Dorothy Patterson

Teaching Through Trade Books: What Goes Up Must Come Down!

Tue, Aug 30, 2016 11:43 PM
What Goes up, Goes Down

These are the things that I take away from this article. 1. Students in grades K-12 should recognize that events have causes. Some of the causes can be simple and some of them can be multi-faceted. 2. down means if you drop something it will fall. If you are talking about gravity down means toward the Earth's center.

Cause and Effect - VISTA ELIS/MELIS Collection

Tue, Aug 30, 2016 11:14 PM
Cause and Effect

What goes up must come down is talking about the cause and effect having a cost relationship and through science exploration, we can make an attempt to explain the relationships. The article tells and shows us how to use the trade books on different levels as a springboard into exploring the relationships of force and motion and gravity. In my class I try to use hands on activities about at least three days a week. This allows the students to discover the understanding of science and can make it come alive as if was their own. In my PBL unit I will encourage the students to discover the states of matter. The students will tell if objects will sink or float in water. They will also tell if items are solid, liquid, or gas. The students will do a activity to see if something can be solid liquid and gas at the same time.

Perspectives: Assessing and Addressing Student Science Ideas

Thu, Aug 04, 2016 11:28 AM
Misconceptions

There are many different reasons why students have many different reasons why they do the things that they do. Some of the misconceptions that the students have are formed outside of the classroom. The misconceptions deals with the personal experience in their lives. It is important that I listen to my students when there is a class discussion. I also need to pay close attention to what they say, draw, and write. It is a good idea to use the internet for a resource to get ideas before starting new units to see if there are any misconceptions about what I am going to teach. I need to plan activities that will allow the students to communicate with their peers and let them interact with hands on activities. The hands on activities can help to activate their prior knowledge and build on to their daily learning. Students who participate and communicate their ideas can change what and how they use their conceptual skills. A few misconceptions related to my PBL unit on the state of matter are: 1.. Students may think condensations is when air turns into a liquid instead of thinking condensation is water vapor in the air that cools enough to become a liquid. 2. Students may think that steam is not air instead of thinking that steam is water vapor. 3. Students may think that ice molecules are colder that water molecules instead of thinking that ice molecules have less kinetic energy than water molecules. 4. Students may think that water is an open container, the container is absorbed by the container, disappears, changes into air, or dries up and goes into the air instead of thinking that water is an open container, it evaporates, changing from a liquid to a gas.