Force and Motion within Physical Science is honestly one of my favorite things to teach. Actually, scratch that. I don't teach it. I facilitate the exploration of it. I council the frustration during it. I channel the creativity of it. I give my students the tools and just enough support to watch them fail, and then fail again, and sometimes fail again. Then, when they are at the brink of frustration, I am lucky enough to see those wheels turn one last time and their 'Eureka Lightbulb' flash on. It's exhilarating for them, and it's the same for me!
I think following the directions is an important skill. If you buy the parts for a bookcase and you accidentally build an ottoman, you may be in a pickle. We work on reading diagrams and directions first in our Simple Machines Rotation Unit. Ensuring we have all the necessary parts before we begin and then working step by step through the instructions. Simple Machines is a 6 day unit with 6 different stations. Each station has 4-6 simple machine projects for the students to build and the k'nex to make that happen. The students spend 1 day at each station and build all the projects. After they are finished building the projects and have time, they are encouraged to build something of their own creation fitting with the theme of their station. The stations are Inclined Plane, Wheel & Axle, Pulleys, Gears, Levers, and a motorized station. I'm lucky enough to have 90 minute class periods to do this in! On the 7th day, we have a quiz with a paper component and a building component. Also, a little Bill Nye the Science Guy always rounds out the unit and preps them for the more advanced concepts they will cover in the next few weeks. (Bill! Bill! Bill! Bill! Science Rules!) Of course I want the kids to ultimately build their own creations. I feel that creativity and inquiry will serve them well as they progress, but they also need to know what to do with that creativity and inquiry when they have it! Finding on-task outlets for that creativity and inquiry will also help! Learning to draw a diagram or jot down their idea to build later is a biggie! We cannot abandon our Science Notebooks! In the next few weeks we will have 3-1 week long rotations consisting of 1 week of Robotics, 1 week of Roller Coasters, and 1 week of Inquiry Engineering and Activities. During Robotics, the students put together Lego Robots and program them to do certain tasks. In Roller Coasters, the students are given a roll of tape, lengths of foam pipe insulation and marbles. They are required to complete certain tasks and compete with the other classes (for the slowest coaster, for instance). Inquiry Engineering is always amazing. The students will complete tasks such as: create a free rolling vehicle out of found objects (tape, post-it notes, paper clips, etc) that will roll down 3 different ramps without your help; balloon car races in the hall then compare ratios of distance/balloon circumference to see what was the optimal output of Kinetic Energy for the Potential Energy you gave it (will it go further the more air it has?); Create 30 identical clay spheres, mass them, then smash them with differing forces and compare results; etc...good times had by all... As always, even amidst the 3-Ring Circus, we love visitors. If you are in the area, please come by! We adore seeing other Teachers, Staff, Parents, Guardians, Administrators, and/or Volunteers! Bring on the Creative Chaos!
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AuthorScientist, Writer, Answer Addict, Artist, Connoisseur of the Absurd, Educator Archives
January 2019
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