Science Tutoring

For my science tutoring, I have been conducting is using projects. One project challenge we did (Thanks to the Baylor med center folks I saw at CAST) was to design a cell phone tower that is pleasing to the eye, over 30 cm tall, and can hold the transmitter (a plastic egg). The kids had a blast designing and testing! I provided yarn, clay, tape, wooden skewers, mini umbrellas, and plastic eggs (for transmitters). I gave them a budget, each item costing a certain amount, which they had to add, subtract, etc. Here are some of the designs!

Petroleum Exploration: Pasts to Profit From

Earth Science is by far my favorite! If I could get another degree, I would get my Geology degree. I love rocks and the Earth! It's fascinating. ANYWAY, for this project I worked with a Geologist from the petroleum field to design and give workshops during the project. I grouped kids into three. I chose someone, then they were able to choose someone, etc. This worked out great in some circumstances....but not all. Especially when friends chose friends. Before each student chose, I reminded them that choosing someone who will help them be motivated, stay on task, and be serious will help them achieve their goal. Most students, but not all listened to my word of advice. Here is the Driving Question and Project Requirements.

Driving Question:
How can we explore Earth's current landscape to identify the organisms and processes that create our past and present landscape?

project requirements:

create a 3D model of the Earth's surface and subsurface include ancient landforms such as deltas, canyons, and sand dunes in the subsurface of the model include 3 types of fossils within the model create 3 landforms such as deltas, canyons, and sand dunes on the surface of the model layer with different soil types and label age of each layer provide or create a petroleum and water reservoir in the subsurface of model create a topographical map of the subsurface and surface landforms- map must include a key and scale explore another group's model create a well log during exploration take a core sample of the model The kids created fossils out of clay. They learned about different kinds of fossils (molds, imprints, etc) and decided which kind they wanted to create. They had a lot of fun! One group thought to make an imprint of a spine with the metal wire of their spiral. Pretty neat!

The kids really enjoyed creating the landforms for their project. First they had to draw their topographical maps of where the landforms would be in the project, once approved after a desk crit, students were able to begin creating the landforms. We made them out of salt dough. It took much longer than anticipated for them to dry....BUT they LOVED getting their hands sticky and dirty making the landforms.

The geologist that helped me mastermind the project came to give the kids a workshop on the rock cycle. They filled in notes from the workshop on a graphic organizer (thinking map: flow map) that I designed on the computer. If you would like for me to share it with you, leave me a comment with your gmail! The geologist also said that she first fell in love with Geology in 5th grade. This made some of the kids perk up....maybe this 5th grade science teacher/class will inspire some of them to be scientists when they grow up!!!!!

During this project, I focused on the research questions the students were using and answering to endure understanding and mastery. I wrote the research questions for them to use, then they went and found the answers themselves. I provided one or two websites and videos to help confused students. I wrote each question on chart paper and had the kids "carousel" around, writing the answer that they found to each question on the paper. Here is a picture!




This was a great way for the students to see each other's answers and to make corrections to any incorrect research found. HOWEVER, I noticed that the students who didn't answer the specific question did not master it. So for the next project I did something new. (Will write about it in the next post about the next project.)

The kids final project turned out great. They were proud of their hard work and so was I! Unfortunately this project was the forever project (happened in December with Christmas programs, field trips, and parties galore!) so I had to cut it short. The kids were not able to explore other students' projects. But, now I know for next year that it needs to be altered.

After taking the assessment, about 75% of the kids proved mastery. I feel that sometimes poor test taking skills hinder the students. Through discussion, 95% of students were able to explain what they did for their project using correct vocabulary terms. Looks like I may need to give a workshop on test taking skills...

Hurricane Survival Kit: Exploring Circuits Project

This was definitely one of my favorite projects! I must give credit and thanks to my brilliant engineer husband who thought of this project and brilliant engineer brother who helped me fine tune the requirements. The kids really got into this project, especially since it was hurricane season when we did it! The groups were slightly larger than normal (groups of 5) because lack of materials I could provide for the circuits. For our project launch, I recruited one of the local news station meteorologists, Alan Holt, to come talk to the kids about what hurricanes are, how to use a hurricane tracking map, and some safety tips to keep in mind. Here I am with Alan (The tall, skinny one on the left!)




The kids were FLOORED when they met him. He was so sweet and signed his autograph for many of the students (I have 100!).

The kids were definitely interested after that! Here are the project requirements:

project requirements:

Create an emergency beacon that uses light, sound, and mechanical energy. Include food products that are sustainable and nutritious that don't need to be heated. Include an inventory list of all objects in the kit. Include a hurricane charting map that includes directions of how to use it Explain how the group built the emergency beacon Through this the kids learned about nutritional labels, general nutrition, and how to be prepared for a hurricane! I HOPE the parents were motivated to create or double check their own hurricane survival kits at home!   The most important part of this project was for the kids to learn about the different kinds of energy. To introduce a basic circuit, I had the kids make a complete circuit with a light bulb. Other than that, I dumped materials on the table and the kids got to work! ALL of the kids were so engaged with their hands on wires, motors, switches, and batteries to create the perfect circuit for their "beacon." I had not seen the kids work so well together….EVER….even to this day…..They couldn't wait to build new circuits….maybe I have several future electrical engineers?! Even my VERY unmotivated students were engaged and talking about the project. Here is a picture of some students building a circuit!

The kids did an excellent job presenting their kits and explaining their circuits. Most groups met or exceeded my expectations for this project! Woohoo!

AND it showed….98% of my students  passed the assessment. On the district benchmark assessment, most kids answered all questions about circuits and different forms of energy correctly! Big high five to the kiddos!

Density Submarine Project

Next in the Scope and Sequence were Physical Science TEKS. I think this is one of the hardest units/projects for the kids to understand, grasp, and learn. I launched the project by having the kids watch a Magic School Bus video about Sinking and Floating. I grouped the kids by who I thought would be able to collaborate well together. Of course, no group can be perfect. Here are the project requirements.

• Create a submarine that could float, sink, then float again. 
• Use the Engineering Design Process to create the submarine.
• Explain (using science vocabulary) how your submarine was able to float and sink.
• Keep an object (hand warmer) that is inside your submarine warm (conductors or insulators?)

This was the first project that the students had to do a lot of research and critical thinking to solve the mystery of making their submarine float after sinking. It was great to see them problem solve. They begged me for suggestions when their design didn't work as expected, and it was awesome saying, "Well at least you know what  did NOT work. Make a new design and try again!"

To introduce density to the students, we did a lab using cooking oil, vinegar, water, and a plastic ring. I put food coloring in each liquid. The kids poured the liquids into a graduated cylinder and watched with amazement how they all separated.

After the assessment was given, however, many students did not have a strong grasp of physical science. So back to the drawing board to tweak this project!

Strangely enough, I didn't take pictures (what was going through my head?!) so you will just have to imagine the wet floors of our science lab from testing all shapes and sizes of submarines! Some of the kids came up with neat ideas!

Leave your gmail address in a comment if you would like me to send you the rubric I made for this project.

Careers in Science Project

The goal of this project was to open the kids eyes to all of the fascinating jobs that involve science! Their minds were blown when they learned a chef and park ranger are scientists! I grouped the kids into similar interests of careers. Here are the project requirements:

Project Requirements:

• Create a list of 5 science careers.

• Choose a science career you are interested in.
• Research an important individual that has contributed to the science career you chose.
• Write a short report that includes the level of education necessary to succeed in the career of your choice,  an important contributing , what s/he did, when it happened, and how s/he did it, make sure to include a bibliography (list of resources)
• Conduct a science experiment using the Scientific Method in the career field you chose.
• Provide a Lab Report that includes a Summary of the Experiment, the Question or Problem of the experiment, a hypothesis, a materials/equipment list, a step by step procedure, name the variables, a table AND graph to show observations, and conclusions of direct and indirect evidence.

The kids had a great time because they got to choose what experiment they wanted to do. Since this was the beginning of the year, I did not conduct as many desk crits and I was very disappointed in the final product. Most kids worked very hard on the experiment, however, when it came to typing up the lab report and the career report, the products were not up to par. By conducting more desk crits and checking in with the students about where they stand in their project, I feel that the products could exceed expectations.

If you are interested in the project plan, rubric, etc. just leave me a comment with your email and I will share them with you through Google Docs.

Here are some pictures of the kids learning how to use Science Tools before they start their own experiments.

It's Been Awhile!

It's been awhile since I've posted! This school year has flown by! Enjoying teaching through the PBL model. My goal has been to bring in lots of professionals to introduce students to possible careers in science. I'm going to start posting about all the projects we have been working on since the beginning of the year. I feel I must be doing something right if after every project I hear the kids telling each other, "Man! That was the best project EVER!" Gives me motivation to go the extra mile for these kids!