Showing posts with label Writing in Science. Show all posts

Compound Story

Have your students write some "science fiction".

Each student chooses a compound (see below for some ideas) about which to write a story. While not a report, the story should include scientific information about the compound and include the compound's empirical and structural formulas.

Encourage your students to be creative in their writing and get into character - they could tell the story from the compound's point of view. They could "be" one of the elements within the compound. They could be reporting on a big news story involving the compound.

If students are having a hard time getting started, they may want to look up their compound to find out what it's used for and where it's found - what they learn may be the start of a story.

To make sure students don't get too carried away with the fiction aspect and forget the science part, you might wish to require them to use 12 (or whatever number you deem suitable) science terms. Some possibilities:

metal
nonmetal
solid
liquid
gas
chemical change
physical change
compound
mixture
periodic table
family(ies)
atomic number
atomic mass
stable
unstable
positive
negative
neutral
valence electrons
valence number
empirical formula
structural formula
subscripts
octet rule
arms
giver
taker
bonds
share
scientific name
react
reaction
atom
molecule

A list of compounds, to get you started:

methane
ethane
propane
butane
octane
acetylene
benzene
toluene
carbon tetrachloride
methanol
ethanol
propanol
butanol
carbon monoxide
carbon dioxide
calcium bicarbonate
calcium oxide
hydrochloric acid
carbonic acid
nitric acid
water
hydrogen peroxide
hydrogen sulfide
sulfuric acid
ammonia
nitric oxide
nitrous oxide
sodium chloride
sodium nitrate
sodium bicarbonate
sodium hydroxide
ozone
silicon dioxide
fructose
sucrose
potassium chloride
citric acid
vitamin C
silver fluoride
sodium fluoride
silver chloride

If you aren't familiar with Wild About Books, you should be - it's a fun read and a favorite in our house. But, beyond that, you can incorporate it into your study of insects.

After the animals have learned to love to read books, they begin to write their own. And, the insects begin writing haikus (and the scorpion gives each a stinging review). Four of these haikus are included in the story. Share them with your students and then have them try writing their own haiku that includes some facts they've learned about insects.

Maybe they could even write their finished poem on a piece of paper cut into the shape of their chosen insect for a cute display.

In case you've forgotten, a haiku has three non-rhyming lines. The first contains 5 syllables, the second 7 syllables, and the third 5 syllables.

The title slime in Bartholomew and the Oobleck is a mysterious potion that at times acts like a solid and at other times acts like a liquid. Can your students decide which state of matter Oobleck should be classified as?

Have each student make his/her own Oobleck:
--Mix 3 spoonfuls of cornstarch with 2 spoonfuls of water.

Next comes play time...
Students stick their hands in the Oobleck to see what it feels like and how it behaves. They should try each of these tests as well, recording their results after each one:
--Poke it quickly
--Poke it slowly
--Stir it fast
--Stir it slowly
--Pour it
--Roll it into a ball
--Set objects on it

Any other tests the students come up with should be encourages as well, as long as they don't put students or property at risk (or create too large a mess).

Now students need to decide if the Oobleck is a solid or a liquid. Make them defend their decision in a written statement. Perhaps you'll even get a debate going between students.

You've actually created a suspension that acts as both a solid and a liquid.

**Do NOT try to get rid of your Oobleck by putting it down the drain - just put it in the trash. Or better yet, allow the water the evaporate and put the dried cornstarch in a plastic bag for your next batch of Oobleck.

Doreen Cronin's Diary of a Worm, Spider and Fly are silly tales about each of the respective animals.

While the stories are far-fetched enough to garner lots of giggle, they are based on real attributes of each of the animals.

If you're looking to have your students do something a bit more creative than the traditional report after researching an animal, consider having them follow Cronin's model and write a "Diary of a _____".

Goldilocks and the Three Bears is a well-known fairy tale and provides a great opening for scientific inquiry.

Whatever version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears you prefer, you'll come to the spot when Goldilocks goes to eat the porridge. She finds that Papa's porridge, in the largest bowl, is too hot; Mama's porridge, in the middle-sized bowl, is too cold; and the Baby's porridge, in the smallest bowl, is just right.

Does this part of the story make sense, scientifically? Would the largest vessel keep something the hottest? What about the smallest vessel keeping it warmer than the medium-sized one?

It's easy to test it out for yourself!

You'll need 3 jars/bottles/beakers, each a different size. If I were at school, I would use three different sized beakers. Because I'm working from home, I used three different sizes of Mason jars: a quart jar, a pint jar, and a half-pint jar. You'll also need a thermometer. I used a candy thermometer, because that's what I had at home.

Fill each of the jars with hot water. However hot you can get it to come out of the tap is fine, it's not necessary to heat it further.

Take a temperature reading right away, so you know your starting point.

For younger students:
Set a timer for 15 minutes and when it sounds, take a temperature reading for each jar. If you wish, you take an additional reading after another 15 minutes.

For older students:
Have the students, working in lab groups, take and record the temperature of each jar of water at regular intervals (1, 2 or 3 minutes). These students can then graph their data, which will show the rate at which heat is lost from each vessel.

I started with water that was 125 degrees Fahrenheit. After 15 minutes, I had the following data:
Papa (Quart jar): 115 degrees
Mama (Pint jar): 109 degrees
Baby (Half-pint jar): 100 degrees

After completing the activity, graphing and drawing conclusions, students can re-write the tale, incorporating what they learned from the lab.

This is adapted from the ProjectWET curriculum guide. I've seen this adaptation in several different locations, so I don't know whom to officially credit. Regardless, it's a great activity and I hope you and your students enjoy it!

If I ask you to describe the water cycle, what comes to mind?

I'll bet your picturing the image from your textbook: the clouds raining over the mountain, the water moving down the mountain into the ocean/lake, the water evaporating from the ocean/lake to form clouds. Maybe there's a tree in there somewhere, releasing water into the air as well. You know... this one....

That's the easiest way to explain the water cycle, right?

But, you're all smart people; you realize the water cycle is more than a simple circle. There are any number of different paths that water can take.

How do you get your students to understand that?

The ProjectWET folks created The Incredible Journey, in which students travel between 9 different stations: clouds, oceans, rivers, lakes, plants, animals, soil, glaciers and ground water.

Each station is set up with an identifying sign (it could just be a large sign with the word on it, it could be a painting representing that station, or it could a collage of pictures representing that area), a large die (see instructions below) and a tub of pony beads (one color per station).

The original version of the activity has students write down where they travel, but to make things more fun and memorable, the adaptation has students use the beads to create a keychain/bracelet to document their travels as a water drop.

Each student begins with a pipe cleaner (loop over one end so the beads don't slide off) at a station of their choosing.

The student picks up bead from that station and slides it onto the pipe cleaner.

The student then roles the die and travels to the station the die directed them to. At the new station, the student picks up a bead and adds it to the pipe cleaner and roles the die.

If the student roles a "Stay" he or she remains at the same station, picking up another bead representing that station and roles the die again. It is possible to remain at the same station for a number of roles, which would be represented by several of the same color beads in a row.

After the students have had the chance to visit ~24 stations, bring the group back together and talk about what happened. Use the strings of beads to question the students about where they began, where they went next, etc. Ask the students how they would have gotten from one place to another.

For instance, my journey began as a drop of water in an animal. From there I traveled to the ground. How would I have gone from being in an animal to the ground? Well, the animal probably urinated; other answers could include slobber/drool, sweat, etc.

How would I have gone from the clouds to the ocean? Rain (or another form of precipitation).

A nice way to close the activity is to have students write about their journey - a first-person narrative of their travels and how they moved from one location to another.

The Dice:

To make the dice:

Use square boxes to make the dice, label the sides (see below), and cover with packing tape (just to make them last longer).

Cover wooden blocks with masking tape and label the sides (see below).

For each station, label the sides as follows (make sure you mark your dice as to which station each belongs to):

SOIL:
Plant
River
Ground water
Clouds x2
Stay

PLANT:
Clouds x4
Stay x2

RIVER:
Lake
Ground Water
Ocean
Animal
Clouds
Stay

CLOUDS:
Soil
Glacier
Lake
Ocean x2
Stay

OCEAN:
Clouds x2
Stay x4

LAKE:
Ground Water
Animal
River
Clouds
Stay x2

ANIMAL:
Soil x2
Clouds x3
Stay

GROUND WATER:
River
Lake x2
Stay x3

GLACIER:
Ground Water
Clouds
River
Stay x3

Write It, Do It is a Science Olympiad event, but it can easily be adapted for use in your classroom.

The idea is to get kids to practice writing clear technical directions.

As a competition event, students work as a team - one member is the writer and the other is the do-er.

The writer is given an object made of Legos, K'nex, Tinker Toys, craft supplies, etc. The writer then has to write a set of instructions explaining how to build that object.

The do-er is then given those instructions, along with a set of the materials needed to construct the object.

The goal is to have a finished object that most closely resembles the original object.

Science Olympiad has a thorough list of rules that govern the event - no drawings, all abbreviations must be defined, etc. But, in your classroom, you can set your own rules. For me, the goal is to get the kids to write accurately and provide clear directions.

Start simple and work up to more complex objects throughout the year, as your students technical writing skills improve.

If you plan to do this activity throughout the year, seek out a variety of different materials with which to build - it will make things more interesting and challenging if it isn't always the same. Yard sales and thrift stores are great places to pick up building toys on the cheap - and you can sometimes find some older toys that your students don't know, adding to the challenge! Just make sure you have at least 2 of each part - one for the object, one for the building materials.

If you spend any time studying space, there's probably a good chance you at least touch upon constellations and the legends and myths they are the subjects of.

A great way to incorporate some more writing into your science curriculum is to have your students "discover" their own constellations and then write a story/legend/myth about that constellation.

There are a number of ways you can go about constellation creation.

Version 1:
Provide each student with a blank star map. I've got an old copy that I can photocopy, but truth be told, I'm having a hard time finding a blank star map (without the constellations already drawn in) to print. But, if you can find a blank star map, this way is a lot of fun because, at least in theory, the students should be able to find their own constellation in the night sky.

The students "connect the dots" to form some sort of image from the stars.

Version 2:

Each student is provided with a piece of paper and a specified number of star stickers. The students place the stickers on the paper as they desire. They then draw in the lines to complete the picture.

Version 3:

The teacher places star stickers on a piece of paper, as the student had done in version 2, but without drawing in any lines. The paper is then photocopied, so each student is given the same arrangement of stars. The students then draw in lines to create they image the want from the given stars. It's kind of fun to see the different pictures students come up with from the same set of stars.

Regardless of how the constellation is created, the students then write a story about the constellation.

A nice idea is to photocopy the finished stories and constellation pictures and bind the whole class's work into a book. It's easy enough to create a single copy for the classroom. If you have the time and resources available, you might even consider making a copy of the book for each student in the class.

This activity doesn't have the same excitement factor as the previous activities, instead the students need to be a bit reflective.

At the end of the year, I sometimes ask my 7th grade students to write a letter to next year's 7th grade students. The idea being to give the incoming students tips for succeeding in science class - what to watch out for, what to look forward to, etc.

When I'm assembling the beginning-of-the-year materials, I'll add a section of tips from the previous class amongst class procedures and grade breakdowns.

I really enjoy reading what the students write and it can provide great insight as to how the students perceive the class as a whole and what they most enjoyed throughout the year (you know you've got a winner when they write about something you did months ago).

Earthquakes: A Letter to the 3 Little Pigs

After learning about earthquakes and earthquake resistant structures, have your students write a letter to the 3 Little Pigs, suggesting ways they could build their houses to be earthquake (or wolf) resistant.

The letter could be written from a friend -
a personal letter passing along information that might be helpful

Or from a government official -
a letter outlining city or state requirements for earthquake resistant structures

The letters should include at least 5 suggestions.

Encourage students to get creative in their writing and also in their presentation - written on a piece of stationary or as an email if it's a letter to a friend, written on a piece of "letterhead" if it's from a government official.

If you aren't familiar with Wild About Books, you should be - it's a fun read and a favorite in our house. But, beyond that, you can incorporate it into your study of insects.

After the animals have learned to love to read books, they begin to write their own. And, the insects begin writing haikus (and the scorpion gives each a stinging review). Four of these haikus are included in the story. Share them with your students and then have them try writing their own haiku that includes some facts they've learned about insects.

Maybe they could even write their finished poem on a piece of paper cut into the shape of their chosen insect for a cute display.

In case you've forgotten, a haiku has three non-rhyming lines. The first contains 5 syllables, the second 7 syllables, and the third 5 syllables.

Volcanoes: Create Volcano Folklore

There is a lot of folklore and legends surrounding volcanoes. Why wouldn't there be? Huge, firey mountains start spewing forth, seemingly on a whim...

Share some of the stories with your students - they're usually quite short. I haven't found a good collection of volcano folklore in one place, but you can google 'volcano folklore' or the specific volcano you're interested in, such as 'Mt. St. Helens folklore' or 'Mauna Loa folklore'.

Of course, make sure you read through the stories before sharing them with your students, to make sure they're appropriate for your group!

After sharing a few stories, have your students try their hand at writing their own folklore. Perhaps you'll want to provide them with a picture (or multiple pictures) of a volcano to inspire their stories, or maybe you'll just let them have at it with their own imaginations.

You may also want to share the story, Hill of Fire with your students. It's based on the true story of the formation of a Mexican volcano in the middle of a corn field.

One of the activities included with the textbook I used to use was an Ode to Fungi. The worksheet provided students with four lines of a poem, and then the students were to continue said poem, including various facts about fungi.

I've been known to use that poem starter, but have found that most of my students are happy to start from scratch. The starter "locks" students into a rhyming scheme and a lot of students take their poems in a different direction, so the rest of their poem doesn't really make sense in the context of the first four lines.

You can also read the poem "Mushrooms" by Sylvia Plath - proof that "real" poets write about fungi! This can be fun to read and discuss with your class, even if you don't have your students write their own.

After students write their poem, usually for homework (after starting it in class), I have them copy it onto a construction paper mushroom. We then hang them in the hall for all to see.

Earthquakes: San Francisco Earthquake Accounts

I happened to be teaching about earthquakes in April 2006. I hadn't given it much thought, but I was watching the Today show on the morning of April 18, and there was a segment on the 100th anniversary of the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire.

Well, the timing couldn't have been better (well... I could have planned a bit further ahead and been a bit more prepared...) so when I got to school that morning I went searching for something to share with my students to mark the date.

I came across The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco. There, I found a whole collection of eyewitness accounts as well as lots of other information.

I printed out a few accounts and shared parts of them with my students that day. These do tend to be longer narratives, so you won't be able to read several whole accounts, unless your students are much more patient than mine.

Since this was a plan that was hatched about an hour before school started, I read the accounts and left it at that. You may want to take it further...

Assign each student a different eyewitness account to read as homework. Then, have them summarize their story for the rest of the class the next day.

Perhaps you could have your students write their own account of what it would have been like to survive the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. Or maybe you'd like them to research another earthquake and write an account of that experience in the first person. If you live in a place that experiences earthquakes, you could have your students write of their own experiences. (Talk to the language arts teacher, maybe it'll work out that your students are working on writing first person narratives or memoirs and you could team up).

You could adapt this exercise to other natural disasters: hurricanes, tornadoes, volcanoes, etc.

Daman Sciense Blog

Compound Story

Wild About Books: Insect Haiku

Bartholomew and the Oobleck: Concocting Oobleck

Diary of a...: Writing Prompt

Goldilocks & the Three Bears:

Water Cycle: The Incredible Journey

Write It, Do It

Space: Constellation Stories

End of School: Tips for Surviving Science

Earthquakes: A Letter to the 3 Little Pigs

Insect Haiku

Volcanoes: Create Volcano Folklore

Fungi: Odes to Fungi

Earthquakes: San Francisco Earthquake Accounts

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