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Jolene Wu
Kaiser High School

I'm a first year teacher with Earth Science, Physics, and Zoology classes. Excited to be a part of this cohort and to have the opportunity to learn from and with you all!

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Recent Posts by Jolene

Mon, Apr 22, 2013 4:55 PM in phases of the moon activities

For a high school astronomy unit, I'm planning on discussing the role of the moon as it relates to our solar system and as it relates to life on Earth. Since the expectation is that the learners' background already includes the phases of the moon, the emphasis in my lesson is on the effect of the moon's phases on Earth. Thanks to this thread, I'm able to use an NSTA resource titled, "Going Throu...

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Tue, Apr 02, 2013 3:09 AM in Create an alien project

I'm so happy to have come across this forum topic! I'm planning on starting the Solar System unit shortly and this seems like a great idea for a culminating project. I agree with Tina about the importance of identifying misconceptions about our solar system and about what makes something "living". I'm wondering if a group discussion of conceptions about the solar system would be an appropriate ...

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Sat, Mar 23, 2013 9:07 PM in Discrepent Events

Thanks for sharing all of these wonderful resources! I also plan on starting a unit on Space/Astronomy when the fourth quarter begins. Discrepant events seem to be a great way to address student conceptions of astronomy and physics. The advantage of this particular unit in Earth Science is students seem to be particularly interested in it. Perhaps it is knowing that there is so much still unkno...

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Reviews
Recent Reviews by Jolene

Severe Weather

Thu, May 02, 2013 9:41 PM
Engaging HS Earth Science Students

Of particular interest among students is extreme weather. For my students in Hawaii, thunderstorms and lightning are rare and somewhat welcome occurrences. When we started to talk about severe weather, lightning in particular, students were fascinated with how it all works. The role of the Severe Weather SciGuide was as its title states; It is a guide. The introductory pre-assessment of conceptions about lightning was eye-opening for both teacher and student. The value of this activity was to promote more meaningful questions among students that they're able to explore in the ensuing activities. Students are able to engage in their own independent research, going into more depth in areas where they have more questions. The online resources provided by this SciGuide were invaluable and really guided the students in the right direction in their research. The online resources also served as examples of "good" sources, which had to be cited at the end of student research. An extension that this SciGuide inspired in my classroom was a discussion and investigation into electrical charge. What is electrical charge and can we (safely) demonstrate it in a controlled setting? Students were quick to talk about "static electricity" and their own experiences with it. This opened up an opportunity to explore what materials are highly conductive and which are less conductive. Overall, I think that this SciGuide earns 4 out of 5 stars. It provides a great structure for any physical science teacher to use in the classroom and also provides inspiration and opportunities for students and teachers to exercise their own creativity. In addition to the structure of the SciGuide, the resources were great.

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