Lesson 6 with the kids was a blast. This week we had the kids racing to see which they could melt faster: sugar cubes or sugar granules. Before we could get to the fun part, we had to go over the serious science stuff. We wanted to introduce "hypothesis" as our science process skill of the week, so we reviewed the definition of a hypothesis and gave them a couple of examples of hypotheses we had actually made in the past to get them thinking. We then asked them to make their own hypothesis about which they thought would melt faster. They struggled with it a bit. They wanted to be right, and many of them were afraid to take a risk and make a choice. We explained to them that it wasn't important for them to be right or wrong, that the purpose of forming a hypothesis is to conduct an experiment that will either disprove their theory or support their theory. We also explained that they needed to use their prior knowledge to make their decision and asked them to think about some of the materials we've worked with in the past that might be similar to the two types of sugar. I heard many of the students discussing how the granules were similar to salt that they had melted in the past and that the cubes were similar to the effervescent tablets they used in the first lesson, and I was really impressed and happy with those discussions. It showed they were really thinking about it and using their past experiences to help them.Once the hypotheses were formed, We started the race. Any time we can make learning fun for kids, they're going to enjoy it, and they definitely did. But what we thought would happen didn't exactly happen. I felt a little bit like "poor Sarah", that video we watched when the te
acher's experiment went wildly wrong. I conducted the race three times myself at home, and each time, the sugar granules melted much quicker than the sugar cubes, so I thought we were safe. When we got into the classroom, the majority of sugar cubes melted before the sugar granules! Megan and I couldn't believe it. We had to have a moment to regroup in private when we started seeing those results! We used it as an opportunity to explain to the students that when you're in the lab, things do not always happen they way you think they will.
acher's experiment went wildly wrong. I conducted the race three times myself at home, and each time, the sugar granules melted much quicker than the sugar cubes, so I thought we were safe. When we got into the classroom, the majority of sugar cubes melted before the sugar granules! Megan and I couldn't believe it. We had to have a moment to regroup in private when we started seeing those results! We used it as an opportunity to explain to the students that when you're in the lab, things do not always happen they way you think they will. We also had a discussion with the students to ask them why they think we saw the results we did. The students' ideas included: the cubes were one piece and the granules were many pieces so it took lo
nger for the granules; and some students noticed that the granules sunk straight to the bottom of the cup, while the cube floated, so it was more difficult to get the granules off the bottom of the cup. Megan and I discussed the results after class and think that it probably had to do with our tools. We gave each pair of students one spoon and one coffee stirrer, and chances are, the spoons created the faster melt. This was a problem that we didn't think about ahead of time, and I was dissapointed in myself, given that I had just done a presentation on controlling variables in class the week before! It just goes to show you how many things we need to think about when we're setting up our lessons. something as simple as a spoon vs. a wooden stirrer can affect the outcome!
nger for the granules; and some students noticed that the granules sunk straight to the bottom of the cup, while the cube floated, so it was more difficult to get the granules off the bottom of the cup. Megan and I discussed the results after class and think that it probably had to do with our tools. We gave each pair of students one spoon and one coffee stirrer, and chances are, the spoons created the faster melt. This was a problem that we didn't think about ahead of time, and I was dissapointed in myself, given that I had just done a presentation on controlling variables in class the week before! It just goes to show you how many things we need to think about when we're setting up our lessons. something as simple as a spoon vs. a wooden stirrer can affect the outcome! However, we were able to use the mishap to our advantage. We were being observed this week on our ability to incorporate engineering and technology into our lesson, so we had put together a Powerpoint presentatio
n that contained photographs of various types of labs. We gathered the students around the carpet and asked them to look at the pictures to see the different tools and technology that are used in the different labs. We also asked them to tell us what they think the scientists in each lab might be working on. It was a great way for them to see that science has many applications and that the tools we need to be successful will always be different. Megan did a great job tying the experiment and the discussion together by asking them what tools we could have used that might have changed our results. I thought it was a very clever way to wrap thigns up so the kids really understood.
n that contained photographs of various types of labs. We gathered the students around the carpet and asked them to look at the pictures to see the different tools and technology that are used in the different labs. We also asked them to tell us what they think the scientists in each lab might be working on. It was a great way for them to see that science has many applications and that the tools we need to be successful will always be different. Megan did a great job tying the experiment and the discussion together by asking them what tools we could have used that might have changed our results. I thought it was a very clever way to wrap thigns up so the kids really understood. I can't believe next week is our last week! It feels like we just started!
Using the Powerpoint presentation to introduce engineering was a great idea! I think it was great to let the kids hypothesize during the lesson and about what scientists are doing in labs. Great Job!
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