Increase Student Motivation

The article is very helpful in providing the perfect trade books to implement in teaching the concept of gravity. In fact, I purchased the book, I Fall Down by Vicki Cobb, suggested for grad... See More

The article is very helpful in providing the perfect trade books to implement in teaching the concept of gravity. In fact, I purchased the book, I Fall Down by Vicki Cobb, suggested for grades K-3 after reading this. The trade book was an excellent addition to the lesson because it sparked the students' interest immensely. The trade book provides many activities that allow students to explore and test how gravity works for themselves. The article explains what each suggested trade book is about in depth, which is very beneficial to know before purchasing them. Additionally, the authors take the Standards into consideration when suggesting books for each appropriate grade level. Overall, the article is one that I highly recommend to those looking for ways to motivate their students in this area of science.

Increase Student Motivation

The article is very helpful in providing the perfect trade books to implement in teaching the concept of gravity. In fact, I purchased the book, I Fall Down by Vicki Cobb, suggested for grad... See More

The article is very helpful in providing the perfect trade books to implement in teaching the concept of gravity. In fact, I purchased the book, I Fall Down by Vicki Cobb, suggested for grades K-3 after reading this. The trade book was an excellent addition to the lesson because it sparked the students' interest immensely. The trade book provides many activities that allow students to explore and test how gravity works for themselves. The article explains what each suggested trade book is about in depth, which is very beneficial to know before purchasing them. Additionally, the authors take the Standards into consideration when suggesting books for each appropriate grade level. Overall, the article is one that I highly recommend to those looking for ways to motivate their students in this area of science.

Increase Student Motivation

The article is very helpful in providing the perfect trade books to implement in teaching the concept of gravity. In fact, I purchased the book, I Fall Down by Vicki Cobb, suggested for grad... See More

The article is very helpful in providing the perfect trade books to implement in teaching the concept of gravity. In fact, I purchased the book, I Fall Down by Vicki Cobb, suggested for grades K-3 after reading this. The trade book was an excellent addition to the lesson because it sparked the students' interest immensely. The trade book provides many activities that allow students to explore and test how gravity works for themselves. The article explains what each suggested trade book is about in depth, which is very beneficial to know before purchasing them. Additionally, the authors take the Standards into consideration when suggesting books for each appropriate grade level. Overall, the article is one that I highly recommend to those looking for ways to motivate their students in this area of science.

Gravity, Falling and Orbits

These two books help students to get a better conceptual understanding of what gravity is, how it affects them personally, and what happens when it isn't there. With these understandings, te... See More

These two books help students to get a better conceptual understanding of what gravity is, how it affects them personally, and what happens when it isn't there. With these understandings, teaching physical science at upper levels becomes much easier (for everyone!). However, the link to the hockey in space didn't work, and in the search for it I found this wonderful resource and opportunity for students http://education.ssc.nasa.gov/spacedoutsports.asp

Toying With Space Issues

The Picture Perfect ladies highlighted the concept of gravity as they embedded a trade book and fiction book into these 5 E lessons, one for K-2 students and one for students in grades 3-6. ... See More

The Picture Perfect ladies highlighted the concept of gravity as they embedded a trade book and fiction book into these 5 E lessons, one for K-2 students and one for students in grades 3-6. Like all of their offerings from their Picture Perfect book series, the lessons are tied to the National Science Education Standards and present concepts through inquiry activities. I like how they find ways to seek out students’ common misconceptions. For example, in this lesson they help students (and teachers) wrestle with the concepts of gravitational pull and ‘weightlessness’. If you have any space toys stored away in a bin, you can use your gyroscopes, spinning tops, paddleballs and Slinky in these lessons.

Effective learning experience

I chose to include this article in my collection because it contains helpful resources, including a 5E lesson that I would be able to use as a future science teacher. This article also refer... See More

I chose to include this article in my collection because it contains helpful resources, including a 5E lesson that I would be able to use as a future science teacher. This article also references other resources, such as videos in the NSTA database of astronauts experiencing weightlessness as they play with toys at the space station. Additionally, I love to learn of all the different areas I can cover teaching through trade books. From this article, I learned about two 5E lessons, one that can be implemented in K-2 instruction, and another that can be implemented in 3-5 instruction. This article informs its readers about the names of two trade books incorporated into the lesson presented, as well as materials, helpful instructional tips, and other resources. When implementing the information found in this article in my future classroom, I would use processing and content 3rd grade standards. The process TEKS that align with this 5E lesson are 3.2(F) and 3.3(A), while the content TEKS is 3.6(C). I would like to implement this lesson format, or something similar to it when teaching a unit on force, motion, and energy in my future as a teacher. I think that this lesson and activity will be conducive to an effective learning experience for students. They will enjoy manipulating the toys and will be engaged because of their familiarity. I wonder though if some effect would be lost if I chose to use different toys than shown in the Space Station videos…