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I just started the SciPack "energy," and to be quite honest its pretty daunting. I haven't taken a Physics class since my first year in college. I'm interested in incorporating the conservation of energy when I address cycles in my Life Science class. I'm not sure how in-depth I should go with regards to chemical energy in cells for a seventh grade life science class. It is not something that is covered in our benchmarks however I think that it can help make a connection between what the students might have learned in previous science classes such as physical science. It also may help in drawing connections to the different types of science which may seem unrelated to the students. Have any others had success with physical science in their life science classes?

Even if you look at something simple like the water cycle--a part of your environmental science stuff. You could say when water evaporates--energy is absorbed, when it condenses energy is released. The amount of energy absorbed during evaporation should be equal to the energy released in condensation. I don't know how indepth you get into some of the other cycles like Krebs, Calvin etc...but if you can show how the compounds form and break apart it shows how energy is conserved.

I've started the Energy SciPack as well and I find the content is quite heavy. I teach fifth grade so I have to water down most of the content for my students. For the most part I teach my students the content in chunks, and the SciPack does a wonderful job in breaking it up by topics. The table of contents on the left hand side is helpful when you want to target specific concepts for a particular lesson. The simulations provide a nice visual for the students, but I also have my students do the experiments so that they have double the possibility of understanding the tough concepts. I understand that you teach seventh grade Life Science. I wanted to know how you were going to go about teaching energy conservation. I want to start a project with my students on conserving energy, and it would be nice to hear ideas on projects other teachers are currently working on or have tried.

I too am finding it quite difficult to incorporate the energy (physics) into my Life Science curriculum but really like what Chris shared about using the water cycle to teach the concept-especially since this is coming up for 4th quarter. Any other ideas? I would love to hear them along with Travis...

The SciPacks are full of so much wonderful content material, ideas for activities and interactive sims that we can revisit sections and gain deeper foundations in understanding the science; however, much of the material may actually be designed as background material for teachers and not necessarily presented as best-practice material for instruction to students. The material may need to be adjusted and/or adapted for specivic learning environments by those wishing to use it with students. I find that as I review and study the material, I make constant references to the standards expected for a given grade level and then adapt and incorporate segments of the SciPack for the students to enjoy. With this said, it would be great for Travis, Jacqueline, and Rochelle to inform us of the benchmarks and standards that they are using within their specific classroom teaching situations. We would love to learn more so that we can share ideas on a specific level or to a specific depth of understanding. We assume there will be differences in the strategies and methods employed when taking the information in the SciPack and using it to teach about energy, especially as we reflect on the learning stages and critical thinking skills of our students. This thread has the potential to blossom. Let's carry on and let the energy unfold. Travis, Jacqueline, and Rochelle -I am also interested in why you are taking the Energy SciPack. Thank you for sharing:} ~patty

Here is a resource from the Learning Center that may jog our thinking about energy and pre-high school students. Science 101: What exactly is energy? Grade Level: Elementary School, Informal Education hmm...maybe I will do a more thorough search and share the results with the readers of this thread. Well, I did and using the keyword 'energy' and middle school returned 263 resources. I'll leave it to everyone to scan them and to locate what seems appropriate to their teaching methods and content levels. To do a search: 1. go to your homepage 2. scroll midway down the page until you see the words 'Advanced Search' underlined and active 3. Click on these words 4. Enter your 'key word' and either allow the search engine to return all resources or filter the response of the search engine by selecting a grade level and/or a resource type and then go to it. You might also want to check out the Collections created by NSTA. Enjoy! ~patty

I have presented conservation of energy with life science to elementary students using a lesson similar to the "Lion King's" circle of life concept with a focus on the energy transfers of each element. This also introduces potential and kinetic energy. Even the upper grades enjoyed the cut-and-paste worksheet used as independent practice/ informal assessment after the direct instruction. In response to some prior posts on this thread: Am I correct in my understanding that the SciPacks are not student curriculum units? Their purpose is curriculum content support for educators, adult level information for adults. When the content has been learned by the adult, then it becomes a matter of matching content resources to the grade or ability level of the students.

Hi Sharon, I believe your interpretation of the SciPacks is correct. They were not designed and written as primary instructional materials for students; however, as a teacher, you have the skills to interpret the material for your students and to incorporate age and content appropriate content into your classroom lessons. You might also evaluate the review questions at the end of each section as something you could use to query the understanding of your students. ~patty

These are some great ideas. I have to admit, energy was always my weakest point. I've added the Energy SciPack to my library, but haven't had a chance to thoroughly go through it yet. I'm wondering if there are things in there that I could tie to an elementary grade level, such as 2nd or 3rd?

Hi Patricia I am using the Energy Scipack to meet Hawaii's 5th grade standards: 1. Identify different forms of energy (e.g., thermal, electrical, nuclear, light, sound) and how they can change and transfer energy from one form to another 2. Describe ways that heat can be transferred from one object to another After going through the Energy Scipack, my students were able to "identify" the different forms of energy and "describe heat can be transferred". I also used the Island Energy Inquiry resources to support the idea of heat transfer. This resource allows my students to think about how we can promote sustainability in Hawaii. We need our future generations to be aware of ways they can conserve energy since it is so expensive to live here. One of the lessons that I taught out of the Island Energy Inquiry resource was having my students build a solar oven. They cooked smores. This lesson supported how reflection, refraction, and absorption is important for light to create heat. My students and I enjoyed using the Scipack, especially since we were able to use it on a Smart Board. The simulations were easier to use and see. I did have to have a lot of discussion, but we got through it.

Jacqueline, I love the idea of using the Scipack with my Smartboard. The simulations were much more meaningful to the students on the interactive whiteboard in a larger format for all the kids to see. I am curious to know more about the Island Energy Inquiry, I don’t believe I have run into that before. Can you provide more information?

Hello Sandy, The Island Energy Inquiry site was introduced to me by a fellow teacher. She houses many of our science kits and when it came time to teach my 5th graders about energy she told me about the site. This site provides science curriculum for Hawaii with energy themed lessons for grades 5 through 8. The lessons align with our specific standards and benchmarks, which is quite helpful. It also provides the necessary supplemental materials needed for each project. The kits need to be requested, and luckily, since the teacher housed them in our school it was accessible. The url is: http://www.islandenergyinquiry.org/ if you want to check it out, however, I do believe that you will need to request to have access to the materials.