Solar System

  Do you teach the planets?  We have just added them back into our curriculum and I am so glad that we did!  We have spent the past two weeks learning about rotation and revolution of the earth and the moon.  We also talked about the surface of both areas...we were able to compare and contrast what they looked like and felt like.  The students quickly learned that even though there are rocks, mountains and valleys like Earth - without air and water, there is little chance for life.  Astronauts must wear special suits to exist on the moon for even a short period of time. 

But what about the other planets?  We are using Seeds of Science's unit Planets and Moons which has a wonderful collection of planet trading cards.  If you do not have the kit, you can down load some from NASA here.  They are a lot larger than the ones that Seeds provides, but they do work.

The kids spent the day reading and sorting the cards - first on their own, then by size, surface features and distance from the Sun. 



It was a great way for them to learn about surface features of the inner and outer planets as well as manipulate the cards to put the planets in order from the sun. Kids like them because they are like trading cards - think Pokemon!  (Plus there are some really cool moons and asteroids included in the pack.)  By the way, I do have a really cool activity for looking at scale models that I am hoping to blog about soon.  Been tied up with State Testing....no need to say more!

Popular posts from this blog

A Novel History of Psychology

Image
BOOK REVIEW: Vanessa L. Ryan, Thinking Without Thinking in the Victorian Novel (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2012) ——————————————— Science and (the study of) literature are growing closer together. From  Stanford's Literary Lab  and a recent New York Times piece on the Digital Humanities  to reading Austen in an MRI machine  and so-called " Literary Darwinism ," there's both controversy and a certain cache (and maybe even a little cash) in bringing scientific techniques and the study of literature closer together. This is your brain on Austen ( http://news.stanford.edu/news/2012/september/images/mri_reading_news.jpg ) So what about the study of science and the study of literature? History of science, say, and literary history? The short answer is that it's happening in English departments, but not so much in History. Why? More on that below. Work on the interplay between science and literature has been dominated by scholars of the Victorian novel. G
Read more

Chocoalate...Sink and Float

Image
What's better than chocolate?  not much! Here's another experiment brought to you by Candy Experiments.   Most candy sinks in water, because sugar is denser than water.  But some candy floats. Why? This experiment is so easy...all you need is some leftover chocolate candy and water.  Drop the candy in the clear glass and observe what happens.  Here's what Loralee at Candy experiments says is happening: "Some kinds of candy, such as Kit Kats, 3 Musketeers, and marshmallows have air trapped inside. This makes them float.  " I have created another recording sheet to go along with this experiment!  Hope you can use it!    
Read more

Scientific Comparison Writing

Image
My friend, Kip Bisignano, (a Delta/FOSS Sales Rep for Virginia, Maryland and DC) came to play with my class this week. We are presenting together at the Virginia Association of Science Teachers (VAST) in November on reading strategies and science. So yesterday, we used the book and the strategies with the class. The results were amazing! We started the day by having the kids read the book: Blue Whales and Buttercups by Seeds of Science. It is an excellent book that has the students reading about how animals and plants are similar and different. They eventually get to the point that they are all related - due to the fact that all living things are made up of cells. My students loved the book and we had a great discussion! Next we reread page 12 and 13 and brainstormed how the animals fox and wolf are similar and different using a great graphic developed by Kip. You can see how my student Darlene was able to compare two characteristics easily using this forma
Read more