Sat, Apr 21, 2012 11:10 PM in Walking Past the Planets
Wow, guys, great discussion. I'm going to just add my 2 cents. Whenever possible, I think it imperative to get the students out and moving. I also think it important to give the students a true experience of the scale of the universe. My students (4th and 5th grade) have a very difficult time conceptualizing things like space and scale. To have them actually construct the "to scale" models and the...
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Sat, Apr 07, 2012 8:47 PM in Understanding the Vastness of Space
Michael - Wow! that Scale of the Universe is fantastic - reminds me of the classic " http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0&feature=player_embedded#! " target="_blank">Powers of 10 " short film. I'm currently working on a small science grant for a unit on the "hidden" world around us. For one portion they will be using USB microscopes to help them examine all the unseen small things around the...
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Fri, Mar 23, 2012 5:36 PM in Misconceptions
This really is the crux of the issue of teaching science - addressing the misconceptions. I'm teaching 5th grade science and have had a real difficult time explaining gravity and mass with my class this year. How do you make sure that the common sense understanding (heavier objects fall faster) doesn't overwhelm and crowd out the scientific fact (absent air resistance/friction, objects will fall a...
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