Category: Teaching Science

Parents and children, Teaching and Learning, Teaching Science

Folk Wisdom

by Kathy1 Comment on Folk Wisdom

Part of enjoying your kids’ childhood is talking and making friends with their parents at school, games, or parties. You’re all in the same stage of parenting, so it’s a fun network to be in. VG.first stepsYour kids belong and are happy, parents connect, and it doesn’t take long to realize there are many shared beliefs and suppositions that most everyone agrees with.

Educational and cultural psychologist Jerome Bruner used the term folk wisdom to define these beliefs. Some folk wisdom is harmless. Other folk wisdom is just plain wrong. Why would we want to raise our children with inaccurate science?

Here are two examples:

If you go outside in cold weather without a jacket, you’ll get sick.

  • Scientists state that people get sick from viruses, not because they didn’t wear a jacket.

If you give kids too much candy, they get hyperactive.

  • No science confirms this. In fact, study after study has disproved this belief.

There are always parents–and even teachers–who claim that for their child / class, they’ve personally witnessed it. That’s all the proof they need to stick to their folk wisdom. But why promulgate something inaccurate?

When we teach our children to look at science, they learn to question, examine, think, and draw conclusions.  Showing a child how to be a critical thinker is some of the best teaching parents can do.

Grandparents, Interdiscipinary learning, Parents and children, Teaching Science

The Science of Grass

by KathyLeave a Comment on The Science of Grass

Imagine a classroom full of bright faces eager to learn the science of growing plants. Green grassThey’ve read books
to learn about the parts of a plant, looked at photos of growing plants, written poems about plants, and interviewed their parents about gardens.
The final step is to grow their own plants.  Their teacher knows there isn’t a dime left in the materials budget.

Then she has a brainstorm.

Over the next week, she saves the clear, shallow, salad bar container she buys at lunch. At home, she finds leftover soil and a half-used bag of grass seed languishing in the garage.

dreamstimefree_221498-2dreamstimefree_221498-2Back at school, she gives each small group one container. From there, the students handle it. They fill it up with soil. A generous fistful of seeds covers the top. The children water their containers and place them on the warm windowsill.

On Monday, they dash in and check on their seeds. Every container has at least one spindly thread reaching up, a cause for excitement. They count and check their measurements, estimations, and predictions. They discover that they must adjust the watering schedule as days pass.

Soon the containers have a lush, spring green carpet of grass growing. The students pass their containers around, examining the root systems and remarking on the length of the grass.

Best of all?  They touch the grass. Their fingers wind in and out of individual pieces. They stroke the grass from soil to tip, saying they never realized how soft new grass was.

The children’s strokes turn to caresses, much like they’d do with a beloved pet. Before they know it, the grass is bent over flat from so much love.

The teacher asks them, What do you think will happen next?
dreamstimefree_207710

 

Interdiscipinary learning, Reading, Science at Home, Science Every Day, Teaching Science

Columbus’s Mermaids

by KathyLeave a Comment on Columbus’s Mermaids

January doesn’t usually remind us about Christopher Columbus, but on January 9, 1493, he described seeing mermaids swim near the Dominican Republic. (See the History Channel’s “On this Day in History.”)

Photo courtesy of Broward.org
Photo courtesy of Broward.org

However, Columbus was mistaken. What he saw were not mermaids swimming, but manatees. These animals are exceptionally lovely. Large and slow-moving mammals, manatees eat plants and swim in shallow water. Their faces hold a kind sweetness. It’s easy to see why Columbus thought they were mermaids.

Teacher reflection had a whole new meaning for me after I met my first manatee.

Introduce your students to manatees.  Not everything we teach our students has to be a huge curriculum unit. Give your students access to pictures, maps, and reading about manatees. Begin conversations about them during quiet moments. A good place for information is at National Geographic, where students can listen to the repertoire of manatee sounds.

And after your students learn about manatees, ask them to think up reasons why Columbus mistook them for mermaids.

 

Interdiscipinary learning, Sam's Story, Teaching Science

Worms Conquer! Science Teaching For Us All

by KathyLeave a Comment on Worms Conquer! Science Teaching For Us All

This year, Sam’s school hired a science specialist.  Every Tuesday she rolls her supply-stocked cart from room to room and teaches the science content students must know by spring.  Sam’s class’s 40-minute slot begins at 10:20.

“I hate to admit it, but I’m relieved,” he said. “It’ll free me up to focus on my kids’ literacy and math. Divide and conquer, I guess.”

Conquer science?  Yes.  Divide the responsibility? No—share the responsibility.

While Sam’s school made good use of a grant to address science learning, Sam and I talked about how to incorporate science into the life of the classroom.  It’s our job to help tomorrow’s scientists—who are in front of us today—learn to wonder, question, experiment and imagine.

Also, to boost my case, I mentioned that if worms could talk they’d suggest that Sam start a worm farm.

Worms are the perfect classroom companions and they teach while they work.  I shared my experiences creating worm farms from scratch:  kids bring in the materials, create the farm, add the worms, and by this point they’ve already learned a lot.  Sam wrote down a supply list:

  • A clear container, like an old aquarium
  • Dirt, worms, and leaves–students bring it all in
  • Dark paper or a paper bag to tape around the aquarium, so worms think they’re underground.

Let the students do everything, I advised, and leave plenty of time to touch and examine everything.  Then:

  1. Layer dirt and leaves in aquarium.
  2. Place the worms on top.
  3. Tape dark paper around the sides so the worms could do their work in peace and quiet.

My students decided to give the worms a couple weeks of peace before peeking behind the paper to see the magic.  Worms in tunnels!  Vacant tunnels!  Leaves munched!  Castings left behind!

The students’ curiosity exploded. They talked, listened, read, wrote, drew, measured, questioned, problem solved, researched and wondered about worms. The best assessment of their learning?  Overhearing students talk about worms with each other in casual conversation.

At times, no one gave the worms a thought and we focused on other science topics.  Then someone would wander over to the worms, pull away the paper and discover there was plenty more to observe and discover.

Of course, this isn’t just about worms.  It’s about creating interdisciplinary learning in science that works because it’s hands-on and fun. It’s naturally differentiated and inspires. It’s available to every student, all day and all year. Sam pointed out that it meets practically every goal in the Common Core standards, too.

Faster than you can say oligochaetologist, Sam was on board.  He also remembered reading a poem by Edgar Allan Poe in college–so here is “The Conquering Worm” for you to appreciate in all its gothic splendor.  Have some fun reading it before you invite your worms to school.