Week 4 - A Day in the Garage

Good Day Fellow Scientists!

Today in Science class we learned about electricity.  I also learned a new pedagogical skill to add to my toolbox.  I learned that a great lesson can be launched from a simple toy....



Peep, peep....



The first E (engage) was used to start this lesson rolling, the toy was introduced and the question was asked, "How does it do that?"  This set off the the next E (explore), as we tried to decide just how it did work, discovering that an entire chain of hand holding people can keep the pet peeping.  Continuing to the next E (explain), we discovered that it had something to do with the circuit and electricity.  We were sent to the the following E (extend) with the assignment to cut up strands of lights and figure out how to make them light up without plugging them in.  Below is our exploration of this:

Exploration....

Success!!!

Then there is always room for fun!

 

 

Our text reading focused on electricity and atoms, explaining the difference between a series circuit and a parallel circuit, and the in's and out's of an atom.  There was also an introduction to the periodic table, which we will be doing with our 3rd graders this week.

 



 

 

In a review of the powerpoint that we viewed from our portal, I learned that gifted students vary in their learning pace, the depth of their understanding, and that their interests are deep and varied. 

We also learned about another approach to differentiation, which is to look at the dimensions of Depth and Complexity.

There are key questions that can be asked in a variety of areas in order to improve thinking skills in several areas.

 





Family Science Night!

 

In class, we reviewed our science kits for Family Science Night - me and my partner are going to "Break the Force!"  You should come and join us:

Rio Vista Elementary School - Anaheim
Thursday, February 28, 2013 - 6:00 to 8:30pm


I leave you with another Albert Einstein quote:

"Anyone who has never made a mistake has
never tried anything new."