In this project-based unit on weather, a fictional director of a Hungarian Wildlife Refuge invites fourth-grade students to determine whether the backyard of their school contained a variety of surface temperature environments that would satisfy the temperature needs of five animals from her refuge—a gazelle, elephant, kangaroo, horse, and penguin. Students eagerly became involved in this problem-based learning scenario, which was far from fictional. The scenario required students to participate in group work in an authentic investigation, to be responsible for their own methodology and data collection, and to be motivated to learn about the heat-preserving properties of various surfaces in the backyard of the school.
Details
Type Journal ArticlePub Date 4/1/2010Stock # sc10_047_08_36Volume 047Issue 08