My science lesson on voicethread

Planning My Science Lesson

I've decided to focus on force and motion in the 3rd grade science core.

Standard 3
Students will understand the relationship between the force applied to an object and resulting motion of the object.

Objective 2
Demonstrate that the greater the force applied to an object, the greater the change in speed or direction of the object.

d. Conduct a simple investigation to show what happens when objects of various weights collide with one another (e.g., marbles, balls).

I will be using the technology the University of Oregon Department of Physics Virtual Lab.
Specifically I will be having them conduct various experiments in simple collisions with cannon balls and box cars, playing with momentum, mass, and velocity to change the result of the collision. I will direct them in the first amounts they should enter into the experiment (to guide them to discover certain physical laws) and then they will be free to continue playing with it as desired and continue to note observations. Their results should be charted using the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives.

TPACK:
1. The technology I will be using allows students to simulate virtual collisions. Using technology is an easy way to adjust the experiment (change mass, force, etc.) to see how that affects the result. It is a quick and interactive way to illustrate physics principles. It also is more enjoyable than other methods of teaching this material. Then the children graph their data using technology in order to visualize their results and see relationships.
2. I will teach this lesson using guided discovery learning, which is one of the best ways to teach math and science. The students will discover principles on their own, but I will make sure they discover them correctly (and not make incorrect assumptions) by giving guidance.
3. The content of this lesson has to do with comparing the effect of mass and other factors in collisions between two objects. They are discovering the principles and laws of motion. In the process they see higher

Other people's tours

It was great to see the google tours that my classmates did. Their future students are lucky! :)

Ashley --I love her fun interactive paths, and her 3D overlay of ancient Rome.
Stephanie --her use of 3D buildings and street view was cool to see the cities
Malorie--she had really cool activities for the students to do at each location
Whitney--had the students explore their own city, which is great for making connections

My Google Earth Field Trip

In this field trip, we study:
1) how volcanoes affect Earth's surface in HAWAII
2) how water erosion affects Earth's surface at the GRAND CANYON
3) how uplift affects Earth's surface in INDIA (Himalaya Mountain Range)
4) how wind erosion affects Earth's surface in the SAHARA DESERT

It can also be accessed at: http://sites.google.com/site/sabrinatech/
Enjoy!

Google earth tour

Location	Activity Description	Google Earth Content
1. Hawaii	Find the Loihi volcano and read the description by the Smithsonian. What does it tell us is going to happen in 10,000-100,000 years? What does this tell us about how volcanoes affect Earth's surface?	placemark Gallery layer
2. The Grand Canyon	View the youtube video X-Country: Grand Canyon Bar Ten, AZ. Note the layers in the canyon wall. What could have caused there to be layers? Look at the bottom of the canyon. What kind of erosion took place to carve out this canyon?	Gallery layer polygon tool placemark
3. Himalayan Mountains	Look at the mountain range on the northern edge of India. The Himalayas were formed when the country of India was smashed into Asia by colliding continental plates. When they crashed into each other, uplift occurred, forming these mountains. Use the ruler to measure from the west end of the Himalayas to the east end (don't worry that the ruler goes straight while the mountains are curved.) How many miles long is it? Now zoom in closer on the mountains and view the 360 degree city image entitled: Mountain Pass. How does life here in the Himalayan Mountains differ from life in our city?	Gallery layer ruler polygon tool
4. Sahara Desert	This is the Sahara Desert, one of the largest deserts in the world. Follow the path to look at all the specified panoramio images. Which of the following erosional forces do you think formed these sand dunes? (waves, wind, water, gravity, or glaciers). Why?	image overlay no layers needed

5^th grade

Standard 2
Students will understand that volcanoes, earthquakes, uplift, weathering, and erosion reshape Earth's surface.

Objective 1
Describe how weathering and erosion change Earth’s surface.

Describe how geological features (e.g., valleys, canyons, buttes, arches) are changed through erosion (e.g., waves, wind, glaciers, gravity, running water).

Objective 2
Explain how volcanoes, earthquakes, and uplift affect Earth’s surface.

a. Identify specific geological features created by volcanoes, earthquakes, and uplift.

b. Give examples of different landforms that are formed by volcanoes, earthquakes, and uplift (e.g., mountains, valleys, new lakes, canyons).

I decided to address this content in a Google earth tour because these are all geologically rich places that I cannot visit in person with my students. With the exception of the Grand Canyon, these locations are all quite far away. By visiting these locations on Google earth, the students will be able to become acquainted with more of the world and understand how geological processes affect Earth's surface in many different locations.

In this tour I combine direct instruction with guided discovery learning. Since my students will not have all the background knowledge necessary to fully understand the tour, I provide them with information. The students can then build upon that knowledge by discovering information about each location (using my prompts) and making educated inferences about information they don't know.

Google earth is perfect technology for this content and pedagogy. Google earth makes the world our classroom by enabling students to see and experience the geology in various parts of the world. Pedagogically, Google earth enables me to scaffold by providing my students with needed information, while also allowing me to guide them through the discoveries I want them to make.