Model Reflection

It amazes me how students of all ages love to make models. I had each of my students create a Tectonic Tennis Ball Model. My students loved this! As a whole, this class is very into science anyways, but this really excited them. Each child was able to create their own model which also added to the excitement, due to the fact that many times students work as a team during my science class. Each student was successful in making a model Earth; some needed more assistance than others. However, I did encounter the issue of completing this lesson in the allotted amount of time. I had only planned on this instructional plan taking two science periods. However, after being interrupted by a fire drill, I was forced to take three periods for this lesson. I found that the students were very interested in the topic and had many questions, which was nice! After completing this lesson, I must admit that I am very happy with the results. I feel that my students have a deep understanding of tectonic plates and their movements. I also feel that the students enjoyed themselves and had FUN learning.      

Natural Disasters

Depending on where you live, you are probably aware of a natural disaster that could happen any day. Living in "tornado alley" causes me as a teacher and mother to be very cautious of active weather. Earlier this year, we suffered a tornado out break in my area. Many people lost their homes, schools were destroyed, and many lives were lost. Only two weeks ago my school held students after school in our tornado areas because a tornado was on the ground only 3 miles from my school. It is so important to educate our students about all natural disasters. These things happen to innocent people every day. The more knowledge one holds the better they will handle themselves in a dangerous situation.

Ask a Scientist

Everyone has a question that they would love to know the answer to! It may be something simple about growing a plant or more complex like a plant's cell structure. I had the opportunity to ask a scientist my burning question. Here is what I asked:

My question is about Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). This involves transplanting a patients genetic material from something as simple as a skin cell into an unfertilized egg in order to grow the patient specific stem cells. No sperm is involved, and therefore no fertilization occurs, in this procedure. Also, with this process the egg is not placed in a uterus so there is no fetus or fertilized egg. My question is when will these cells be used in the treatment of diseases and other medical issues? Also do you think these cells will encounter the ethical issues that embryonic cells face?

Any many people know, stem cell research is a hot topic in today's news and politics. I am curious about this type of stem cell research due to the fact that it could benefit so many people who suffer from health issues.

I have not had any feedback from a scientist yet, but will update my blog as soon as I do. :)

Presentation Tools

Everyone needs an exceptional presentation tool in their tool kit. When checking out some presentation tools this week, I have found two that I think are really great. PreZentit is a presentation tools that is simple to use and the best part is.... if you are working on a presentation with team members you can all use this tool at the same time! That's right, you and your partner can be working on your presentation at the same time without being in the same room. I also liked Prezi due to the fact that it seems simple to me. I like the information zebra tool due to the fact that you can do so many things through the one tool. I also like the bubble menus being in the corner. I am thinking that I am going to use the Prezi for my course project. However, if you are completing your project with a partner, definitely check out the PreZentit.

Resources:

www.Prezi.com
www.PreZentit.com

Heating Things Up!

During week 4 of Physical Science, we have been learning about the three types of heat transfer and experiment with different types of insulators. During this experiment, I used aluminum foil, bubble wrap, a cotton dish towel, and a Sparkle paper towel. Using water that was brought to 80 degrees Celsius, I filled my four cups to the same level. I covered each cup with an insulator and used a rubber band to ensure that the insulator was covering the opening of the cup tightly. After thirty minutes, I uncover each cup and used a simple thermometer to measure each cup of water's temperature. In conclusion, I discovered that the foil insulated the water the best. The bubble wrap can in second and then the dish towel. The Sparkle paper towel lost the most heat.
If I had to complete this experiment again I would use more non-traditional materials such as, a wool scrubbing pad, press n seal wrap, a large piece of bandage and possibly a piece of flat glass. I think that using more non-traditional materials would make this experiment more interesting. When think about how I could complete this experiment in my second grade classroom, I am a little stumped. My students do not learn about the different types of heat until they are in third grade. In second grade, students are to know and understand that substances stay hotter longer if they are in smaller containers and that if you would like to cool a substance down, blowing on it or placing it in a larger container would be correct. Instead of determining what materials are better insulators, I would have my students measure the temperature of oatmeal that is in different size containers. I know that our third grade science teachers complete the insulator experiment near Thanksgiving. I understand that my experiment would not achieve the same results, but it would fit my curriculum and standards much better.

Does Mass Matter?

When choosing a guided inquiry experiment to complete, I chose the activity    that I knew the least about. I was very interested in determining if the mass of a pendulum would affect the pendulum’s swing frequency. I have always been fascinated by my grandparent’s old pendulum clock. I took this opportunity to find out more about the process of these amazing tools.             In completing this experiment, I created a pendulum using a swing, spool of threat, steel washers, and a stop watch. Using the string and spool I created a simple pendulum and used the stop watch. I started the pendulum and documented how long it took for the pendulum to come to a complete stop. I then added 22 grams of washers to the top of the pendulum. It was at this point that my personal hypothesis began to collide.
            Before completing the latter part of the experiment, I had hypothesized what I thought would happen. I hade many mixed thoughts about the specifics of this experiment. I knew that adding washers to the spool or pendulum would add more mass to the pendulum, but it would also add to the air resistance that the pendulum was facing. In addition to these thoughts, I also had in mind what Galileo discovered in the late 1500’s and the early 1600’s. Galileo determined that the velocity of a falling object does not depend on it’s weight and any differences in a falling objects is explainable by air resistance (Tilley, Enger, Ross, 2008). With all this information in mind, I hypothesized that the bob’s mass would not affect it’s swing frequency.
            After completing this experiment, I discover that my hypothesis was correct. Adding more mass to the bob does make the bob itself heavier, but it also increased the amount of gravitational pull on the bob. I hypothesis that when the bob is in the upswing, gravity is acting upon the bob in proportion to the bob’s weight.
            To replicate this experiment, I could use the same materials in my classroom. I would have my students place their reading book on the side of their desk and hang the pendulum. We could use the stop watches that we use for our reading fluency to time the pendulums. To enrich this experiment, students could shorten their strings and see how the lenght affects the results. Students could also link this new knowledge to how the swings on their playground work.

Will it Sink or Float??

This week our class has been studying density and matter. The students have also learned about the different properties of matter. For this experiment my second graders were given an unpeeled orange and a container of water. The students worked in groups of four and predicted whether the unpeeled orange would float or sink and explained their choice. The students placed the orange into the container and was able to see that they unpeeled orange floated. Students then peeled their orange and placed it in the container again. The students could then see that the orange sank to the bottom of the container. Many of my students correctly predicted what would happen, but many did not. However, I was very happy to see that even the students that did not predict correctly still linked their predictions to what we learned in class about density. The students were very excited about this lesson and linked their previous information to what they were seeing. Many of the students started predicting if other objects, such as an eraser, pencil, and crayon, would float and then placed them in the water. All of my students did an excellent job!!

Hot Topic

Global warning is a very hot topic. It is talked about at political dinners and dinner tables around the world. Scientist have been discussing this topic for years. In answering question 9, section a, I do not believe that if the polar ice caps melted it would cause water levels to increase to a flood stage. I believe that if this horrible situation occurs, the earth would be forever different in many ways. I do have many concerns and questions about this experiment. If the polar ice caps did melt, how would this effect the ocean life that we know today? If the ice caps are fresh water and melt into salt water how would this change the water's balance. Would the migration of our sea life change? I am sure that the ice caps melting would effect all of us in some way.

Lesson Reflection

Well this is the first blog posting I have every attempted. After writing my first lesson plan, I feel both excited and relieved. I really liked the format of the lesson plan template. I feel that I covered all of the materials in a very organized manner. The five E was very help in organizing my thoughts and objectives. I feel that the five E section breaks the lesson into perfect parts. I really feel that this lesson will flow smoothly and if there is a problem it will easily be solved. I do not plan every lesson for each day like this. My lesson plans are detailed but does not include a five E section. My three fellow teachers and I plan our lessons together at the request of our principal. Teachers meeting weekly and planning together is part of our school's improvement plan. I am planning on teaching this lesson this week and I am excited to blog how it goes. The only section of this lesson that I really struggled with was finding the standards on the websites NSES and NSTA. I hope all goes well this week. I hope even more that I "blogged" correctly.