Science Everyday The Lawrence F. Lowery Sourcebook

Prefaceand apply to become scientifically literate citizens. Although the documents provided afundamental set of outcomes for students and educators, they did not, and still do not,prescribe a curriculum. It is expected that states and local districts use the standards asguidelines for planning and implementing science instruction through all grade levels.The documents emphasize that it is not sufficient to just read about science ordemonstrate and lecture in a show-and-tell manner. Rather, they emphasize thatlearning the essence of the enterprise (the modes of inquiry and the proceduresfor gathering, organizing, and analyzing data in intellectually honest ways) is moreimportant than memorizing facts. This sourcebook was created because scienceshould be memorable, not memorizable.This Sourcebook and National Science StandardsThe content in this sourcebook was selected to build upon and extend the sciencestandards outlined in the AAAS and NSES documents. All the activities contribute tothose standards that can best be learned through direct and indirect observations ofnatural phenomena. Because the major standards are broad and inclusive, this bookrestates them in teachable terms that combine the content to be learned with waysby which students can explore and inquire. Since many textbook and kit-centeredscience programs do not provide engaging activities for all the science standards, theactivities in this book can fill gaps in programs and extend and enrich experienceswhere programs have minimal or shallow activities.This sourcebook is a thesaurus. It enables the user to quickly locate numerousexperiences related to particular scientific standards and thinking processes. Userswill be pleased by the many fresh ideas for teaching. The book can make instructionvalid, powerful, and enjoyable.It is important to know that this sourcebook is not a science program, and it is not amethods book. You will not learn from this book how to teach science. As a storehouseof ideas, it will not tell you how to work through activities in a prescribed way. How youinstruct depends upon your own training and philosophy about learning. Each activitycan be taught didactically or by an inquiry technique. Because this is not a methodsbook, the activities are intentionally brief. Creative and well-prepared individuals willuse the suggestions as springboards for their own ideas and will adapt the activities inmany ways to meet the goals of their curriculum and the needs of students.This book is also not a source of scientific knowledge and not intended to supplyall the factual background and explanations for science concepts. However, theentries do supply the generalizations inherent in each activity, and each contributesto a standard and contains sufficient information pertaining to the instructionalconditions that enable the teacher to prepare and introduce the activity to students.Remember: The main purpose for this book is to enable you to easily find handson experiences that directly engage students with phenomena in our world.xNATIONAL SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATIONCopyright 2012 NSTA. All rights reserved. For more information, go to www.nsta.org/permissions.

PrefaceSafetyWith hands-on, process, and inquiry-based activities, today’s teaching and learningof science can be both effective and exciting. The challenge of securing this successneeds to be met by addressing potential safety issues. Teachers can reinforce safetyfor students and themselves by adopting, implementing, and enforcing legalstandards and best professional practices in the science classroom, laboratory, andout in the field. In this sourcebook, 610 Safety Precautions (p. 448) includes bothrecommended basic safety practices and resources for activities. It is designed tohelp teachers and students become aware of relevant standards and practices thatwill help make activities safer. Doing science makes the learning come alive; doingscience safer makes it a successful experience.For additional safety regulations and best professional practices, go to:NSTA: Safety in the Science sroom.pdfNSTA Safety Portal:www.nsta.org/portals/safety.aspxThe Everyday Science Sourcebook, Revised 2nd EditionCopyright 2012 NSTA. All rights reserved. For more information, go to www.nsta.org/permissions.xi

Copyright 2012 NSTA. All rights reserved. For more information, go to www.nsta.org/permissions.

How to Use ThisSourcebookIt is easy to use this sourcebook. Look up a topic in the Index Guide, note the entry,or activity number for that topic, and then use that number to find one or moreactivities in the Entry section.Let us try an example. Suppose your students have found some rocks that interestthem and they bring them to class. You might want to do some activities with rocksto extend their interest.If you look up the word Rocks in the Index Guide, you will see the following:From the listing under Rocks, you can see that you have a lot of choices. Pick theone that best fits the interest of the students and the resources you have available.Suppose you decide it would be best for your students to learn somethingabout how rocks can be identified. Note that, in the Index Guide, a set of numbersThe Everyday Science Sourcebook, Revised 2nd EditionCopyright 2012 NSTA. All rights reserved. For more information, go to www.nsta.org/permissions.xiii

How to Use This Sourcebookaccompanies the topic identification of: color sorting key, 141.14, 141.15; hardness sortingkey, 141.22; and size sorting key, 141.23. These numbers mean that in section 141 of thissourcebook, there are several activities related to learning about the identification ofrocks.Suppose you decide to look up hardness sorting key, 141.22 in the Entry section ofthis book. The activity numbers are printed at the top of each page for the activitieson that page—much in the way that a dictionary and an encyclopedia list entries atthe top of their pages. When you look up the identification of rocks, 141.22 in the Entrysection, you will find a page that looks like the following:Inorganic Matter / Earth Science141.21–141.23Generalization IV. Rocks canbe organized by their physicalcharacteristics.Contributing Idea A. Rocks can beseriated.22AbDa23AaDaTable 141.22. Hardness Sorting Key—RocksHardness Scale(Soft to Hard)Rock ExampleScratches easily with a fingernailtalc2Scratches with a fingernailgypsum3Scratches with a pin or copper pennycalcite4Scratches easily with a knifefluorite5Scratches with a knifeapatite6Knife will not scratch rock and rock will notscratch glass.feldspar7Scratches glass easilyquartz8Scratches quartz easilytopaz9Scratches topaz easilycorundumScratches all other rocksdiamond10xivHardness Test1NATIONAL SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATIONCopyright 2012 NSTA. All rights reserved. For more information, go to www.nsta.org/permissions.

How to Use This SourcebookThis is one of several pages that list activities related to the identification of rocks.If you skim across the pages in this section, you can choose one or more of the otheractivities in which to engage your students.Here is another example. Suppose you are looking for an activity that would helpstudents understand the science content standard that expresses that water washesaway topsoil.If you look up in the Index Guide the word erosion, you will find several possiblesubtopics listed.The most suitable reference to your idea might be subtopic water 142.17–23. Lookup the numerical reference in the Entry section, and you will find many activities,one or several of which are applicable to your particular situation and goal.17AaThe Everyday Science Sourcebook, Revised 2nd EditionCopyright 2012 NSTA. All rights reserved. For more information, go to www.nsta.org/permissions.xv

How to Use This SourcebookWhen you locate a numerical reference, you will see that the scientific content isclearly stated as Contributing Idea. In the erosion example, you will find ContributingIdea C: Water carries and deposits materials. When you look at the subsequentactivities 142.18–22, you will find many more ideas concerning erosion by water.Thus the activities listed for Contributing Idea C relate to the common contentthat water washes away topsoil. Yet each activity is different in terms of possibleexperiences for students. Students may observe how rain carries away soil (entry142.17), collect samples of waterborne materials (entry 142.18), observe how watercarried materials are deposited (entry 142.19), and so forth. Note that the activitiesare generally sequenced from simple to complex or from directly experienced toabstract. Such sequencing will help you identify the most appropriate activity foryour students.Also note that if you glance over the total structure of this section, othercontributing ideas will provide you with additional related activities that might beuseful. The other ideas may suggest preliminary experiences that you might not havethought about. Or they might suggest branching experiences for further exploration.There is another aspect of this book that you will find useful. You probably noticedthe letters beneath the activity numbers. These letters indicate the major problemsolving and thinking processes that are part of the activity. The letters are a simplecode that is outlined inside the cover of this book. For example, the letter A indicatesthe various sensory observations students will make during the activity:Aa looking and seeingAb touching and feelingAc hearing and listeningAd smellingAe tasting (within safety guidelines)Af multisensory, using several sensesWhen you use the chart of thinking processes, you will find that each correspondsto the thinking process that researchers have found are the ways by which humansnaturally think when given a chance.The letter codes are easy to remember and use. The sequence of the letterscorresponds to developmental stages. The ability to observe begins early in our livesand continues as other abilities are added over time. Inferring (i.e., the thinkingabout things that are remote in time and space) begins with adolescence and takesmany more years to fully develop.Let us now examine how the thinking processes are a part of an activity. Inthe erosion example that you looked at earlier, you can see that below the activitynumbers, the letter code tells you the major thinking students will do during eachactivity.xviNATIONAL SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATIONCopyright 2012 NSTA. All rights reserved. For more information, go to www.nsta.org/permissions.

How to Use This Sourcebook142.17 Aa142.18 Ca and Ge142.19 EcStudents will observe erosion.Students will collect and compare samples.Students will test variables.Contributing Idea C. Water carriesand deposits materials.17AaUsing this sourcebook is easy! Now enjoy enabling your students to learn scienceconcepts through interesting hands-on experiences.The Everyday Science Sourcebook, Revised 2nd EditionCopyright 2012 NSTA. All rights reserved. For more information, go to www.nsta.org/permissions.xvii

Copyright 2012 NSTA. All rights reserved. For more information, go to www.nsta.org/permissions.

Features of ThisSourcebookThis sourcebook is a thesaurus. In contrast to a dictionary or encyclopedia, whichformat content alphabetically, a thesaurus is a reference work that arranges its contentaccording to conceptual similarities. Its purpose is to enable readers to find specificideas and to see how the ideas relate to other ideas.As a thesaurus of science concepts, this book provides easy access to scienceactivities that teach science concepts that correspond to national standards. And itdoes much more because of the way the science content is organized.Organization: Science ContentThe Entry section of this book comprises a number of interlocking science contentgroupings organized by numerical code system. Entries are arranged in broad sciencecategories to match the Standards. These are subdivided into topics, subtopics, andspecific activities, all related to the content being taught.Broad Science Content CategoriesSix broad content categories are used to provide a framework for the Entry section—the main body of this book. Each of the content categories is coded by numerals in adecimal system.100–199: Inorganic MatterMatter, one of the two great divisions studied by scientists, includes all the materialsthat occupy space in the world around us. The scientist subdivides the materials intotwo kinds: inorganic and organic. Inorganic matter is the subdivision that comprisesall nonliving materials (e.g., the rocks and minerals above and below the surface ofthe Earth). This content category includes such directly observable aspects as thephysical and chemical properties of matter and the changes in the states of matter(i.e., solid, liquid, gas).200–299: Organic MatterThe other subdivision of matter studied by scientists is organic matter. Organic matteris found in all living materials (e.g., the various forms of plants and animals). Thiscontent category contains entries that pertain to the directly observable physical andThe Everyday Science Sourcebook, Revised 2nd EditionCopyright 2012 NSTA. All rights reserved. For more information, go to www.nsta.org/permissions.xix

Features of This Sourcebookchemical properties of living organisms, their growth and response to environmentalconditions, and the interrelationships among them.300–399: EnergyEnergy is the second great division studied by scientists. Energy means the ability todo work. This content category includes entries that pertain to the various forms ofenergy such as light, sound, and heat.400–499: Inference ModelsIn scientific terms, a model is a theory that describes or explains a phenomenon thatcannot be directly observed (e.g., atomic structures, the solar system). This fourthcategory contains entries that serve to explain phenomena and pertain to ideasderived through indirect means.500–599: Technology and EngineeringTechnology is the blend of science and invention that aims to increase productivityby rearranging the environment and producing goods. As such, technology issometimes called applied science or engineering. This category contains entriespertaining to inventions (e.g., simple machines) developed from the application ofscientific principles that, in turn, can be used to further understand basic scientificlaws and principles.600–699: Instructional Apparatus, Materials, and SystemsThis sixth category contains entries dealing with the preparation of various materialsuseful in teaching science that have wide application throughout the contentcategories. This category includes such topics as techniques for cutting and bendingof glass to making certain apparatus and construction plans for the construction ofmeasuring devices (e.g., balance and spring scales).The content numbering system is presented in the Table of Contents.100 Inorganic Matter200 Organic Matter300 Energy400 Inference Models500 Technology and Engineering600 Instructional Apparatus, Materials, and SystemsxxNATIONAL SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATIONCopyright 2012 NSTA. All rights reserved. For more information, go to www.nsta.org/permissions.

Features of This SourcebookTopicsEach of the six broad science categories is divided into specialized topics. For example,the category 100 Inorganic Matter is subdivided into six topics that are coded by thesecond numeral in the series of three numerals.100 Inorganic Matter110 Solids120 Liquids130 Gases140 Earth Science150 Oceans160 WeatherSubtopicsWithin the topical categories, scientific knowledge is subdivided into four subtopics.1. Characteristics: This subtopic contains knowledge that relates to thecharacteristics or attributes of objects (e.g., size, shape, color, texture, and soon). Generally, this knowledge is descriptive of physical properties of

Sourcebook Ideas for Teaching in Elementary and Middle School Lawrence F. Lowery Revised 2nd Edition. . Reading, Referencing Be Picturing, Drawing, Illustrating Bf Graphing c comPAring . Revised 2nd Edition. The Everyday Science Sourcebook, Revised 2nd Edition, .