Lunch and Learn
10/27/2019
Science concepts can seem easy to teach and to learn, especially with the many videos, simulations, and resources at our fingertips these days. But all of us can voice facts but not truly understand them. Students can read and discuss scientific phenomenon but not truly understand and apply a concept. That’s why hands-on activities are so crucial. Sometimes the activities might feel “easy,” and yet those activities cement understanding in very unique and critical way. After spending a full week talking about space, reading about space, and watching movies about space, we spent a bit of time during our Parent Lunch actually conducting a little model-building exercise to extend and deepen understanding of some critical science concepts. The Next Generation Science Standards call for important core “content” to be taught, but also focus on more “processes and practices” and “cross-cutting concepts” to be understood. For example, in Earth science, a disciplinary core idea for students to learn is: ESS1.B: Earth and the Solar System: The orbits of Earth around the sun and of the moon around Earth, together with the rotation of Earth about an axis between its North and South poles, cause observable patterns. These include day and night; daily changes in the length and direction of shadows; and different positions of the sun, moon, and stars at different times of the day, month, and year. The standards also call, however, for students to engage in critical thinking and practices that are also expected in other content areas, such as:
Many students in grade 5 can talk about the core ideas of the orbits, day length, and shadows, since they have been told about them from the time they were very young. They’ve read about them, seen pictures of sun dials, experienced the effects daily. But creating a sun dial; monitoring weekly changes in the length of our days and nights and graphing that data; watching shadow phenomena and making conjectures about them: these are the activities that make learning real, and these activities can reveal misconceptions and partial understandings. From there, we can build more activities and experiences to correct those misconceptions. Parents: thank you for joining us at lunch on Wednesday and helping to build and test our sun clocks! We had a lovely time together, and your contributions to our science lesson were much appreciated! We will continue to explore natural phenomena to deepen understanding of our world, because it is more critical than ever. Thank you for all you do help along the way! Comments are closed.
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Elizabeth FerryMs. Ferry's experiences include teaching with the Peace Corps in Tanzania, teaching high school English in Maine, and this is her second year at PNA. She loves moose, outdoor activities, and being with her students. Archives
April 2021
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