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Physical Science

Students and Science

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Scott Alberty Scott Alberty 860 Points

Teaching students any type of science is a difficult task. I believe psyisical science is about how the outside world has many greater impacts to how we live on this earth with this being said, what would be the best approach to teaching elemetary students about the impact of psychical science and relate it to how it impacts their lives at home and in the classroom?

Amy Johnson Amy Johnson 1565 Points

Hello Scott! I think that students enter classrooms with so many different misconceptions about science that I agree it can be really difficult to push students into learning evidence-based science. I believe that students latch onto challenging science content when they are presented with a phenomenon or a misconception is challenged. The students then have to struggle through the experience and make their own connections (with guidance) to accurate science ideas. The phenomenon could and probably should be a familiar event that happens in their lives so that they can relate to what is happening and form deep connections. Good luck!

Laurence Taylor Laurence Taylor 655 Points

Im not sure if you are speaking about all branches of physical science or just physics itself or what grade, so please ignore if this post is not useful.

Some of the topics in earth science that I think students really see the impact of their lives at home (depending on the grade) fresh water lessons and climate change lessons. There is alot of student interest with space and earth formation/processes but sometimes students fail to see the importance of those lessons for their day to day lives.

Current water shortages and climate change provide great opportunity to connect real life situations with current and relevant data and resources. If your interested about lesson ideas please let me know your grade level and I am happy to share some activities I have done with my classes. 

Melinda Lape Melinda Lape 657 Points

I am currently pursuing my Masters in Secondary Education with emphasis in Physics, but I student-teach Honors Physical Science.  We are big on literacy, and introducing vocabulary terms to elementary students not only familiarizes them with science, but also prepares them for years to come.  Terms frequently used in science like compare and contrast, cause and effect, analyze, etc. are great to incorporate early and have students understand fully so that they can appreciate the investigations and experimentation that comes in Secondary School.  As far as experiments that can be done early on, I like to recommend the Law of Conservation of Mass with vinegar and baking soda in a zip lock bag.  Most students can find these materials at home, and they may not know the underlying cause of what is happening, but at least they can see the reaction (and it is safe) and that when the two are mixed it causes something else to happen.  This peaks their curiosity and has them wanting to know more and ask questions or dig deeper!  Hope this helps!

Molly Heffron Molly Heffron 1725 Points

I believe the best way to teach students about physical science is through inquiry-based learning. Students should be shown an amazing event in the natural world, or a phenomenon. Students can then formulate questions around the phenomenon and work towards solving them. Give the students a chance to explore and find answers for themselves before giving them away.  

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