Planning a science unit...

I hope the beginning of the term has gone well for you all. I have had a busy time with schools and planning for the term's science -which is always fun! From the discussions I had with the teachers, I thought it might support others who may also be planning.

I have developed a wee resource with laminate cards that we use to prompt our thinking with units that are for the whole term or longer. I wouldn't go to this length with smaller units (or lesson progressions) although often my lessons for teachers are that thorough simply because I want to support them in their thinking about the science capabilities.

My cards are used really to prompt our thinking rather than have all the answers. The first card is The Big Idea -what's the really big idea that underpins the whole unit. It's the thought that encapsulates science, reading, maths, social sciences, whatever! It's global and probably not an assessment WALT -for example, children appreciate the world around them or children take action.

Next is the NZC Principles, Vision, Values and Key Competencies. I know that these sort of happen all the time, but are there elements that can be deliberately focused on? With my work over the past couple of weeks, teachers have picked out critical and creative thinking themes and sustainability ideas. We also need to look at our own local school curriculum -the values or virtues, etc that the school uses. As with the NZC bits, are there any that we can particularly focus on? I like the idea of starting with these as they need to underpin the unit and the term's teaching.

Because this is a science unit (albeit integrated with other curriculum areas), we'll start with the Context Strands. I've been thinking lots about the idea of shifting from single context strands (i.e. Term Three is "Material World") to topics that can incorporate more than one strand. I might have a focus on one,  for example "Planet Earth and Beyond" and the Moon and Sun, but I might be able to develop some ideas in the "Physical World" with light and shadows. Remember, we don't assess student content knowledge, these context strands are the vehicle we use to develop student science capabilities or the nature of science. We still need the contexts to be rich and robust with lots of deep thinking and action happening though.

Now it's the stuff I particularly like! Science capabilities or the nature of science if you prefer. Remember that they are sort of interchangeable -you don't need to use both. The science capabilities can be found on the TKI site (try googling "science capabilities TKI") and again you'll probably be using more than one. I try to get teachers to focus on the capability that might be more suited to that year level so Gather and Interpret Data (G&ID) for the juniors, Use Evidence (UE) for the middles, and Critique Evidence (CE) for the seniors. I know that you need to use G&ID to develop UE thinking and you need both for the CE capability so all will be happening. It's just that as the teacher, I'm focusing on one particular capability, that's what I'm going to be assessing and using for my learning intentions. Of course, we will be looking at Interpreting Representations and possibly Engaged with Science too and they go across the levels.

Onto other curriculum areas... What else can you do with this topic? I like the idea of reading and writing (and oral language too I guess!) all wrapped up in the topic rather than simply independent stories that don't fit what we're studying as well as maths integrated. In a conversation I had last week, we talked about how to integrate reading and science, without losing the reading elements and gaining the idea that students can continue to develop their thinking about how the natural physical world and science itself work. It might be as simple as unpacking tables or diagrams, or did the scientist infer or observe and how do we know from the text...
We can also do some art or technology, etc too. One of the big things with integrating is that we still call science science. It's not topic. We might be doing a big unit on "The Lake" but when we do science-themed activities, we make sure that children realise that. Children are heading to high school without realising that they have had science lessons -they may remember topics but not make the connection. Of course we also want students to know what science is but that's what this whole blog is about!

I also had some extra cards -Tikanga Maaori, Digital Technologies, Citizen Science, Environmental Science, etc to stimulate thinking and further activities.

The final step is resources -where do we find them? They are pretty much everywhere but some ideal places to go is the Science Learning Hub, TKI might have some ideas,  Royal Society but also DoC, Landcare as well. DoC's lessons are great but besides that, here are lots of NZ resources for us to use. We don't need to download a ready-made unit -and most seem to come from the States but can create one as the unit progresses and student inquiry develops. I might have a couple of starters but then I want children to run the unit! If I do use some NZ lesson plans,  I'll need to adapt them for my class and if they're from overseas, I'm pretty certain they won't have a nature of science or capabilities focus.

Well, if you've got this far, well done! I'm happy to send out a pdf with the cards on to help with planning -just email me: paul.ashman@waikato.ac.nz.

Have fun, and enjoy your science for this term!
Paul

Can just 'play' be enough?

I hope that you have all had a lovely week refreshing and recharging and thinking about some things other than school!
I have just come back from a week of science conferencing in Christchurch listening to educators, teachers and those of us interested in the world of science education. It was a fantastic week and I am particularly heartened to see the move towards the nature of science and the science capabilities at a secondary school level. I think it's important that there's a strong continuity from our Y7/8 science programmes to secondary and having a focus on the nature of science is one way we can be supporting this.

Canterbury Museum model of Scott Base (one of my Bucket List places!)... the machine in the top right hand corner seems a little bit out of place!

Whilst I was there, I had the chance to visit the Canterbury Museum which was next door. Lots to see and do and I had to go back to see stuff I had missed the first time! Anne Barker came with me on one of the visits and we walked around the science interactive centre with about a hundred very noisy children! The focus was on light and space and there were quite a few different activities for students to participate in. Anne and I were leading a workshop the next day on 'play-based learning in science' so we were interested to see if children were thinking scientifically as they were playing independently.
My own feeling is that, even though we're wanting children to play/explore/discover on their own, it does need some teacher input in terms of questioning to support children to be curious, to want to investigate further. Without this teacher input, I think that students may become bored, not understand the activity and simply move on to the next quick buzz! I don't so much mean that teachers should be asking the hard science questions (that could be for lesson two instead) but simply enabling that sense of wonder and thinking to support the next session's more scientific focus.
It was interesting watching the students as they moved from exhibit to exhibit -many were simply pushing buttons, spinning dials and then running onto the next one. There didn't seem any effort to investigate the purpose of the exhibit or any wondering as to what they were seeing. At one stage, Anne did ask some questions and the child suddenly became more interested as she challenged their thinking as to what was happening.



I know there are those students who are well able to learn in these environments but I think that the majority of the students need those questions and wonderings from us, the teachers to enable a deeper questioning, awe and wonder. There are a few places like the Canterbury Museum around -the Telecom roadshow, MoTaT in Auckland and the Exscite in Hamilton. There's also lots of activities that children can simply 'do' from the internet that produces a 'wow' and that's the end! I was talking to a teacher last term who wanted to do a particular activity because the kids would love it. Of course, that's fine but is there a chance that we could grow the activity further?

At the Antarctic Centre... and yes of course all those penguins are real!

Something this year that I have been focusing on is the idea of a lesson having a part one "play" with teacher support and students simply exploring and then a second lesson with more of a scientific bent -how do we observe, gather data, form ideas behaving like scientists?. This could then be extended further with children investigating some questions and ideas and then sharing back with the class later. Visiting the Museum and watching the children at play really emphasised to me the need for those rich questions, modelling good thinking (as Anne did with the child) and growing that wonder.

I found this on Facebook and thought that there were some interesting ideas here that could be discussed further at a team meeting. It's more geared towards the younger children (I think it might even be ECE) but good for a discussion!

Keep on sciencing and do comment below!
Paul

Ideas for a weather unit...

Kia ora koutou!
First a quick look at some photos with all the ice that we've been having with frosty mornings. I've always been a bit fascinated with ice...

In Wellington -I love the very clear crystal structures that seem to be growing...

In Te Aroha, taking the dog for a walk... and yes, he got quite impatient!

 It's the crystals that I'm really interested in. When I was in Opotiki this week, I washed down the windscreen and ended up with these:

I ended up wondering if the the long 'bits' grew because I had poured water over so the ice melt or whether they were always there but were harder pieces of ice that had formed earlier in the morning. Now I'm wondering if ice forms on the windscreen at night or what time in the morning! Science can be about seeing patterns and as I was looking at these ice crystals, I wondered if the rock crystals grew the same, obviously with different 'ingredients' and conditions. Crystals in the ground seem to grow where there is heat -which doesn't seem to work as well if you want to see ice crystals!

Anyway, that was my musings this week... A teacher had chatted to me about doing a weather / water cycle unit so I jotted some notes but then thought that other teachers might like to have a look too! As always, I start with my big ideas normally about the science capabilities focus but also a natural physical world link too. Then I've shared some ideas about the capabilities being used, some activities, links to the interweb and integration as well! If it's useful or you have ideas to share too, please do leave a comment! I'm happy to send this as a Word doc -just email me!

Thanks for reading, have a lovely weekend!
Paul

Some weather / water cycle ideas 

I’m writing this more as a ‘blog post’ than a formal unit although we could use my proper science template if you liked!

Big Idea:

In science, we gather data and think about what this data or information shows us to make sense of the world around us. We can share our thinking and understanding through diagrams and words.

In the natural physical world, there can be cycles to describe how it rains or how animals live.

Science Capabilities:

Gather and Interpret Data: children gathering weather monitoring data (rainfall, wind direction and speed, temperature, cloud types or cover) and record the general weather as well. Can we make sense of this data? If the wind comes in a particular direction, does that mean it will rain soon? Do certain types of clouds mean it’s more likely to rain?

Use Evidence: With the data we collect (and weather forecast maps), can we predict what the weather will be like today or tomorrow? Can we explain the data? For example, it was very cold today with the temperature being 8 degrees. This is because we had a southerly which blows all the cold air from the snow to us!

Interpret Representations: Children beginning to understand weather symbols –watching the weather on television, looking at weather maps on the internet or phones as well as using the symbols on their own weather forecasts. In science, we try to use the same symbols (a little o for degrees for example) or a half sun with a cloud to show ‘a little sunny’. Children will also begin to understand ‘cycles’ –that scientists use cycles to show processes that go on and on, for example, life cycles, rock cycles and water cycles. Do children also understand that a cycle may not show all information, for example a water cycle misses out a lot of information (children could critique water cycle diagrams as well as draw them with more details eg transpiration, rainfall in all areas  and not just the mountains that most diagrams show).

Context Strands:

Planet Earth and Beyond

Some Lesson Ideas:

·         There is a Building Science Concepts book that could be of use (BSC #15).

·         In exploring the water cycle, the important thing is to remember that it’s okay for children not to understand all the content ideas being shared (eg evaporation, transpiration). Our goals are to develop their understanding about how science itself works (the science capabilities) and how the natural physical world works. These ideas are in the NZC in the science essence statement, p. 17.

o   How come puddles ‘disappear’? How could we test our ideas and thinking about what happens? Does it disappear? Does it go somewhere? Children could put bowls over small puddles (rain-made or self-made!) and observe what happens. Using lots of tentative language children could also critique –what else might have happened? Perhaps the water drained into the ground… Do puddles disappear quicker during the hotter parts of the day? What about at night or during a frosty morning? Can we measure the rate of evaporation?

o   The water cycle… where does rain go? Some of the water evaporates, some of it drains into the sea. We could draw diagrams showing this. I have seen someone demonstrating the water cycle with a very cold spoon placed over a boiling kettle to show clouds (the steam) and rain, etc. but I don’t think this is a good idea as children may start thinking that clouds and steam are exactly the same. In fact, I have heard of children believing there are great steam clouds over a boiling sea from having watched kettles boiling. How much of the water cycle could students explore to develop their own understanding –rather than the good ol’ Colour in this picture of the water cycle and now you all know about it?

o   Trees release water too? I’ve seen photos where clouds have been generated from transpiration –I’m wondering if the Ureweras would do this too… can forests make their own clouds? Children could fasten small bags around the end of branches making sure that the bags are air tight and water-tight. It could be interesting to do this around some native trees and introduced trees, as well as evergreen and deciduous (which of course in winter would just be branches!). After leaving it a few days, remove the bags and examine what we find à what does this mean? This releasing of water from leaves is called transpiration.

o   What’s the weather today? …and tomorrow?

§  Cloud types –children identifying the different main types of clouds by going outside and having a look. You could share the names and images of different clouds first and then children observe the sky or children draw different clouds (or take photos) and then  see if they can identify them. What do different clouds mean in terms of the weather? Eg nimbus meaning rain, cirrus usually mean fair weather.

§  Children recording rainfall, wind direction, cloud cover, and weather and use this data  to make sense of the weather –seeing patterns in their data (eg wind direction can forecast the weather, temperature, etc.). Children can also start monitoring weather forecasts and symbols –are there standard symbols or understanding of symbols?

·         Children may like to start to predict what the weather might be from reading the weather maps (eg metservice, the local paper’s forecasts) and perhaps even their own measurements.

·         Some children may be able to learn about measurement eg knots for wind-rate, mm for rainfall.

·         Local weather experts –every town has their own sayings about the future weather –when the mountain is covered it means… Can we check whether their ideas are right by getting our experts to predict the weather (and using ‘because’ statements… it’s going to be sunny today because you can see White Island) and then checking these ideas against the actual weather as well as scientifically explaining the sayings. Children could also explore ‘weather sayings’, for example, “When the clouds look like horsetails, rain or snow will come in 3 days”.

·         We could also look at generic weather reports too.

o   So how do scientists know what the weather is going to be?

§  The nature of science strand Understanding about Science is an attempt to connect students with how scientists work. This enables children to gain a better understanding of how science works which will then support their own development of scientific thinking. Children could read articles about weather reporting and explore the ways scientists gather data.

Integration

Lots of maths and English happening here!

·         Maths:

o   Measuring: children measuring rainfall in mls, wind-rate in knots, temperature in degrees. Could children start to estimate these measurements before checking? Although more a Level 4 maths idea, students may be able to begin understanding ‘averages’ as the weather records are full of ‘average rainfall’ or ‘average sunlight hours’.

o   Statistics: children displaying their data on bar graphs and, as importantly, interpreting these results. Statistical literacy, (reading graphs, interpreting graphs, finding patterns, etc.) lines up nicely with the capability of Interpreting. Representations. Can students see patterns? Is there more rain in certain months? Is the temperature different through the seasons? Does the temperature change depending on wind direction?

o   Compass directions: children will need to know where north is!

·         Writing and Reading:

o   Understanding the genre of weather reports and the language used as well as attempting to emulate it.

o   Tentative language in interpreting data gathered: I think this might mean… This could be because…

o   Reading websites, journal articles, Connecteds about the weather.

Links to help…

·         Building Science Concepts #15,

·         Science Learning Hub website

o   Water Cycle: https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/search?term=water%20cycle There are some good diagrams students could use (rather than the old boring one that’s wrong!)

o   Weather: https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/search?term=weather including cloud types and space weather!

·         Metservice (http://www.metservice.com/national/home) have different radars and lots of summary information about the weather that children could use; their Facebook page has behind the scenes videos too.

Assessment

The science curriculum is very clearly Level 3 and 4 combined (except for a couple of changes at Level 4). However, we do expect a deeper understanding at Level 4 and perhaps a wider vocabulary although this may depend on whether students have had opportunities to explore this topic in younger years. For me, the Maths and Literacy Progressions help me to think about what I expect from the different levels and this may support teachers to expect more in science time in terms in student maths and writing abilities, for example in student communication through science reports, or skills, for example measuring.

The science capabilities will be the main focus with the topics being rich contexts to develop student learning. Capability indicators (below) could be used with teachers looking at what might be expected at different levels within the classroom.

	Gather and Interpret Data	Use Evidence	Critique Evidence	Interpret Representations	Engage with Science
Possible Indicators	c   Takes time, observing from different angles c   Uses all appropriate senses when observing c   Notices components of what is observed even if unsure of names c   Notices attributes c   Observations are measurable c   Notices changes c   Notices patterns and relationships c   Uses precise, unambiguous language when describing their observations c   Uses context specific words c   Observational drawings focus on communicating salient features c   Observational drawings include only what is observed c   Drawings include labels c   Drawings give a sense of scale or proportion c   Can differentiate between an observation and an inference c   Uses observations to support their ideas c   Uses words such as ‘maybe’ or a tentative tone when proposing new ideas c   Makes links to prior experiences to make sense of observations c   Uses “correct” science ideas to make sense of observations c   Asks questions based on their observations c   Develops questions that can be investigated c   Designs investigations in response to questions	c   Attempts to work out how or why things happen c   Uses words such as ‘maybe’ or a tentative tone when proposing new ideas c   Uses observations to support their ideas c   When posing explanations, uses cause and effect words such as ‘because’, ‘as’ and ‘since’ c   Includes scientific vocabulary c   Considers all available data and uses what is relevant c   Uses patterns in data to support their ideas c   Is willing to consider other possible explanations c   Build on others’ ideas c   Identifies which data supports a particular claim c   Is willing to suspend judgement if they think there is insufficient evidence c   Takes into consideration all available data c   Aware that more data enables them to be surer of their conclusions c   Develops questions that can be investigated c   Designs investigations in response to questions c   Considers and evaluates a range of possible approaches when designing an investigation	c   Justifies the design of their investigation c   Identifies the features of robust investigations c   Identifies ways of strengthening investigations c   Gives and receives feedback and changes ideas if appropriate c   Considers and evaluates a range of possible approaches when designing an investigation c   Asks questions for clarification c   Identifies which data supports a particular claim c   Seeks disconfirming evidence c   Identifies additional questions they would want answered to be surer to their claims c   Is willing to suspend judgement if they think there is insufficient evidence c   Developing a sceptical disposition towards evidence	c   Notices patterns in charts and graphs c   Identifies what information a particular model or representation (including diagrams) give and what it leaves out c   Identifies in what ways different models or representations are the same or different c   Identifies the author’s purpose for choosing a particular representation or model c   Identifies the strengths and weaknesses of a particular model or representation c   Charts, graphs and diagrams include labels c   Uses scientific conventions when labelling observational drawings, charts and graphs c   Constructs charts and graphs to show patterns c   Explanatory diagrams identify relevant features and show relationships between them c   Constructs 3D models to represent their observations and explanations	c   Sorts relevant and irrelevant information c   Uses information to inform suggestions for action c   Identifies questions that can and cannot be answered by science c   Asks curious questions c   Willing to explore a range of possibilities c   Engages with science stories or issues with the media c   Initiates their own investigation