Day 1

Enjoyed the day!
All of the inquiries woould be comprehensible at some level for fifth and sixth grader, and, many could be performed by the students in my lab sessions. I would have my students do the actual hands-on procedures, except where boiling water is involved. That is when I would entrust mature HS stu's. While doing this they could be telling their elementary partners what is happening in a way elem. stu's would understand. This may help their comprehension too. In the past I have done these more dangerous tasks as demo's while the students onserve and record for later discussion.
Some things I have done in either 5th or 6th grade are using short glass Coke bottles for exploring the reaction of vinegar and baking soda. The same equipment is used to show the relationshop of heat or loss of heat on air molecules. When the balloon finally pops erect it's greeted with cheers! I find that PETE bottles con't work well because air escapes around the threads of the bottle and balloon. They alse flex and detract from the effect. Taking a PETE bottle partially filled with very warm water, seal it, pass it around for kids to sqeeze. Then have it shaken and observe again by squeezing. They're amazed that it can't be compressed as much.

I'm finding it challenging to keep up with the chemistry presented, but that's okay.

I found out today that a pressure cooker actually raises the boiling point of water!
I found out that after processing this as a WORD document that it can't be copied and pasted on this posting!! UGH!

The technology was great...as an adult, I like to see data and numbers, but as an elementary teacher, I want the kids to hypothesize what will happen and to what degree of intensity.
I do the lung thing with the kids in a health unit...I'll have to ask Pat if his stu's would like to show how pressure can be measured with technology.
For today's projects, the followint standards would apply, bu not limited to:
5th and6th Grade Nature of Science: Indicator 2: Apply the skill necessary to conduct scientific investigations.
6.P.1.2. Studnets are able to classify matter based on physical and chemical properties.

Question for the blog: I also cover body systems in science. Are standards published for that?