Basic Science
Discussion of lessons on Basic Science
7 Replies
These are 2 fun activities - the time is more in the preparation of the materials - but it is really worth it! With the 1st activity - photocopy the tree cores for students. Using a paper cutter to cut the cores saves SO MUCH TIME in the classroom - and gets the kids right down to DOING the activity. It's straight forward and the students can see the mechanics of using tree cores works. There are good follow-up comments about how really old wood from pueblos, etc. can be incorporated into this.
The Little Ice Age activity follows really well after the Dendrochronology-1. It helps A LOT if the students understand the basics of how tree cores work before they start this activity. It is SO WORTH IT to make the actual tree cores - you want to use dowling that is the smallest or 2nd smallest size. Put all the stuff by the TV for about a month before you want to do this - definately spray the cores - ask the art department (or an art store) what to use - it's to prevent the ink from smudging. I made a 2nd set of ice cores (8 sets) for myself to use with workshops I do. I took the month - with the TV watching - and it was pretty painless to make them.
This also is a great lead in to the Little Ice Age and what happened; it also brings in other types of evidence: paintings, oral history, stories, etc. Really nice links to history too.
This, plus the subsequent Ice Core activity has the kids understanding more about how the paleoclimatology research is conducted.
This post was edited on: 2012-05-16 at 06:42 AM by: momahony
The school librarian and I developed this assignment which we use in the first 3-4 lessons of the unit. The students receive a library lesson on assessing the credibility of web resources. This is usually the 2nd lesson; the first occurs during the Chemistry unit and is about finding resources in the library and on-line as well as proper referencing.
This lesson also addresses many of the expectations for the 1st unit, Scientific Investigation Skills ... specifically A1.3, A1.6, A1.7, A1.9, A1.10, A1.11. This could be easily adapted to include a careers section.
This post was edited on: 2012-05-16 at 06:43 AM by: momahony
This post was edited on: 2012-05-16 at 06:43 AM by: momahony
Web page link to an interactive (SmartBoard?) graphic looking at the carbon cycle. I think this would get the point across faster than the carbon cycle game in the Cool database.
http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/climate/carbon_cycle.html
This post was edited on: 2012-05-29 at 04:47 PM by: gmiller
I have to agree that the on-line game works faster - and that it has the option of being worked with whole class, small group or individually.
I like having both available - I guess 'cause then I don't have to choose right away - and I have a couple of options depending on what the class is like or how much time I have.
Thanks for adding the on-line version Gayle!
I really like these dendrology activities Meg but I am worried about the time factors - many teachers are not going to be willing or able to take the time to do extensive prep - so for them it needs to be a paper lab only. Also - is this set of activities doable in one class? I don't think teachers will be able to devote more than a single class to dendrology activities. I am wondering if we can recommend doing the first activity in class and assigning the rest as a HR assignment?
this c-cycle game is great - just needs a worksheet for students so they have a "take away" little note. Otherwise they will have a tendency to play the game quickly and may miss reading the rich information presented in the text books.
re: ice core lab
I would like to discuss this a bit. I am not quite sure about some of the assumptions.
Is the core supposed to represent 5 years or an entire 4000 year span made up of only 5 layers? I am worried we may cause some misconceptions if our model assumptions are not clear.
I also think we should avoid asking students to make predictions without the necessary background knowledge - ie with no information about the origin/age of the ice core model. They need something to base their prediction on.
Meg O'Mahony
May 15, 2012 at 9:42 PM