American ingenuity and inventiveness that fueled many of the Allies’ strategies. Today’s military embodies this spirit of invention, continuously improving technology and equipment and advancing medical practice to improve care for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. In “With STEM, Almost Everything Is Possible,” Debra Shapiro writes of a remarkable advance in prosthetics research announced at the New Orleans NSTA conference by Colonel Geoffrey Ling, program manager for the Defense Science Office at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
As a student of science and of history, I could not have asked for more from my New Orleans experience this Veterans Day. For a glimpse inside the NSTA conference, be sure to browse the NSTA Blog entries from New Orleans. For a virtual visit to The National WWII Museum, visit their website. Teachers and students should visit The National WWII Museum’s website “Science & Technology of World War II” for cool lessons and activities like “Moon Phases and Tides in Planning the D-Day Invasion,” “Waves, Sonar, and Radar” and “Send a Coded Message.”
Being part of a military family, Veterans Day holds special significance for me. Members of my family have served in the Coast Guard, Navy, and Army. Wherever I am on Veterans Day, I seek out a way to reflect on the sacrifices and accomplishments of the men and women who serve in our armed forces.
Off to the races with physics!
By Debra Shapiro
Posted on 2011-11-13
I enjoyed watching auto races as a child, so I decided to check out Norm Barstow’s session, Elastic Power: Wind Up Your Engines and Explore (a.k.a. “NASCAR in New Orleans”).
Preparing for the big race
Barstow had elementary and middle school teachers use an elastic-powered wooden car to explore energy transfer and force and motion.
Check out Barstow’s “lab coat”: No boring science lessons for his students! 🙂
Start your engines…
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOs1lJBlTNs[/youtube]
I interviewed Barbara Park about her experiences in this session.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf62Zjwq39c[/youtube]
I enjoyed watching auto races as a child, so I decided to check out Norm Barstow’s session, Elastic Power: Wind Up Your Engines and Explore (a.k.a. “NASCAR in New Orleans”).
Bringing outdoor science in
By Claire Reinburg
Posted on 2011-11-12
Steve Rich’s early morning NSTA Press Session in New Orleans “Bringing Outdoor Science Into Your Classroom” drew teachers eager to explore strategies to incorporate more of the outdoors into their science lessons. Rich presented dozens of ideas for activities linked to nature, and the participants brainstormed about “what can we bring indoors to study?” Some of the ideas included samples of soil, seeds, leaves, seashells, and branches. When collecting specimens like this, Rich stresses always following safety precautions like placing caterpillars or bugs into a critter container and then releasing them outdoors again later in the day. Teachers also should be sure to research federal and state regulations on collecting specimens in the wild to be sure they follow the rules in their local area. A survey of the schoolyard with students is a simple activity that can yield wonderful objects for study, such as seeds for measuring and comparing or artifacts such as insect wings lying beneath spider webs that students can draw and record their observations about in a journal. The teachers present used Rich’s own collection of artifacts as inspiration for a brief writing activity that yielded fascinating read-alouds such as a short poem and a CSI-type case summary. Steve Rich is the author of Outdoor Science: A Practical Guide. His forthcoming book on bringing outdoor science in will be published by NSTA Press in spring 2012. Rich shared the following web links with workshop participants seeking new ideas for outdoor or indoor science activities:
Steve Rich’s early morning NSTA Press Session in New Orleans “Bringing Outdoor Science Into Your Classroom” drew teachers eager to explore strategies to incorporate more of the outdoors into their science lessons.
Fun and games with the carbon cycle
By Debra Shapiro
Posted on 2011-11-11
Demonstrating the carbon cycle was never so much fun as it was in Kristen Dotti’s New Orleans session, Drop the Lecture and Let the Students
Pick Up the Learning in Environmental Science. Dotti, who teaches Advanced Placement high school students at Christ School in Arden, North Carolina, had teachers use brightly colored plastic balls to create models of CO2 and other chemical compounds. Next, they had to choose which organism they were going to be and act out how the organism would behave in photosynthesis or cell respiration. Around the room, you could hear excited teachers exclaiming, “I’m a coral! I’m a deer!”
That was fine with Dotti. “You should be talking. It should be loud in here,” she declared.
I took a few videos to let you in on the fun. In the first one, a group of teachers are creating their models.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1RODa1giyM[/youtube]
This group is demonstrating mineralization.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5HHjPFFKwE[/youtube]
Now the “dramatization” begins!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRoDqWktdFY[/youtube]
Demonstrating the carbon cycle was never so much fun as it was in Kristen Dotti’s New Orleans session, Drop the Lecture and Let the Students