What's the "BIG IDEA" the Motion of Objects

How do things move? How do magnets work? Is there a difference between a hard push and a soft push?

I teach first grade science and I found the following web sites to be educational and motivational;

 Listen and Interact with this BBC site, Hard Push vs. Soft Push:                                  http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/5_6/pushes_pulls_whatnext.shtml

An engaging site about the movement of objects:

   http://www.primaryscience.ie/activities_activity_movies.php (The Starting & Stopping Movie)

Learn about forces;

  http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/6_7/forces_movement.shtml

Interactive, almost to a fault, looks great though (w/teacher guidance):

  http://www.moovl.co.uk/ (free 1 month trial) Looks great!

How do different surfaces affect the momentum of marbles?

I have taught this lesson several times with several different grade levels and with this opportunity at hand, I took the liberty to extend the lesson to further explore how I could satisfactorily convince my first graders that air is a form of friction. About two weeks ago we did a lesson with gravity which incorporated friction into it so my class has had prior experience with friction. Many of them can use the term correctly in a sentence!

My extension included all of the materials used, for the above lesson, with the addition of a cold air hairdryer.

Materials consisted of;

• a bath mat (to be used suction cup side up)
• a piece of deep pile rug
• smooth rug
• linoleum
•  the same color and size of marble
• a ramp, positioned at the same angle
• modeling clay for the trough/channel

The ramp had to be set at the same angle for all materials used and the same marble also had to be used for all. At the end of ther ramp, the different materials were changed out to conduct the experiment. All of the expected results were recorded; the smoother the surface the farther the marble traveled. The application of a wind force, (my hairdryer) successfully moved the marble, perpendicularly(at the end of the ramp), indicating that air was a form of friction but this did not convey the visual I wanted. My goal was to be able to stop it on the ramp before it reached the bottom. I wanted to stop the marble in mid-motion. Then, I thought that providing a trough/channel of sorts, for the marble to travel on would keep the marble from moving sideways and show the air current more clearly as a friction force thus demonstrating that air is indeed a form of friction and not simply a reason for the marble’s change of direction.  I built a makeshift trough/channel onto the ramp and then applied the wind force of the hairdryer. It kept the marble from continuing down the ramp!

    

STEM Education Town Hall

Hello, please note the timely Town Hall on STEM Ed. See you there, enjoy!

Discovery Education Participates in a Global Online Town Hall on STEM Education
November 17 at 12pm ET

Join Dean Kamen, host of DEAN OF INVENTION and Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage, the MYTHBUSTERS, along with young people from around the world for an interactive discussion exploring youth attitudes toward math and science education.
www.DiscoveryEducation.com/STEM-Global-Town-Hall

STEM Town Hall

Please Note:
                     How timely to receive this message for all of us to participate in. Enjoy!

Discovery Education Participates in a Global Online Town Hall on STEM Education
November 17 at 12pm ET

Join Dean Kamen, host of DEAN OF INVENTION and Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage, the MYTHBUSTERS, along with young people from around the world for an interactive discussion exploring youth attitudes toward math and science education.
www.DiscoveryEducation.com/STEM-Global-Town-Hall

Melting Icebergs?

  If the global apocalypse is right around the corner, hopefully we won't see it coming.
                                                                                                                      
 In the 1980's we were fearful of perishing in nuclear destruction. In the 90's our              attention on destruction was focused on the impact of an asteroid, then there was 9/11    and the anthrax scares. According to Discover magazine, the latest worry is plague. Powell has an interesting view on global destruction; "We are fascinated by speculation about the end of the world , I think, because it paradoxically makes us feel safe. Global destruction  is so grand, so overdramatic, that is doesn't feel connected to our lives the way more       immediate worries like cancer or Alzheimer's are."   
                                                                                                                            Since Dr.Wieslav Maslowski denied the prediction, popularized by Al Gore, that the, "entire polar ice cap would be completely ice free in the next five to seven years", there hasn't been much media talk about it. I have read a few articles about the possibility of their demise but none seem to point to a cataclysmic event.


Reports claim that the earth's temperature has risen half a degree Celsius over the last 100 years and that minimal rise has had an effect on our planet; our seas have risen 6 to 8 inches over the last 100 years, according to the EPA. Furthermore, this warming, "may cause icebergs to melt but this would not make the oceans rise."


If the process, of the melting, continues at a slow rate, I beleive nature will make accommodations to the changes and 'fix' the necessary problems as they present themselves. It is difficult for me to envision a flash flood from the melting icebergs however, their demise would have significant repercussions for wildlife and change the landscape into an irreversible state perhaps forever.

Reflection Lesson Plan

With this being my first year teaching first grade, I was somewhat anxious to see how a science class would be tolerated by my students. I am happy to report that my class responded better that I thought they would.

At the beginning of the lesson, when I was talking to them about some of the tools scientist use, they seemed uninterested. When I further mentioned that they would become scientists, and would be using a scientific tool, they all perked up.

The tool they were going to use was a magnifying glass. To keep them from bursting out of their seats, I handed out the lenses and turned the class loose. There were the safety rules and expected behavior rules but they were so ingrossed in discovering how the magnifying glass worked I had no issue of safety or behavior to deal with.

A handful of my students held the lenses up to their eye and boisterously proclaimed, "hey, this thing is broken"!  I had all I could do to contain my laughter as i showed them the proper way to use the lens.

Retrospectively, I should have instructed them on the proper use of the lens prior to turning them out to discover the world of magnification but it worked out fine as it did.
I also will adjust the time allowed for discovery as they were most engrossed with this activity.

I am still committed to teaching my young students the value of observation and the other simple techniques of discovery. Sometime later on I will introduce the wonders of technology
in such a way that it serves to enhance their primal findings.

-JP