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Science Groups  It is time for a repost...I can not stress enough how important it is to have science groups set up for hands-on exploration.  Each child NEEDS a job and a responsibility.  It makes the lesson run so smoothly....  Take a peek into my Science jobs the FOSS way! For more information about the curriculum I use, check out www.fossweb.com   1.  GROUPING:   FOSS recommends you have your students into groups of 4.  I usually group them this way - one high student, one lower student and two average students.  I also pay special mind to personalities as well - sensitive, high energy, etc... Laura Candler has a really good resource for cooperative learning where you make cards to help you keep record of who is grouped with who.  I recommend you go to her website: www.lauracandler.com and search for more resources under cooperative learning. 2. POSTER WITH NAMES:   Once I determine who is in the group, I make a post...

 Squirtle the Turtle is longing for some stories....   Last week I opened up to the students that for writing workshop I would like them to write about Squirtle.  It could be any form they chose:      Poetry/Song      Narrative (what they have seen)      Adventure (make believe)      Or any other topic so long as I approved it first.  The kids took this idea and  ran with it... Some topics include: Katie wrote a diary entry from Squirtle's point of view in which he decided to break out of his tank! Lilly wrote about Squirtle's adventures at night...did you know he watches TV? He lovesToy Story. Jordan wrote a tongue twister - Squirtle squats by the squirt shore.  Turtle twisted toward the tortoise shore. Amber and Tim wrote poems (as did my paraprofessional Tana) Broderick wrote all about how the turtle pees on the floor (this really bother him!) Darlene wrote about ho...

Have you ever stopped to think...what's the relationship between magnetism and electricity ?  Why do we teach them together after all?  My little brain has a hard time making connections to higher level science, but this one I get!  We are currently working on Magnetism and Electricity using the FOSS kit by the same name.  This is my third year teaching it with students (as well as many sessions with adults) and it always blows my mind how Dr. Lowery connects the concepts in such a concrete way.  On an aside note, I have met Dr. Lowery several times with my journeys with FOSS and I absolutely love the man.  Here we are at the Hotel Roanoke together...bad picture, but still one I treasure....  That's me on the right with my science BFF's Rita behind me and Sherrie on the left.  Anyway...back to school...I had always played around with magnets when I taught K-2 and knew that this was an important science concept. But I thought it stopped there....

I'm reposting an announcement for an interesting upcoming event hosted by the Philadelphia Center for the History of Science (PACHS). If any of our readers are in attendance, I hope that you will continue the discussion here at AmericanScience. -- What Matters About the History of Science and What do we Do About it? Feb 3, 2012, 4-5:30, Followed by a social hour and light dinner. The American Philosophical Society’s Franklin Hall, 427 Chestnut St. Join three distinguished scholars for an evening of big questions: What do historians want audiences to understand about the history of science, technology and medicine? What do historians want students to take away from classes, audiences from events, readers from books? What answers to these questions does the community of historians share in common? How do—or should—historians promote what matters about history of science? Nathaniel Co...

An announcement for this conference on the history/memory of the Tuskegee experiments caught my eye in part because it aims higher than do most (and reflects on its use of history more explicitly than is usual). For instance: Our purpose will not be to engender shame or guilt. Rather we will maturely enter into the realities of the past so as to re-imagine a deeper sense of human care in ourselves today, and thereby build a future never again marred by a holocaust of any kind. This conference will be a rich moment in time to prevent the worst by promoting the best of who we are and what we can do to protect the dignity and respect that is fundamental to being human. I cannot tell from the agenda (pdf), however, the true degree to which it will be historical in nature. At any rate, offered for your consideration.

Historians of science and medicine debate whether it is possible to re-diagnose diseases manifested in the past with modern terms. But what about "diseases of the past" that come back today. Note this 'graf from a Chicago Tribune article on vaccination and the resurfacing of now uncommon diseases: Bonwit said medical schools must do a better job of teaching young doctors the history of medicine, which is largely the history of disease and death, he said. Archival footage of children with measles or whooping cough, for instance, should be teaching tools to help students identify diseases and understand their severity, he said. Via Hope Leman. See below.

If you don't already know about ScanGrants , perhaps you should. It is "a public service listing of grants and other funding types to support health research, programs and scholarship" supported by Samaritan Health Services and maintained by Hope Leman , MLIS (who is also an invaluable and prolific contributor to H-Med-Sci-Tech ). Here are the listings for "history of science" grants .

Squirtle... Today was the day that we brought in the turtle.  I had former students come to meet him as well as current and possibly future students.  My dear, sweet husband helped me set it up in the classroom where I posted a few notes to the kids, placed a brochure and children's book for them to read as well as an adorable mini pillow pet turtl I couldn't resist!  Critters in the Classroom has a wonderful pdf available that gives great suggestions about how to get a pet, what responsibilities you will need to be ready for as well as ways to introduce the pet to the classroom.  I downloaded the Classroom Pet Rules to have up and ready on the wall from the first day. Next, I had a poster that gave a little bit of infomation about our turtle.  I knew they would have a million questions so I tried to answer as many important ones as I could.  Besides, the information is there to show class visitors and to reread throughout the day.    ...

PINTEREST...         Let me share with you my favorite new find from Pinterest....Sesame Street Videos with celebrities.. I can't wait to share this with my students!  Even though they are in fourth grade, I know they will enjoy it.  They are so into popular music they will actually "get" the humor of it - and they are old enough to enjoy it.  Yes, I know...some may make fun of Sesame Street, but I think most will secretly enjoy it!  First of all it is Jason Mraz...and second it's about going outdoors.  Check it out... Next I'd like to share with you the new link on the side bar....Teaching Pin Addict.  It is created by the people who brought you Teaching Blog Addict (on of my favorite sites).    If you have a few hours to spare (and trust me...it is addicting...) check out this site. It links you up to over 100 Pinterest boards ...all about Education.  My site is included on the list at the...

Easy Grant Opportunity: Have you heard of the wonderful program called Pets in the Classroom?  At my science lead teacher meeting, a colleague told us about this wonderful program.  It's super easy and allowed me to get an amazing pet and pet habitat for my classroom. How does it work?  Technically it is a grant - you fill out the online form online and within two weeks you will get notification in the mail.    There are four (4) grant types , including: 1- Rebate Grants in the amounts of $100 (for small animal or birds) or $150 (for reptiles or fish) for purchases at any pet store; 2- the Sustaining Grant in the amount of $50 to maintain an existing classroom pet; 3- Petco Grant , which provides coupons for the live animal, pet habitat and supplies purchased at Petco; and 4- a Petsmart Grant , which provides coupons for the live animal, pet habitat and supplies purchased at Petsmart. I was lucky enough to be adopted by a parent in my class this year.  ...

The Library of Congress now hosts a fascinating set of photographs taken by University of Chicago ecologists (and their students), most prominently Henry C. Cowles (no relation to our dear Hank). On a personal note, I love the images of Lake Michigan dunes. As an undergraduate at Michigan State, I did my best to escape every year to explore these enormous white-sand oddities and feel a bit of wonder. I did not realize at the time that those same dunes had inspired Cowles' theory of ecological succession, beginning with his 1898 dissertation "The Ecological Relations of the Vegetation on the Sand Dunes of Lake Michigan." In that seminal work, Cowles explained: "Ecology, therefore, is a study in dynamics. For its most ready application, plants should be found whose tissues and organs are actually changing at the present time in response to varying conditions. Plant formations should be found which are rapidly passing into other types by reason of a chan...

I love this insight from scientist and blogger Ian Hopkinson ( SomeBeans ) on some salutary side-effects of well-done history of science: "In the same way that Poirier’s biography of Lavoisier introduced me to the French Revolution, this book on Franklin has introduced me to the American War of Independence. It’s like sneaking vegetables into a child by hiding them in something they like." Yummy. Via.

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, gravity Motion - 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 o...

The Wikipedia Homepage on Jan. 18th, 2012 Today is a big day for the internet!  Visit the English-language version of Wikipedia and instead of the familiar start page, you'll see the ominous image above with a message prompting you to "Imagine a World Without Free Knowledge." By denying its Anglo-American users access to the site, Wikipedia is protesting two anti-piracy laws making their way through the United States Congress that it and many other internet content providers (especially social networking sites and blog hosts) claim are overly restrictive. These and other issues surrounding the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act are both important and complex. You can read more about them in today's Washington Post .  (If you have a subscription, you can also check out a story in today's New York Times .) But what caught my attention was another story in the Times , about a website called ResearchGate designed to encourage scientists to collaborate, s...

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 goes the distance and time it takes to move speed is the distance speed is a motion that is caused by force...slow and fast are speeds speed 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 dictionary a mini whiteboard a timer a measuring tape balance scale...

Today marks what would've been the one-hundred-and-seventieth birthday of one of the most well-regarded and enigmatic figures in American science: William James. (And, while he's a central figure in my work, my admiration doesn't even approach that of one of my colleagues: William James Dromgold Bouk turns two this March.) James is a towering figure in American intellectual history – and he's gotten lots of attention in the ensuing century as a result. Lately, it's been picking up. The last few years marked a series of centenaries, including those of some of his best-known works: most significantly, The Varieties of Religious Experience in 1902 and Pragmatism in 1907. But it's more than anniversaries that have raised James's profile. From Louis Menand's Metaphysical Club (which won the Pulitzer in 2002) to Robert Richardson's Bancroft-winning biography (2006) to the privileged place given him by Jim Kloppenberg in Reading Obama , James is on books...

Videos I recommend... Every now and then you need to take the time to watch a video....Here are some of my favorites...   Disney has some amazing new videos using the park rides to explain physical science.  My school has the one on Friction and I love it... If you can stand Bill Nye's fast pace, his videos are terrific.  My kids love him and they do pick up a lot of information from the dvds...   Last but not least, any dvd by Schlessinger is excellent for science.  These are the videos that FOSS is incorporating into their program in the third edition.  You can find these at most public libraries. What are your favorite DVD's to watch????

Exploring how to manipulate speed.... Today we had a blast exploring how to increase speed using our roller coaster tubes.  I started with a review and we made an anchor chart to show the main points of force and motion:  Then we did an guided inquiry lesson using our roller coaster tubes.  In order for the students to see that this time we were testing a basic ramp design, I modeled how to make the ramp levels for the students to see.  Then I showed the students how to measure speed with stop watches.  I recommend practicing that for a while. Then we got into our small groups again and used the sheet to record the speeds each time.  I find that it is important to assign jobs for testing.  Have one person be the recorder, one measure the time, one drop the marble and hold the top of the tube, and one to hold the bottom of the tube.  This seems to work really well. Here is an example of what the recording sheet looks like.  You can down...