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Using phenomena (what some folks used to call discrepant events) can get almost anyone excited about a new topic.
You share with students something observable--it can be something wild and crazy, like not being able to blow a small balled-up piece of paper into a bottle to introduce air pressure, or it can be something everyday, like water condensing on the outside of a glass filled with cold liquid. The idea is to get them to try to figure out why what they are seeing is happening.
That can get almost any unit started with interest, because you are asking them to come up with their guesses on why it's happening and then asking them to come up with ways to figure out if they are guessing correctly.
Check out this website: Uncovering Student Ideas. NSTA author Page Keeley has a lot to say about phenomena and how to use them in your classroom. If the idea is to help children become adults who can figure out what is going on in a new situation, then phenomena are the way to go!
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