Post Visit at Westlake Elementary

People Density Activity

Today we went to Westlake Elementary School for our post visit, which was wrapping up our CSI experiment at the Children’s Museum. After reading a fun poem about the scientific method to our class, we had them do a people density activity. On the floor, we taped out a boxed and had two students get inside of the box. We had them walk around to show all of the space that they had surrounding them. We added more and more students until they could no longer move. This activity was showing the students that the more people there are the denser it is because they do not have any space to move freely around.

Fire Drill

We then divided the students into small groups and they traveled to three different stations regarding density and the scientific method. At my station, Camille and I reviewed how to measure density. When went over what a hydrometer is, how to use it, and what makes a liquid more and less dense. We also asked questions about the different ingredients in our liquids: coke, diet coke, and minute maid lemonade. The students pleasantly surprised us with remembering how to use the hydrometer, what it does, and what affects density. Each group was different and needed different accommodations, but it taught us how to adapt to these different groups. I also learned how to manage my time better. During the middle of our stations, a fire drill went off that made us adjust what we did the rest of our time and had to adapt in order to get everything done.

Comparing Coke to Water

After all of the stations were completed, we had the students turn to a neighbor and share something new they learned today and all of the students were eager to do this. They were excited to share what they had experienced at a certain station and were making connections to their visit at the Children’s Museum.

A Morning at the Indiana State Museum

Today we spent the morning at the Indiana State Museum that offers lots of resources for teachers. Before we explored the museum, we were told of all the resources that are offered to teachers such as: field trip programs, workshops, and trunks full of teaching materials that can be used to teach Social Studies. Also, the museum has lots of historic locations throughout Indiana that have resources for classrooms or offer field trip experiences.

The museum is filled with lots of Indiana facts and history. You begin at the pre-historic ages and continue up to the modern era to see how time has changed within the Hoosier state. The way the information and artifacts were displayed helped me get a sense of how I can arrange work and themes within my classroom. There were many hands-on areas that allowed children to get a good idea of how something worked or was. One of my favorite exhibits was the Odd Indiana exhibit. This featured many unusual objects and artifacts from different eras. There was a piece of art that were flowers made from real hair, dresses that you could try on that enhanced your bottom, and then there were the sixed toed kittens. It was a very odd array of objects, but interesting to explore and learn about.

After our tour, we got to participate in a Civil War reenactment. Someone from our class got to try on a soldier’s uniform and then we all taught how to march. We learned about how the soldiers survived by receiving bags full of the types of food and items they would receive. We also got to set up a tent that four soldiers would have to snuggly fit into. This reenactment would be great for students because they would get to compare the clothes, food, and shelter to today’s world. It would help them visualize how difficult times were back then and how technology and such has advanced. It also allows them to be hands-on and up and moving.

March 1st: Insta-Snow, Clouds, and Cheeseburger Model

Adding water to the mystery poweder

Insta-snow!

We started off class with trying to identify a mystery powder. As a table, we all made a guess and then we got up and compared our powder to the other tables’ powder. All of the powders looked the same. Then, we logged onto polleverywhere.com (a website that allows you to vote and see instant results by texting on your phone) and texted our answers. Some of the guesses were detergent and cleaning supplies. We discovered none of those answers were correct so we guessed again. This time the guesses were plant food, salt, medication, and instant snow. After submitting our guesses we got to add water to the mystery powder and discovered that it was instant snow after our powder became snow-like (you can but the insta-snow from stevespanglerscience.com). This lesson teaches about the scientific method and changes.
Next, we did a lesson on clouds. We were all given a cotton ball and headed outside to form a cloud that we saw in the sky. Once we were back in the classroom we went over the different types of clouds and their characteristics. Some ways to do this is to create a flipbook, make up a song, or take notes. Each table had to create a song and dance to go with the three major types of clouds: cirrus, stratus, and cumulus. Each group came up with a unique way for remembering the clouds and their characteristics.

Our clouds

The last part of class was spent on lesson planning and how to go about it. We used a cheeseburger diagram to get a visual of what planning looks like and all the different factors that play a role in the process. The top bun represents the title/guiding question followed by the lettuce, which is the description of the lesson. Next, the cheese is the standards, which can be a variety and just the right amount. The tomato is the materials used such as websites, videos, books, tools, and etc. The hamburger represents the procedure and the ketchup consists of the adaptations that may be needed. The bottom bun is closure and the plate that holds the cheeseburger is the reflection of the lesson. This cheeseburger model is an example of synectics, which are models, diagrams, and metaphors.

On March 3rd, we helped the 5th graders at Park Tudor dissect sharks.

Shark Dissection with the 5th graders at Park Tudor

We found an octopus in one of the shark's belly!