SEP2

Owl Survival Simulation Activity to use with the Novel ‘Hoot’ by Carl Hiaasen

Liz Belasic1 Comment

This lesson plan was modified to be used along with the novel “Hoot” by Carl Hiaasen. It can be used as a stand alone lesson as part of your Ecology Unit.

Objectives:

  • simulate the struggle for survival of an owl family.
  • bring food back to the nest despite obstacles.
  • feed and take care of owlets.
  • live in a nest as an owlet.
  • experience how adaptations affect a species.
  • discuss the importance of resources for a community.

Lesson Plan Resources:

 

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Materials:

  • Colored Chalk (to outline nests) or painters tape
  • Black Beans 1-3 lbs (food)
  • White Beans – 5 beans (poison)
  • Additional larger Beans to represent mice, rodents, etc
  • Plastic forks (2 per owl parent)
  • Small paper or plastic cups (1 per owlet)
  • Owl Assignment Sheet – Cut up for students to pick their role

 

Updated: Dunkin’ for Density using Google Sheets

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Updated 2018 – Spreadsheet that will graph 20 trials, along with the Density of Water

Purpose: Change the density of the film canister so that 97-99% of the canister is suspending under water (very SLOWLY floating from the bottom to the top of the tank).

chart (1).png
Dunkin’ for Density 2018

Materials:

  • Film canisters with secure lids – one per student
  • small objects of different masses – pebbles, pennies, etc…
  • lunch tray to hold materials for each group of students
  • deep enough ‘tank’ and a spoon to fish items out
  • Triple Beam Balance
  • Towels
  • Google Sheets: Dunkin’ for Density Spreadsheet 2018
  • Google Doc Public Link – Student worksheet and directions

Set up hints – students prep items at their table then come up to the tank. After dunking, dry off with towels (I just drop it onto a thick folded up towel next to the tank). I have a bank of TBBs set up on the side of the classroom – students find the mass on their assigned TBBs then record results. Repeat trials. Towards the end of class, students enter all their data into the spreadsheet then I give them the volume of their film canister. Depending on the type of film canister, the volumes are about 39-41 mL. Confirm with a large graduated cylinder or water displacement tank.

dunkin_1

 

For more details about this activity, please see my original post. If you have used this lesson with your students, please let me know, you can post it on my Twitter feed @MSScienceBlog

Scientific and Engineering Practices (SEP 1 to SEP8) Consolidated

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Images above are from: http://www.nap.edu/read/13165/chapter/7#50 

This post highlights the eight Scientific and Engineering Practices and spotlights a few lessons related to each practice. I had this as eight separate posts but decided to consolidate for easier viewing.

For more details and examples about the Science and Engineering Practices, visit NSTA.

Tag: SEP8 – click for more lessons that cover this practice

Tag: SEP7 – click for more lessons that cover this practice

Tag: SEP6 – click for more lessons that cover this practice

Tag: SEP5 – click for more lessons that cover this practice

Tag: SEP4 – click for more lessons that cover this practice

Tag: SEP3 – click for more lessons that cover this practice

Tag: SEP2 – click for more lessons that cover this practice

Tag: SEP1 – click for more lessons that cover this practice

Atomic Model Timeline

Liz Belasic4 Comments

 

Screen Shot 2016-08-13 at 5.40.32 PM.png
Image Source: Science with Mr. Enns

Materials:

This is a great explanation as well – he has tons of Chemistry videos which are geared more towards High School and College Students.

Rocks, Fossils, and the Law of Superposition Sequencing Activity

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Image: Nonsense Letters - UEN
Image: Nonsense Letters – UEN
Image: Fossile Layers - UEN
Image: Fossile Layers – UEN

Objectives:

  • Sequence information using items which overlap specific sets
  • Relate sequencing to the Law of Superposition
  • Show how fossils can be used to give relative dates to rock layers.

Materials:

  • Fossils, Rocks, and the Law of Superposition Google Slides – this will walk you through the lesson step-by-step
  • Set of 8 cards for each groups – download from the UEN
    • additional lesson plan details on their site
    • print and cut apart the 8 cards for each part of the lesson
    • to set up the cards, use large 4×6 index cards and store in ziptop bags.
    • on one side of the index cards, glue on the nonsense letters
    • on the reverse side, glue on the fossil layers
      • laminate for durability
      • Replace the letters for each fossil layer, see my ppt for new random letters
        • spelling out the word “ORGANISM“ is way too easy for students to figure out and they will not really have a chance to work on the activity with the depth of thinking and problem solving that you want them to do
        • be sure to stagger cards so that the order of the cards is not the same, otherwise they will flip over the cards and have the answer for part 2
  • Notes Handout – Law of Superposition Notes (pdf) students will take notes and record their answers on this handout.

Tips for this lesson:

This is a fantastic lesson and I have used it successfully with both 5th and 6th grade students. When introducing this lesson I use the analogy of a laundry hamper, or in most cases, the pile of dirty clothes on the floor in their bedroom. Today’s clothes would go on top of the pile, each day adding a layer of dirty clothes. The older clothes would be on the bottom of the pile, kind of like a timeline of what they wore this week. When that laundry is collected and moved to the laundry room, the layers would get disrupted. With rocks, the layers form on top of each other, and the older layers are on the bottom. We then brainstorm how those layers can be disrupted: earthquakes, tectonic plates moving, landslides, digging, etc…

For this activity, they have to figure out the pattern of how these layers are formed, and there are clues in each layer, they just need to know what to look for. For the nonsense letters, there is a pattern that connects all the layers together. Many will think it is alphabetical, but I tell them that it is not. Once they have worked on it a few minutes, I have them share their theories. Once each group has shared their theory, I give them the clue. And suddenly, the pattern is clear now that they know what to look for. Using the same strategy, they will then sequence the fossils on the reverse side of the index cards.

 

The Atoms Family

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Materials:

  • Google Slide Presentation (Public) – a fun way to introduce the parts of the atom and how to determine the numbers of protons, neutrons, and electrons. Get ready to do some singing and snapping 🙂
  • Handouts – via ScienceSpot.net

Ride the Rock Cycle – Comic Strip Adventure

Liz Belasic3 Comments

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May 13, 2020 – Updated for Distance Learning

Modified to be used on Google Classroom – students will be able to roll virtual dice and view slides on presentation mode, then advance to different slides based on their roll.

 

 

Materials:

  • Rock Cycle Comic Strip Lesson Plan (link – pdf) or ScienceSpot.net or NSTA
    • Note there is a typo with the numbering on the handout – it should be numbered 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 in case you want to make corrections prior to photocopying it
  • Laminated Station Cards
    • UPDATED May 2018: Stations as Google Slides – public
      • print slides and place into plastic sleeves or laminate
    • For 2016-2017 I updated some of the stations to have more variety in the outcomes and introduce some higher level concepts for my 6th graders to lead into our unit on Plate Tectonics
  • Dice: 2-4 at each station
  • Pencils
  • Colored Pencils

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Tips for running the lesson:

  • Use this lesson after introducing the Rock Cycle to students.
  • Having 2-4 dice at each location allows multiple students to be at each station at the same time. In the past when I used the paper dice that come with the lesson, it took time for each student to write down the outcome from the dice. Having the outcomes on the station cards helps speed things up.
  • Set up stations around the room, depending on the number of students you have, you can make multiple stations for each one.
    • For example, for the Soil Station or the Earth’s Crust & Interior Station, you can have more than one of each to spread students out around the room. They get a lot of traffic.
  • If students get ‘stuck’ at a station, explain that they can be stuck in the Earth’s Interior for millions of years and their whole comic would be just that one station, but allow them to ‘roll out’ of a station if they are there for a 3rd time.
    • For example – A student will end up at the Soil Station and roll “Sediments Being Formed Remain Here” and write that on their handout. Then they will roll “Sediments Being Formed Remain Here” again, and write it down. If on the 3rd turn they roll “Rocks Break Down, Remain Here” have them roll again until they get something different. They may then get “Flooding Occurs, Go to River” and write that down and go to the River Station. They may end up back at the Soil Station on a later turn, but that is OK. They will visit some stations more than others.
  • Once students are done with their journey, check over their work and then have them start their comic strip. They might need some tips on how to draw certain geological processes.
  • I have used this lesson for many years and the students really enjoy making their comics and come away with a better understanding of how rocks change over time.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Mining Simulation

Liz Belasic2 Comments
cookiemining
Cookie Mining – with an example of cookies used for the activity.

Materials:

This is one of my favorite activities from our minerals and mining unit. It takes about 1 whole class period to explain the activity, collect data, eat the cookie (& crumbs), and clean up. We discuss our results the next class and determine who made the most profit.

When determining the value of the chocolate ore, I have the students place their chocolate pieces close together in one area of the map. When they are done, I go around and circle the area of chocolate and give their chocolate a rating. They count the number of boxes their chocolate covers and enter it into their spreadsheet.

If there are crumbs attached to the chocolate, I call that ‘slag’ and it lowers the value of the chocolate ore. This leads to a great discussion afterwards when we compare the profits and talk about land use. Is it better to get out as much chocolate as you can, even if you get a lot of slag, or is it better to remove just the chocolate even though you will have less in the end? How is this similar to coal mining? Diamond mining?

cookiemining2
Students try different techniques to extract the chocolate.
cookiemining3
Cookie blasting – extracting as much chocolate as you can in 5 minutes.

 

Color Coding Families on the Periodic Table

Liz Belasic4 Comments
coloringperiodictable1
coloringperiodictable2
Coloring the Periodic Table (1)

This is a fun way to introduce the families of the periodic table and their properties. The students really enjoy watching the video clips from Periodic Table Videos and the experiments performed by the Chemistry Department at the University of Nottingham.

As a class, we found the location of each family, recorded the elements for each family, discussed their properties, color coded the periodic table, and discussed any patterns they noticed.

Materials

  • Google Slides (Public) – updated for 2016 with links to the YouTube videos to view an element in each family
  • Handout – (pdf) students take notes for each family and use this is a reference for further lessons
  • Periodic Table – (Updated 2016 pdf) I like to use this student version of the periodic table from Jefferson Lab for my 6th graders. I photocopy it double sided – one side stays blank while the other side is color coded. If students have binders with a clear pocket on the outside front, I ask that they place it there for quick reference and access.

This activity was featured on the following blog post: The Joy of Chemistry – A Unit in Photos a few years ago. You can read about how she used this lesson in her 3rd grade classroom as part of her Chemistry unit.

Below is a video about Sodium from Periodic Table Videos. They have a lot of great chemistry videos posted for free on their site, be sure to check them out!

Patterns of the Periodic Table: Finding Shells and Valence Electrons

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Screen Shot 2016-07-05 at 4.45.47 PM
Finding Shells & Valence Electrons Using the Periodic Table (Public)
Finding Shells & Valence Electrons Using the Periodic Table (Public) (1)
Finding Shells & Valence Electrons Using the Periodic Table (Public) (2)

Materials:

  • Google Slides – students will learn how to find the number of energy levels (shells) for elements in periods 1 – 8 and the number of valence electrons in their outer shells using the periodic table. Updated (Public link)
  • Handout – updated Shells & Valence Electrons
    • Older version: How to determine the number of valence electrons and shells using the element’s group number and period – Notes (pdf) and Slides (ppt)
  • “Find that Element!” Worksheet (pdf)- Practice finding the period & group for each element