Science in Action

Are you or your students a fan of the Sunday funnies?  Check out Comic Life for a new way to engage your students with curriculum content.  As I started playing with Comic Life I found an amazing collection of science resources created by students.  I also found a wonderful collection of templates that help get you started.  With the great collection of images correlated to curriculum units within Discovery Education Science get a trial of Comic Life and give it a try.

If you live on or near the coast you are well aware that Hurricane Season is here.  Having lived on the coast of North Carolina for 5 years and experiencing five hurricanes in those five years I have witnessed first hand the power of these storms.  For many of our students though, hurricanes are something that they hear about on the news and really don’t understand how they work or why they are so damaging.  There are some great resources within Discovery Education Science to help explain these concepts to your students.  This includes allowing students to work with the conditions that impact hurricane development and strength.

With the growth of the human population the impact on the environment is inevitable, but until recently we would hear about it and maybe see before an after pictures.  Now NASA has put together time-lapse videos showing the impact man can have on the environment, some bad and some good.  The videos are hosted on YouTube, but Wired has provided some basic background information in case you are interested.  These could make for some very powerful discussions in classrooms across the country.

Time-Lapse Videos of Massive Change on Earth

If you are looking for a great way to bring the digital world into your Science Class then check out glogster or the education only version glogster/edu.  You first question is probably “What is a Glog?”.  Well a glog is a graphical blog where individuals or groups can share information.  Glogs allow users to incorporate all forms of multuimedia, including text, animations, video, and audio to name a few.  They are very easy to create and allow students to bring their creativity to life when presenting information.  So how can this translate into science?  Check out these great examples to see the possibilities:

Jane Goodall

Science Class Study Guide

Nanotechnology

Life Cycles

Nobel Gases

Have you ever been asked that tough science question that you didn’t know? More importantly have you ever had a student ask you a question that you should know the answer? With the internet today it is simply a click or two and you have the answer your need, but what if the question is asked and you are not near your computer? There is a simple solution for this problem, as long as you have your cell phone handy. Simply dial 1-800-224-2242 (800-2chacha) and ask your question. Within minutes you will have an answer to your question sent to you in the form of a text message. Check it out and the next time your stumped just pick up the phone.

Do not forget that the last day to submit applications for the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge is next Wednesday, May 20, 2009.  Students are required to submit a one-to-two minute video entry about a specific scientific concept.  This year’s topics are:

(1) Demonstrate a method, or fabricate and employ a common device or material which will alter (dampen, or enhance) the sound emitted from a household communication or entertainment device.

(2) Adapt a common household material or device to enhance the performance of any sports or recreation device and implement it.

(3) When we encounter an area of our house that is always “too dark,” often our first inclination is to add another lamp or light fixture. Using common materials and items found around your home, demonstrate an alternative strategy for bringing light to a darkened area of your home without adding or subtracting the number of lamps or light fixtures. Alternatively, present an innovative method for dimming ambient light.

(4) Design and implement an engaging method to demonstrate and explain how heat consumed in the home may be conserved or better distributed throughout the house. Alternatively, you may opt to “reverse the energy flow” and demonstrate an innovative method for improving the removal of heat from your home. 

For more information check out the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge website.

We are excited to be broadcasting our second Science Class next Tuesday, May 5th at 1 PM. The topic this month is Chemical Reactions. During the class we will be exploring different types of chemical reactions including physical versus chemical, exothermic and changes in energy. If you would like to perform one of the experiments with your class you can try the Alka Seltzer Rocket. The directions and materials are in the attached document.

Alka-Seltzer Rocket

Earth Day is upon us, and this year it is easier than ever to find great activities to involve your students with treasuring and preserving our planet. Here are a few to share with teachers in your school.

The grocery bag project:
This project is a simple one, but will help students raise awareness about protecting the Earth’s environment and animals. Have students draw, write Earth Day poems, etc on grocery bags and then deliver them to your local grocery store to be used on Earth Day.
The directions are listed on the following website: http://www.earthdaybags.org/GSfoursteps.htm

Earth Field Trip
Go on a field trip to the Disney movie Earth. Disney will plant a tree for every ticket bought during its opening week. It opens on Earth Day.

Instead of an Earth Day celebration why not have Earth Day be a community service day. Our school has each grade do a community service project like beach clean up, volunteer at a local nature center to weed gardens, etc.

Kick off a great technology based science project using Discovery Streaming Planet Earth series. The Planet Earth series has several episodes that could help your students learn more about the problems of our disappearing wilderness, endangered animal species of the world, or the need to protect the rain forests. After watching a video for a “being there” experience, have your students research an endangered animal or habitat that interests them. You could then have your students create magazines based on their research, that they actually publish on the web. The technology teacher at our school is having our students make their own magazine using MagCloud: http://magcloud.com/. The students are writing articles in science class and then in technology class they are writing and publishing the magazine. It is free to publish the magazine, all you have to do is make an account and upload a PDF file.

Need a quick and simple idea? Read Dr. Seuss’s book: The Lorax and then have students blog or make a voice thread about ways to help protect and preserve nature for future generations. Here is a website with even more good ideas: http://www.seussville.com/lorax/classroom_plan.php

It seems every day I am asked by my four year old daughter some science question about a typical object that I have just taken for granted. The other day she asked me about why the stop glowed at night. Fortunately, I had just been given the answer by 3M for a project we did focusing on the science behind everyday items. The answer lies within the concept of retroreflectivity. Sound confusing? Here is a wonderfully simple little PowerPoint that will help you to better understand retroreflectivity and prepare you for the next some an inquiring young child asks you about a stop sign.

retroreflectivity.ppt