DEN: Florida

Hello World!

The November 7th Sea World event was a great eye-opener!

Our group’s quest was to find out as much as we could about sharks for the day.  We spent several minutes hunting and finding the ‘Shark Den’ and once we arrived, we watched the sharks swim and took many pictures!

From there, we went back to our ‘training room’ and created a glogster page with our shark information.  We added a link to an animoto video and researched the internet for great shark information.  Continuing with the theme of sharks, we found a website that had shark games!!

Follow our teams efforts…. here we go!

http://ascienceteacher.edu.glogster.com/Dennys-DOD/

By the Way…. Denny is our ‘Mascot’ for the FL DEN Leadership Council… watch for many many more visits and theme related events with Denny!!

By Cheryl Watford, Network Manager, Auburndale Senior High School, Polk County

Can you create an example for your subject area? 

For the TITLE, choose an emotion or a color that represents your Unit Topic along with a nickname. (You will not mention the subject anywhere in the writing.)

Sentence 1:  Choose one of the following…

·        While in class you stand there…..

·        When no one is watching in class….

·        In this subject, you are….

·        I sometimes think….

·        The subject faces….

·        We have learned….

Sentence 2:  Write a sentence with a color of an item in the unit topic.

Sentence 3:  Write a sentence with a part of an exam question in it.

Sentence 4:  Write a sentence with a simile (a comparison using like or as).

Sentence 5:  Write a sentence of over 25 words about the unit topic.

Sentence 6:  Write a sentence under 8 words describing one assignment.

Sentence 7: Write a sentence with a piece of clothing you may need in experiencing this topic.

Sentence 8:  Write a sentence with a wish in it, relating to the final outcome of the unit.

Sentence 9:  Write a sentence with an animal in it.

Sentence 10:  Write a sentence in which three or more words alliterate (that is, they begin with the same initial consonant: she has be left, lately, with less and less time to think).

Sentence 11:  Write a sentence with two commas.

Sentence 12:  Write a sentence with a smell and a color in it.

Sentence 13:  Write a sentence with a simile (a comparison using like or as).

Sentence 14:  Write a sentence that could carry an exclamation point (but do not use the exclamation point).

Can you do it??

My Example of a finished Science Unit – Humans vs Plants….

PEACHY-GREEN MEAT AND VEGETABLES

When no one is watching in class do they still breathe or move?

The green leaves flow and the peachy hands touch.

Transpiration begins in the roots and ends in the atmosphere.

Roots of a plant are like feet to a person.

When subject one eat and drink they gain nutrients from the food, while at the same time subject two will eat and drink to gain nutrients from the ground.

Create a model of a cell.

You need to wear gloves anytime you mess with either of the subjects in our unit.

We wish you all pass the final test, remembering all things you learn about the two subjects.

Homo-sapiens are mammals, which is a form of an animal.

Oxygen occurs over and over, not on the outside.

Did you know, did you care, did you learn?

Seeing and smelling any type of odor or white vapors means you are alive.

Veins are like highways and roads, in both of the subjects.

Learning about this ROCKS

Cheryl W 

Science Fair.

Mutter those words to students and they will either jump for joy or groan. Mention the words to parents and they often will groan louder. Somehow over the years science fair has gotten a bad name. Could it be that students are expected to conduct an experiment at home with little time spent in class actually working on their project? Or is it because the students wait until the last minute to tell their parents that they have a science fair project and they spend the entire night before it’s due coming up with a project idea that they can complete in less than 3 hours. Perhaps it’s neither of these, and instead it’s that both students and parents (maybe even teachers) haven’t had a user-friendly resource to help muddle through the scientific process of conducting a science fair project. I know that as a science teacher, we are expected to have our students complete science fair projects but don’t have time scheduled into the curriculum to have students actually work on science fair projects in class.
Luckily, Discovery Education has once again come to our aid. Discovery education has partnered up with Scotch® to bring us Science Fair Central.

Simply go to: http://school.discoveryeducation.com/sciencefaircentral/ for step-by-step help for students, parents and teachers. “Science Fair Central” contains more than 100 project ideas that are broken down into easy or complex investigations and there is even a section for inventions.
The website has a “getting started” section which will help students choose a project type, understand the difference between investigations and inventions and find testable questions. There is even a section where they can validate their topic – to make sure that they have enough time to complete their project, the proper materials, that they follow the appropriate safety procedures, their project is appropriate and that they follow safety if they are using animals in their experiment.
Parents can visit the site and use the “parent resources” section to help their students stay on track. This area of the site explains the parent’s role in the science fair project process, how to help their student come up with an idea and how to support their student during the investigation process and where to get supplies.
For teachers, or science fair coordinators, there is a section to help with reasons to host a science fair, types of projects available, science fair judging criteria and supplies needed to host a science fair as well as a parent letter that can be customized based on your needs.
The best part of the site, in my opinion, is the virtual labs section of the site.  This section provides students with an opportunity to practice conducting experiments in a controlled environment. There are even teacher guides and student worksheets that are available to download.
I know that if I had come across this resource when I became the science fair coordinator at my school, it would have saved me hours of time coming up with science fair project ideas and science fair project expectations. I also would have a site to share with parents to help with some of the frustrations that come with their student’s science fair project.

With all of the great resources from Discovery Education and “Science Fair Central,” what will Discovery Education think of next?