al-mofhariz

Don't forget to assess as you go....
Yesterday, we did a ramp experiment where we learned that speed is determined by time and distance of movement.  Our investigation today, was very similar with a few changes.

I started off by reviewing what we had learned so far.  I wanted to know if they had gotten the concepts I had taught yet...
Force - push/pull, gravityMotion - movement, measured by speed (distance and time) and described by changes in position (directions: up, down, forward, back)Friction - caused by two objects rubbing against each other, some surfaces slow objects down (rough, bumpy) others speed it up (smooth or oiled)So I asked the kids to do a 3, 2, 1

3 things you know about Motion
2 things you know about Force
1 thing you know about Friction





The next step is to take the samples and sort them.  I mark who got it according to the criteria I had already set, and then am able to find mistakes and misunderstanding.  For example, one of my students wrote that force was the same …

Today we explored a little with speed....

Oh don't you love speed?  When we were exploring with roller coasters we wanted them to go faster and faster.  When we watch a race, we cheer for the fastest runner.  And yet, on weekends we wish the time could go s-l-o-w-e-r...

I tweaked this lesson from Delta Education's Virgina Specific Curriculum coming soon....

  We started with a Quick Write in our journals =  What is speed?

Here are some responses...
speed is how fast it goesthe distance and time it takes to movespeed is the distancespeed is a motion that is caused by force...slow and fast are speedsspeed is momentum when something moves fast. It has speed like a car.Next I read a passage out of our old text book that explains that speed does describe the motion of an object especially how far it goes and how fast it goes.

Then we gathered materials - each group got:
two toy cars (matchbox)a dictionarya mini whiteboarda timera measuring tapebalance scale and gram stackersIn the student…

Q:What can we notice about the motion of the marble on the roller coaster tube?

1. Explain:Share the concept of forces and motion using a United Streaming video clip or using a nonfiction text.  I like to use snippets from United Streaming to show a real roller coaster in motion.  The kids get a "Wow" factor and an immediate hook....
2. Label a diagram of a roller coaster to show:
*marble’s position (near the top, traveling down, etc…)
*force – push or pull (we use a push to start the marble, then gravity pulls it along)
*motion – how the marble moves (up, down, forward, backward)
This may seem "elementary" but many kids do not connect the science behind the "fun" until they draw it out on a diagram in their notebooks.

I don't know if you can see, but this student wrote all the key words for direction up, forward, down, stop - but never connected it to the vocabulary term motion.  He also didn't write anything about force.  This example is one that shows…

We have spent several days observing animal pictures, video clips and even real crayfish!  Now I wanted the kids to turn their observations into a paragraph - an integrated writing experience. (We used the photo cards from the Variations and Adaptations kit from Seeds of Science and lesson 2.5. )

First we introduced a claim statement: A ------------------- has many adaptations that help it survive in it's habitat. That would become our topic sentence for our paragraph.

Then we brainstormed three adaptations for each animal and how it helps them survive. 

And then we talked about closing statements - need to wrap it up and stay on topic.

Next the students wrote and illustrated a paragraph that I could then grade for composing, written expression and usuage and mechanics as well as science content. 

Here are some samples:

On Tueday, August 9th,  I am leading a workshop for my county on creating and using science notebooks in grades 3-5 for the upcoming year.  I started on this journey several years ago.  I must admit...the first year, they were a little bit of a mess!  Yet as time goes on, and with several other workshop trainings at NSTA regional and national conferences, I feel like I have a better grip on what I'm doing.  I'd like to share some of my summer planning with you....


First I start by meeting with my team members and coming up with a common pacing guide for the upcoming year. What sequence of units will we teach?  What should we change from last year?  What would we like to do new? What can we do better?  We had already decided to use a black composition notebook this year for our science notebooks.  We prefer them to spirals (tear easily) and construction paper models (get lost easily).

Next, I plan how to set up my notebooks.  I type up my Table of Contents with the eight u…