Monday, August 6, 2012
Friday, August 3, 2012
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
July Update
I have taken a vacation after finishing my last course this spring. So, I have not published. This is the first summer break that I have taken in four years. I was completing my certification courses in order to renew my educational certification with the state department. I was also taking ASL courses hoping to work in the area of deaf education. Needless, to say the last four years have been hectic. Also, I was working as a sub and then last year as a media clerk. So, I will return to the blog soon!
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Journey to the Earth's Interior
Journey to the Earth’s interior
Gabriella Robinson
Materials Needed:
Interactive White Board
Internet connection
Computer
National Science Standards
Earth and Space Science ( Grades 5-8)
• Structure of the Earth System
• Earth History
National Geography Standards
• The physical properties that shape the patterns of Earth’s surface
Learning Objectives
The students will
• Learn that the interior of the Earth is divided into layers
• Understand continental drift
• Learn that fossils provide evidence about the nature of the environment in which they live
Overview
Ask the students:
What do you know about earthquakes? The layers of the Earth? Fossils? And plate movement? Record these responses on the white board. After discussing and recording responses to these focus questions ask students to view a segment of the video, “The Case of the Shaky Quake”. The video is available at the website http://www.knowitall.org/nasa/scifiles/index2.html . After viewing segment one the students will be asked to describe the layers of the earth. The teacher will then review the following concepts : fossils and the Earth’s history . The students will watch a presentation from the website http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/fossils/contents.html . The students will continue to explore these concepts with a partner by using the internet as well as print resources to gather additional information.
Vocabulary
Igneous rocks
Crust
Earthquake
Fossils
Inner core
Mantel
Outer core
Pangaea
Plate tectonics
Sedimentary rocks
Resources
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/fossils/contents.html
www.nasa.gov
http://www.knowitall.org/nasa/scifiles/index2.html
http://scifiles.larc.nasa.gov/viewonline.html
Gabriella Robinson
Materials Needed:
Interactive White Board
Internet connection
Computer
National Science Standards
Earth and Space Science ( Grades 5-8)
• Structure of the Earth System
• Earth History
National Geography Standards
• The physical properties that shape the patterns of Earth’s surface
Learning Objectives
The students will
• Learn that the interior of the Earth is divided into layers
• Understand continental drift
• Learn that fossils provide evidence about the nature of the environment in which they live
Overview
Ask the students:
What do you know about earthquakes? The layers of the Earth? Fossils? And plate movement? Record these responses on the white board. After discussing and recording responses to these focus questions ask students to view a segment of the video, “The Case of the Shaky Quake”. The video is available at the website http://www.knowitall.org/nasa/scifiles/index2.html . After viewing segment one the students will be asked to describe the layers of the earth. The teacher will then review the following concepts : fossils and the Earth’s history . The students will watch a presentation from the website http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/fossils/contents.html . The students will continue to explore these concepts with a partner by using the internet as well as print resources to gather additional information.
Vocabulary
Igneous rocks
Crust
Earthquake
Fossils
Inner core
Mantel
Outer core
Pangaea
Plate tectonics
Sedimentary rocks
Resources
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/fossils/contents.html
www.nasa.gov
http://www.knowitall.org/nasa/scifiles/index2.html
http://scifiles.larc.nasa.gov/viewonline.html
Monday, February 20, 2012
Earth's Solid Membrane Soil -Lesson Plan
Earth’s Solid Membrane Soil
Grades 4-6
I would present information to my class using the activities, standards, learning goals, and resources below:
Materials needed:
Magnifying lenses
White Paper
Samples of soil from different places
Glass jar
Sheets of newspaper
Science journals
Learning Goals:
Appreciate the complex nature of soil and soil formation
Comprehend soil’s place in Earth’s structure
National Science Education Standards
• Earth materials are solid rocks and soils, water, and the gases of the atmosphere. The varied materials have different physical and chemical properties, which make them useful in different ways, for example, as building materials, as sources of fuel, for growing the plants as we use food. Earth materials provide many of the resources that humans use.
• Soils have properties of color and texture, capacity to retain water, and ability to support the growth of many kinds of plants, including those in our food supply.
• Landforms are the result of a combination of constructive and destructive forces. Constructive forces include crustal deformation, volcanic eruption, and deposition of sediment, while destructive forces include weathering and erosion.
• Rock is composed of different combinations of minerals. Smaller rocks come from the breakage and weathering of bedrock and large rocks. Soil is made partly from weathered rock, and partly from plant remains and also contains many living organisms.
Brief Overview of the Lesson
I would begin the lesson , with a whole group discussion: What is soil? Are all soils the same?
I would divide the class into small groups and provide the students with samples of soils from various locations. Ask each group to make the following observations about their soil sample. Is the sample rocky, sandy or muddy? Using magnifying lenses ask students to determine if their sample has bits of organic matter? Living organisms? Can they find grains of sand?
Using their science journals the students will then record their soil data. They will also record their hypotheses and conclusions in the journal.
In addition, I would complete the concept mapping activity suggested in the Course Guide. I would develop the concept map around the question, “What is soil?”
I would use the following resources to extend the lesson:
http://nap.edu/
http://www.nsta.org
http://uwf.edu
Vocabulary:
• Soil components
• Chemical weathering
• soil formation
• Organic matter
• Physical weathering
• Soil horizons
Grades 4-6
I would present information to my class using the activities, standards, learning goals, and resources below:
Materials needed:
Magnifying lenses
White Paper
Samples of soil from different places
Glass jar
Sheets of newspaper
Science journals
Learning Goals:
Appreciate the complex nature of soil and soil formation
Comprehend soil’s place in Earth’s structure
National Science Education Standards
• Earth materials are solid rocks and soils, water, and the gases of the atmosphere. The varied materials have different physical and chemical properties, which make them useful in different ways, for example, as building materials, as sources of fuel, for growing the plants as we use food. Earth materials provide many of the resources that humans use.
• Soils have properties of color and texture, capacity to retain water, and ability to support the growth of many kinds of plants, including those in our food supply.
• Landforms are the result of a combination of constructive and destructive forces. Constructive forces include crustal deformation, volcanic eruption, and deposition of sediment, while destructive forces include weathering and erosion.
• Rock is composed of different combinations of minerals. Smaller rocks come from the breakage and weathering of bedrock and large rocks. Soil is made partly from weathered rock, and partly from plant remains and also contains many living organisms.
Brief Overview of the Lesson
I would begin the lesson , with a whole group discussion: What is soil? Are all soils the same?
I would divide the class into small groups and provide the students with samples of soils from various locations. Ask each group to make the following observations about their soil sample. Is the sample rocky, sandy or muddy? Using magnifying lenses ask students to determine if their sample has bits of organic matter? Living organisms? Can they find grains of sand?
Using their science journals the students will then record their soil data. They will also record their hypotheses and conclusions in the journal.
In addition, I would complete the concept mapping activity suggested in the Course Guide. I would develop the concept map around the question, “What is soil?”
I would use the following resources to extend the lesson:
http://nap.edu/
http://www.nsta.org
http://uwf.edu
Vocabulary:
• Soil components
• Chemical weathering
• soil formation
• Organic matter
• Physical weathering
• Soil horizons
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Every Rock Tells A Story
This entry is an activity for a professional development course.
Session 2 - Every Rock Tells a Story
The following materials and information will be needed to introduce students to sedimentary rocks and fossils. This activity will help students to understand the information they can obtain from observing fossils and layered rocks.
Learning goals: Describe the stories that fossils and layered rocks tell.
Purpose - To have students understand how limestone is formed.
To have students understand how sandstone and shale are formed.
To have students observe fossils and understand how fossil imprints are made.
National Science Education Standard
Fossils provide important evidence of how life and environmental conditions have changed.
Materials needed:
A sample of limestone
Vinegar
Sandstone
Shale
Jars
Sand
Clay or mud
Magnifying lenses
Water
Journals
Samples of fossils or pictures of fossils
Clay
Small shells
Leaves, flowers or twigs
Introduction
Explain to students that limestone is a main component of cement. It also produces lime when it is burned and lime is one of the major components of glass and mortar. The students will learn that not all sedimentary rocks are made of particles of eroded rock. Limestone is made of bits of shell fragments of millions of tiny sea animals. Layers of powdered skeletons and shell fragments settle on the bottom of the sea. The weight of the first layers press the shell fragments into solid rocks.
Experiment - The students will test a sample of limestone to see if it is made of calcite. They will place of few drops of vinegar to the limestone. Does it bubble of fizz ? If the answer is yes limestone is present.
Conclusion - Tell the students that shellfish take calcite from the sea water and use it to build their shells and coral polyps use calcite to build coral reefs. Since limestone is built from bits of shells and corals, it is almost entirely calcite.
Activity # 2
Explain to students how sedimentary rocks are formed. As you discuss the way that sediments of eroded rock are carried by water and deposited at the bottom of the sea or in river beds, show students the jar with layers of sand and clay. The students will need to imagine layers and layers of sediments accumulating under the ocean for millions of years until the weight of the top layers presses the lower layers into hard sedimentary rocks.
Observation - Recording of Data -Ask students to identify the layers in the jar. They will write their observations in a journal . They will also illustrate and label the layers of sediment. The students should identify layers of sand and clay in the jar. Then show the students sandstone and shale and ask them to identify them. The students will examine the shale and sandstone with a magnifying glass.
Note: For this activity the teacher will place layers of sand, clay or mud in a jar. Alternate layers until the jar is two- thirds full. Add water to the jar, let the water settle for a day or two.
Activity # 3
Let students observe samples of fossils or pictures of fossils. Students will determine if the fossil is the remains of an animal or plant . Also, they will determine if the fossil is an imprint or an impression ? Discuss with students that fossils were formed thousands and millions of years ago.
The students will make imprints in the clay by gently pressing the objects provided into the flattened clay. The students will then write in their journals what would happen if the imprints were left left in soft clay or mud at the bottom of the lake. What would have to happen to make a fossil.
Vocabulary: sedimentary rocks, metamorphic rocks, igneous rocks, shale, sandstone, imprints, fossils, layered rocks, erosion, limestone, calcite, coral
Session 2 - Every Rock Tells a Story
The following materials and information will be needed to introduce students to sedimentary rocks and fossils. This activity will help students to understand the information they can obtain from observing fossils and layered rocks.
Learning goals: Describe the stories that fossils and layered rocks tell.
Purpose - To have students understand how limestone is formed.
To have students understand how sandstone and shale are formed.
To have students observe fossils and understand how fossil imprints are made.
National Science Education Standard
Fossils provide important evidence of how life and environmental conditions have changed.
Materials needed:
A sample of limestone
Vinegar
Sandstone
Shale
Jars
Sand
Clay or mud
Magnifying lenses
Water
Journals
Samples of fossils or pictures of fossils
Clay
Small shells
Leaves, flowers or twigs
Introduction
Explain to students that limestone is a main component of cement. It also produces lime when it is burned and lime is one of the major components of glass and mortar. The students will learn that not all sedimentary rocks are made of particles of eroded rock. Limestone is made of bits of shell fragments of millions of tiny sea animals. Layers of powdered skeletons and shell fragments settle on the bottom of the sea. The weight of the first layers press the shell fragments into solid rocks.
Experiment - The students will test a sample of limestone to see if it is made of calcite. They will place of few drops of vinegar to the limestone. Does it bubble of fizz ? If the answer is yes limestone is present.
Conclusion - Tell the students that shellfish take calcite from the sea water and use it to build their shells and coral polyps use calcite to build coral reefs. Since limestone is built from bits of shells and corals, it is almost entirely calcite.
Activity # 2
Explain to students how sedimentary rocks are formed. As you discuss the way that sediments of eroded rock are carried by water and deposited at the bottom of the sea or in river beds, show students the jar with layers of sand and clay. The students will need to imagine layers and layers of sediments accumulating under the ocean for millions of years until the weight of the top layers presses the lower layers into hard sedimentary rocks.
Observation - Recording of Data -Ask students to identify the layers in the jar. They will write their observations in a journal . They will also illustrate and label the layers of sediment. The students should identify layers of sand and clay in the jar. Then show the students sandstone and shale and ask them to identify them. The students will examine the shale and sandstone with a magnifying glass.
Note: For this activity the teacher will place layers of sand, clay or mud in a jar. Alternate layers until the jar is two- thirds full. Add water to the jar, let the water settle for a day or two.
Activity # 3
Let students observe samples of fossils or pictures of fossils. Students will determine if the fossil is the remains of an animal or plant . Also, they will determine if the fossil is an imprint or an impression ? Discuss with students that fossils were formed thousands and millions of years ago.
The students will make imprints in the clay by gently pressing the objects provided into the flattened clay. The students will then write in their journals what would happen if the imprints were left left in soft clay or mud at the bottom of the lake. What would have to happen to make a fossil.
Vocabulary: sedimentary rocks, metamorphic rocks, igneous rocks, shale, sandstone, imprints, fossils, layered rocks, erosion, limestone, calcite, coral
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